Nvidia's latest neural rendering technology "DLSS5" has raised the spec bar for PC gaming hardware and emerged as a new variable for demand for graphics DRAM (GDDR). In line with this technology, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are boosting the specifications and performance of graphics DRAM, and Nvidia, reflecting cost burdens, raised the supply price of graphics cards for the third time this year. Since the second half, the trend of simultaneous price increases for graphics processing units (GPUs) and memory has become more pronounced.
According to the industry on the 9th, major market research firms expect graphics DRAM prices to rise further in the second half of this year. According to TrendForce, the three memory companies—Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron—are prioritizing capacity for high-margin server products, including high bandwidth memory (HBM). As a result, supplies of GDDR6 and GDDR7, which are graphics DRAM for graphics cards, continue to be structurally tight, and the prevailing view in the industry is that such supply constraints will be difficult to resolve in the short term.
DLSS5 is a 3D guided neural rendering technology officially released on the 3rd through the game "NBA 2K27." Its core is to improve graphics quality by adding artificial intelligence (AI) computation to the real-time rendering process, and it is drawing attention among the industry and consumers as it is evaluated to deliver near-photorealistic image quality in lighting, materials, and character depiction. However, according to technical materials disclosed by Nvidia, even when running at 4K resolution on the top-end RTX 5090, approximately 731 megabytes (MB) of additional GPU memory is required, and frame loss accompanies the computational load. Accordingly, demand is expected to grow for higher-tier products with 16 gigabytes (GB) or more of video memory (VRAM).
Memory prices are also taking up a larger share of the graphics card's own cost. According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, the average transaction price of 8-gigabit (Gb, 1GB) GDDR6 modules, which are mainly used in graphics cards, jumped from $2.80 in late Oct. last year to $8.40 recently. The memory cost alone to build 8GB capacity rose from $22.4 to $67.2. As GDDR memory already accounts for a considerable share of graphics card costs, the sharp rise in memory prices inevitably leads to higher supply prices for finished goods, the industry said. Recent price hikes for some products in the Chinese market by graphics card makers such as Asus, Galaxy, and Gigabyte are also seen as reflecting this cost pressure.
Behind this trend lies a shift in memory makers' production strategies. HBM yields less capacity per wafer than general DRAM, increasing cost burdens, but its higher unit price improves profitability. For this reason, the three memory companies are allocating a significant portion of limited wafer input to HBM first, while taking a relatively passive stance toward expanding production of general-purpose products, including graphics DRAM. Consequently, a structural imbalance arises in which supply cannot keep up when demand for graphics cards increases.
These supply constraints are directly reflected in pricing power. A semiconductor industry official said, "From the perspective of memory makers, with volumes limited, they can gain the upper hand in price negotiations with graphics card manufacturers, and graphics card manufacturers are also more incentivized to pass on higher costs to finished goods prices," adding, "In fact, Nvidia's price increases and the supply price adjustments by graphics card manufacturers are cases showing that this structure is being reflected in real prices."