Graphics cards are set to keep rising in price! US PC builders warn that GPUs are getting harder and harder to buy, and prices could remain high for a long time.

Graphics cards have risen a lot this year, to say the least. Since memory began to run short late last year, RTX 50 and RX 9000 have just kept climbing. Statistics from the German market show that the RTX 50 series rose 66% on average over the year, while the RTX 5090 rose 132%, more than doubling in price. With increases like that, many people probably think: it has to have peaked by now, right? The bad news is this wave of price hikes may not be over yet.

A U.S. custom gaming PC builder recently announced that the graphics card allocations distributors give it are shrinking, retail prices are expected to “rise sharply” going forward, and those high prices could last for a long time—a real nightmare for gamers looking to upgrade their graphics cards.

Graphics card prices have been rising for a whole year and still aren’t done? U.S. system builders warn retail prices will “rise sharply,” while RTX 50 in Germany has already risen 66% in a year.

Wccftech A report notes that U.S. system builder Stince Built posted a “GPU supply industry update” on X, saying it is starting to feel graphics card supply getting tighter and that the allocations its distribution partners receive are shrinking. At the same time, demand for memory from AI and data centers continues to rise, putting pressure on both component supply and prices.

The most important sentence in the post is: “Retail GPU pricing is expected to climb significantly, and these elevated prices could stick around for quite some time.” (Original: Retail GPU pricing is expected to climb significantly, and these elevated prices could stick around for quite some time.) Stince Built also reminded customers that lead times for some orders may be longer, and that they are working with partners to continue securing inventory and to avoid passing unnecessary costs on to customers as much as possible, asking everyone to be a little more patient.

⚠️ Quick Industry Update on GPU Availability ⚠️ We’re starting to see increasing supply constraints on graphics cards, with allocations becoming more limited across our distribution partners. Unfortunately, this is happening alongside growing demand for memory across the AI and data center industries, putting additional pressure on component availability and pricing. Retail GPU pricing is expected to climb significantly, and these elevated prices could stick around for quite some time. We’re working closely with our partners to constantly secure inventory and keep our builds moving without passing along unnecessary costs to our customers. We ask for a little patience as we navigate these allocation challenges. Some builds may experience longer lead times, but we’re doing everything we can to minimize delays as always! We appreciate your continued trust and support while letting us deliver the performance you expect even when the industry makes it challenging like it is right now!

— StinceBuilt.com (@StinceBuilt) October 9, 2026

What is noteworthy about this announcement is that the operator is an “assembly plant.”

When ordinary consumers buy graphics cards, they grab available stock from online stores or retail channels, while system builders receive regular allocations from distributors, so they are further upstream than retail. Many people suggest that if you can’t get a standalone card, just buy a prebuilt PC, because system builders have allocations and are more likely to get stock. But now even system builders are saying allocations are shrinking, which means the shortage problem is no longer only on the retail side—it’s upstream as well.

Image source: Wccftech

As for the reason, I don’t think it needs much explanation: it’s mainly due to rising memory and GPU chip prices, and the costs have already been gradually reflected in distribution channels.

According to previously leaked information from the Board Channels forum,AMD has raised the suggested e-commerce prices of most Radeon graphics cards in the Chinese market for the fourth quarter.Among them, the RX 9070 jumped by 700 RMB in one go:

In addition, well-known leaker MEGAsizeGPU also recently mentioned: “Going forward, all GB202 supply will be allocated only to RTX PRO..” In other words, NVIDIA may now even be prioritizing the best chips for its RTX PRO professional series cards, which are priced several times higher.

All future GB202 supplies are RTX Pro exclusive

— MEGAsizeGPU (@Zed__Wang) October 10, 2026

PC Partner, a major motherboard and graphics card manufacturer whose brands include Zotac, Inno3D, and Manli, also wrote in its August earnings report that the PC market remains very difficult, with severe supply constraints causing component costs to rise sharply, and predicted that “entry-level graphics cards will face even more severe shortages.”

The table below shows German retail price changes from November 2025 to October 2026, as tracked by the German hardware website 3DCenter:

The RTX 5090 is the only model to rise by more than 100%, while almost every other RTX 50 card rose by at least 50%, and 16GB versions rose more than other versions. On AMD’s side, the RX 9060 XT 8GB was hit hardest, and even the relatively cheap Intel Arc rose by nearly 40%.

The situation in the United States is about the same.Tom’s Hardware According to August statistics on Newegg listings, the median price of the RTX 5070 rose from $659.99 to $899.99 in two months, 64% above its $549 suggested retail price. The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB rose from $569.99 to $804.99, while the median price of the RTX 5090 was 135% above its suggested retail price.

From memory and SSDs all the way to graphics cards, prices have been rising, and over the past year everyone has probably become a bit numb to it. I really don’t know what year we’ll have to wait until for hardware prices to return to normal levels.

Source: KOCPC Chinese