DRAM crisis could cause new GPU shortages, Nvidia expected to drastically cut GeForce RTX production

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5000 Super series was supposed to offer 50% more graphics memory for the same price, which would have made Nvidia's gaming graphics cards significantly more attractive in 2026. However, due to the DRAM shortage, Nvidia has abandoned these plans, and "Super" GPUs will apparently not be available in this generation for either desktops or laptops.

As reported by Board Channels and Benchlife, Nvidia plans to reduce production of GeForce RTX 5000 gaming graphics cards by 30 to 40% in the first half of 2026. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB and the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, Nvidia's most affordable graphics cards with 16 GB of graphics memory, are expected to be particularly affected. Nvidia is likely to use the available manufacturing capacity instead to produce more profitable server and AI GPUs.

Nvidia expects demand for graphics cards to be lower in 2026 than this year due to a lack of new products. However, such a drastic reduction in production volume may still result in very limited availability, which in turn would lead to price increases, meaning that the GPU shortage of 2020 may repeat itself just six years later.

The current DRAM crisis, caused primarily by OpenAI, is expected to have far-reaching effects in 2026. Analysts predict that laptops will become at least 20% more expensive, while notebooks with only 8 GB of RAM and smartphones with 4 GB of RAM are expected to increasingly return to the market. Even products such as the Nintendo Switch 2 or the Steam Machine could become more expensive due to high DRAM costs.