Nvidia's Mid-Range Segment Faces Existential Crisis Amid GDDR7 Shortage
Nvidia's mid-range GPU segment may be on its way out as the company faces an existential crisis due to memory supply constraints. In February, Nvidia warned that supply constraints would impact gaming in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 and beyond.
The problem lies with GDDR7 pricing and the DRAM crisis, which is affecting high-VRAM SKUs. This has resulted in a shortage of mid-range GPUs, making them nearly impossible to get at MSRP. The RTX 5060 Ti, for example, saw a 40% price hike from $569.99 in June to $804.99 in August.
Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, confirmed that gaming graphics card supply would remain 'very tight' for multiple quarters. Gigabyte CEO Eddie Lin suggested that Nvidia could prioritize and de-prioritize GPUs based on revenue per gigabyte of GDDR7, which is proportional to the ratio of MSRP to memory capacity.
If the current trend continues, it's likely that Nvidia's next generation will skip the mid-range segment. The company may focus on budget cards with low memory capacities and flagships with high revenue-generating potential, leaving the mid-range in a precarious position.