Gamers Nexus
Gamers Nexus advises consumers to halt new PC builds as artificial intelligence data center expansion starves memory supply and renders retail graphics card pricing unviable.
AI-assisted summary of NVIDIA Has GPUs If You Have Coin — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- NVIDIA graphics cards are now selling at an average of 70% above MSRP, with the flagship RTX 5090 averaging $4,880 in stock—nearly $3,000 or 144% over its baseline list price. (0:01)
- A severe shortage of GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory driven by AI data center expansion has pushed high-capacity cards (16GB or more) to an average markup of 67% over MSRP, compared to 34% for cards with 12GB or less. (1:53)
- Add-in board partners are capitalizing on supply narratives, with Jon Peddie Research reporting a 76% surge in year-over-year revenue despite unit shipments rising only 28%. (7:31)
- Steve Burke explicitly advises against building a new PC under current market conditions unless forced by catastrophic hardware failure or professional compute requirements. (22:13)
Detailed notes
## Background Published on YouTube by Gamers Nexus on September 19, 2026, this report examines consumer graphics card pricing reaching historic highs, led by NVIDIA cards selling on average 70% above MSRP. According to the video description, this worsening market is heavily propelled by an ongoing DRAM availability crisis stemming from AI data center buildouts orchestrated by the GPU manufacturers themselves.
## TL;DR Gamers Nexus analyzes retail pricing data across current-generation GPUs, revealing that in-stock cards have climbed significantly since February 2026, with the RTX 5090 surging to an average street price of $4,880. The escalation is largely driven by soaring GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory costs and vendor-mandated silicon bundles tied to the enterprise AI boom, which disproportionately impacts cards equipped with 16GB or more of VRAM. While AMD and Intel maintain comparatively lower premiums over MSRP, listing availability has contracted unevenly across vendors. Due to these structural market distortions, Steve Burke advises against building a new gaming PC under current conditions, recommending instead that builders hold onto existing hardware or channel their technical curiosity into home networking and privacy-focused homelab projects.
## Atmosphere & style The presentation carries Gamers Nexus's signature blend of data-heavy journalism and deadpan, cynical humor, taking sharp aim at vendor public relations and corporate posturing with dry sarcasm. The emotional tone moves from frustration and grim resignation over runaway component pricing to candid consumer advocacy when Steve explicitly counsels viewers not to buy hardware, despite building PCs being his livelihood. It finishes on an unexpectedly encouraging, rebellious note, channeling enthusiast burnout away from the retail market and toward digital independence, privacy reclamation, and creative hardware repurposing.
## Bulletin - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1s) NVIDIA graphics cards are now selling at an average of 70% above MSRP, with the flagship RTX 5090 averaging $4,880 in stock—nearly $3,000 or 144% over its baseline list price. - [01:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=113s) A severe shortage of GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory driven by AI data center expansion has pushed high-capacity cards (16GB or more) to an average markup of 67% over MSRP, compared to 34% for cards with 12GB or less. - [07:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=451s) Add-in board partners are capitalizing on supply narratives, with Jon Peddie Research reporting a 76% surge in year-over-year revenue despite unit shipments rising only 28%. - [22:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1333s) Steve Burke explicitly advises against building a new PC under current market conditions unless forced by catastrophic hardware failure or professional compute requirements.
## Key takeaways - [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1s) GPU retail prices across the current generation have escalated significantly over the past six months, leaving the 8GB RX 9060 XT as the sole card to see an average price drop. - [01:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=113s) NVIDIA and AMD mandate bundled GPU silicon and memory packages to add-in board partners, stripping AIBs of any ability to independently negotiate or source DRAM. - [05:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=302s) High component costs for 3GB GDDR7 modules ($60 to $70 per chip) have triggered repeated internal delays for NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Super series, preventing the establishment of lower retail baselines. - [07:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=451s) Jon Peddie Research data reveals that AIB partner revenue grew by nearly 76% year-over-year while volume only increased 28%, indicating retail price hikes far outpace underlying DRAM cost increases. - [09:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=558s) NVIDIA quietly doubled the direct marketplace price of its RTX Pro 6000 workstation card from $8,565 to $16,000, underscoring its unilateral pricing power when board partners cannot be blamed. - [16:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=992s) The price premium gap between memory tiers has widened sharply, with 16GB+ cards jumping to 67% over MSRP while sub-16GB cards average 34% over list price. - [18:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1113s) NVIDIA's average markup over MSRP expanded to 70%, pulling 42 percentage points ahead of AMD's 28% premium and Intel's 21% premium. - [19:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1184s) Retail shelf presence is shifting rapidly, with NVIDIA's share of active in-stock listings dropping from 75% to 66% while AMD expanded to roughly one-third and Intel contracted to just 2%. - [14:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=870s) Flagship 90-class cards like the RTX 5090 have effectively transitioned into prosumer workstation hardware, incentivizing NVIDIA to anchor future generation MSRPs permanently higher. - [20:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1235s) Hoping for an AI bubble burst to normalize GPU pricing carries severe macroeconomic risks, as a broader tech collapse would likely damage consumer employment and discretionary income. - [22:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1333s) PC builders are urged to treat current systems like cars and drive them into the ground, salvaging older components or deferring fresh builds entirely until market conditions improve. - [26:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1573s) Enthusiasts priced out of modern gaming hardware are encouraged to redirect their technical skills into home labs, local network routing, open-source privacy infrastructure, and smart TV de-telemetry.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1s) NVIDIA, Take the Wheel
NVIDIA GPUs are currently selling at an average of 70% over MSRP, while GPU vendors like NVIDIA and AMD hide behind their add-in board (AIB) partners and pretend they aren't the ones setting the terms. Gamers Nexus has tracked GPU market pricing directly for over a year, and the six-month check-in since their previous update reveals a market that has worsened considerably. Across the board, every single current-generation GPU in stock has seen its average price climb, with the sole exception of the 8GB RX 9060 XT.
The most extreme example is NVIDIA's flagship RTX 5090. Its average in-stock retail price has surged to $4,880—representing a $900 increase over just the past six months. At that price, the RTX 5090 is sitting nearly $3,000 above (or 144% over) its official MSRP. Cards equipped with 16GB or more of VRAM jumped from an average of 44% over MSRP to 67%, while lower-capacity cards (12GB or less) increased from 23% to 34% over MSRP. NVIDIA is the worst offender at 70% over MSRP, while AMD averages 28% over and Intel sits at 21% over. Looking back at Gamers Nexus's November 2025 coverage, Steve had predicted that GPU prices would trend upward rather than downward—a prophecy that would suit a grim Morgan Freeman voiceover: "Things did, in fact, get worse."
- RTX 5090 in-stock average price: $4,880 ($900 jump in 6 months; 144% / ~$3,000 above MSRP). - GPUs with $\ge$16GB VRAM: Average markup increased from 44% to 67% over MSRP. - GPUs with $\le$12GB VRAM: Average markup increased from 23% to 34% over MSRP. - Vendor breakdown over MSRP: NVIDIA at 70%, AMD at 28%, Intel at 21%. - Sole current-gen card escaping in-stock average price hikes: 8GB RX 9060 XT.
---
[01:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=113s) DRAM Shortage Driving Increases
The primary driver behind the explosive price hikes—particularly on cards packing 16GB or more of VRAM—is the ongoing DRAM shortage hitting the industry. While NVIDIA representatives previously claimed they understand the dire memory situation for consumers and insist they are doing everything they can to help, "the call is coming from inside the house." NVIDIA's own voracious appetite for data center AI hardware is the leading catalyst consuming the memory pool and fueling the AI bubble in the first place.
Recent industry reports from Benchlife indicate NVIDIA increased prices on GDDR6 memory passed along to board partners, piling onto earlier price jumps for GDDR7 modules. United Daily News (UDN) categorized this as the third GPU price hike of the year. Neither NVIDIA nor AMD manufactures memory; they purchase it from suppliers like SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, package the memory together with the GPU silicon, and sell the combined kit directly to board partners such as ASUS, MSI, and Gigabyte. The AIBs then mount the bundle onto a PCB with a cooler and provide customer warranty support—"unless they're ASUS." Because vendors mandate purchasing the GPU and memory as a tied bundle, board partners have zero leverage to shop around or negotiate independent memory sourcing.
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: GPU Supply Chain and Packaging Flow accDescr: Diagram illustrating how memory and silicon flow from suppliers through GPU vendors and board partners to consumers.
subgraph Upstream["Upstream Component Suppliers"] MEM["Memory Fabricators<br/>(SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron)"] FAB["Foundries / GPU Silicon<br/>(TSMC)"] end
subgraph Vendors["GPU Vendors (Bundle Gatekeepers)"] NVA["NVIDIA & AMD<br/>Combine Silicon + VRAM Bundles"] end
subgraph BoardPartners["AIB Partners"] AIB["Board Partners<br/>(MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, etc.)<br/>Add PCB, Cooler & Margin"] end
subgraph Retail["Consumer Market"] BUY["End Consumer<br/>Pays Compounded Markup"] end
MEM -->|"GDDR6 / GDDR7 Chips"| NVA FAB -->|"Raw Silicon"| NVA NVA -->|"Mandatory Packaged Bundles<br/>(Priced with vendor markup)"| AIB AIB -->|"Finished Graphics Cards"| BUY ```
According to UDN, 3GB GDDR7 modules have reached between $60 and $70 per chip ($20+ per gigabyte), while standard 2GB GDDR7 chips sit temporarily around $20 ($10 per gigabyte). Consumers pay heavily amplified markups on these costs once boards reach retail. These expensive 3GB chips are designated for halo products like the RTX 5090, RTX Pro 6000, and the long-delayed Super series refresh. MSI Chairman Joseph Hsu (Xu Xiang) confirmed that consumer market shipments are projected to decline 10% to 20% over the year even as average unit prices escalate. By holding off on releasing the Super series, NVIDIA sidesteps having to publish new, painfully high baseline MSRPs that reflect current 3GB memory costs, allowing them to dodge public scrutiny and pretend nothing has changed.
- 3GB GDDR7 chip cost: $60 to $70 per chip (~$20 to $23.33 per GB). - 2GB GDDR7 chip cost: ~$20 per chip (~$10 per GB). - Board assembly structure: Vendors bundle silicon directly with VRAM chips, preventing AIBs from sourcing third-party memory. - Market projection from MSI: Shipments dropping by 10% to 20% year-over-year while per-unit prices rise.
---
[05:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=302s) Super Series Delay Timeline
The unreleased RTX 50 Super series would ordinarily serve as NVIDIA's mechanism to re-anchor retail pricing tiers, but it has instead been trapped in a continuous loop of delays. The rumored schedule shifted repeatedly across the tech press: initially slated to launch before 2026, then ruled out for CES 2026, then rumored for late Q1/early Q2 2026, deferred to Q3 2026, broadly "pushed back," temporarily reported "back on track" for an early 2027 arrival, and now delayed once more. VideoCardz reported that at least one board partner had received actual GeForce RTX 50 Super hardware before NVIDIA hit the brakes yet again due to memory pricing instability. Rather than inaccurate reporting, these frequent updates reflect NVIDIA shifting its internal roadmap in real time to match component costs.
CNBC reported that 2026 could mark the first year in three decades without an NVIDIA consumer-facing GeForce release. While technically loose in its wording—"it's CNBC, so they have Jim Cramer"—the underlying point holds true: NVIDIA has historically released *something* annually, but 2026 has seen an unprecedented freeze in consumer GPU launches.
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[06:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=402s) DEFINITELY COMPETITORS
Simultaneously, AMD notified its board partners that its bundled GPU-and-memory packages would rise in price by at least 10% in August, reportedly holding back until NVIDIA executed its own price hikes first. Steve jokes about how NVIDIA and AMD are fierce, independent rivals who definitely don't align their pricing or benefit from the familial relation between their CEOs, only to cut to a clip of AMD CEO Lisa Su remarking, "In some sense, I think we are probably more aligned than we've ever been, which is actually a really good thing." Steve deadpans in response: "Lisa, really not the best time. I was trying to help you guys out."
---
[07:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=451s) GPU Public Sales Figures
Hardware manufacturer PC Partner—the parent company behind Zotac, Manli, and Inno3D, as well as a contract manufacturer for AMD and Sapphire—issued formal warnings in a financial filing about persistent headwinds for the second half of 2026. The company cited severe component supply constraints driving up bill-of-materials costs and suppressing end-consumer appetite. PC Partner cautioned that VGA card shipments dropped sharply in the first half of fiscal year 2026 compared to late fiscal year 2025, with shortages expected to hit entry-level graphics cards hardest, directly inflating the average selling price (ASP).
Jon Peddie Research highlighted a striking divergence between volume and gross sales: from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, add-in board unit shipments grew by roughly 28% year-over-year, while total sales revenue exploded by nearly 76%. Jon Peddie noted that while higher gross revenue doesn't automatically mean higher profits, AIB suppliers appear to be capitalizing on press coverage of memory shortages to hike shelf prices far beyond the actual difference in memory costs. Steve reacts with mock disbelief at the notion that partners like ASUS would ever exploit supply-chain narratives to pad their margins.
- PC Partner financial filing highlights: Substantial drop in H1 FY2026 GPU shipments vs. H2 FY2025; acute scarcity projected for entry-level GPUs. - Jon Peddie Research (Q1 2025 to Q1 2026): AIB unit volume rose ~28% year-over-year, but total dollar sales spiked nearly 76%. - Markup delta: AIB retail pricing increases outpace the actual underlying rise in raw DRAM production costs.
[09:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=558s) NVIDIA's Silent Price Hikes & The Pro 6000 Benchmark
Calculating the average selling price (ASP) for add-in board (AIB) partners reveals a stark escalation: $668 in Q1 2025 shot up to $918 in Q1 2026—a leap of nearly $250 year-over-year. While NVIDIA refuses to adjust consumer MSRPs despite cards being practically impossible to find at those figures, the company quietly updated its own first-party pricing. On its marketplace, NVIDIA silently increased the price of the RTX Pro 6000 workstation GPU to $16,000, almost doubling its March 2025 launch price of $8,565. This move gives literal meaning to Jensen Huang's past remarks about scarcity being "fantastic for us." The Pro 6000 serves as an unvarnished indicator of NVIDIA's pricing power because, unlike the consumer GeForce stack, NVIDIA cannot hide behind board partners to deflect blame for the markup.
[10:12](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=612s) Pricing Methodology: In-Stock vs. Out-of-Stock Data
Gamers Nexus maintains a consistent tracking methodology by pulling all new, first-party Newegg listings for every current GPU generation to compile a market snapshot. The tracking focuses strictly on in-stock listings to reflect what shoppers can actually buy, rather than theoretical availability. - Individual unit counts held by retailers remain unknown; metrics track the count of unique in-stock listings and their active street prices. - Out-of-stock listings are excluded because out-of-stock MSRP cards that have not been available for months or years distort market reality, and some discontinued SKUs (notably from Intel) may never return. - Tracking in-stock listings introduces a slight upward skew because the units left sitting on digital shelves are often the higher-priced cards consumers refuse to buy, yet they remain the sole real-world purchase option.
[11:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=682s) In-Stock Average Prices: The GDDR7 Inflation Gap
Comparing current in-stock averages to snapshots taken in February reveals that nearly every card has climbed higher. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB stands as the lone exception, dropping a nominal $15—an indication that bottom-tier demand is finally dragging down prices. Entry and midrange options like the Intel Arc Battlemage B570 and B580, the Radeon RX 9070, RX 9070 XT, and RX 9060 XT 16 GB, alongside NVIDIA's RTX 5050, saw modest hikes between $10 and $46.
Further up the product stack, every NVIDIA card (excluding the 5050 and 5090) increased by $96 to $306 since February. The RTX 5090 saw its average in-stock price surge by an extra $900. A primary hardware driver behind this disproportionate jump is NVIDIA's reliance on GDDR7 memory across its lineup, whereas AMD and Intel still utilize older GDDR6. Beyond memory technology, Gamers Nexus points out plain corporate greed: NVIDIA is actively generating the data center scarcity that strains consumer availability, leaving the retail market with effectively nothing at official MSRP.
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Retail GPU Price Trajectory by Architecture Tier accDescr: Visual flowchart outlining price movements from February to September 2026 across different GPU lines based on memory architecture.
subgraph Modest["Modest Increases & Outliers ($10 to $46)"] A["RX 9060 XT 8GB<br/>(-$15 Drop)"] B["Intel Battlemage B570 / B580<br/>(+ $10 to $46)"] C["RX 9070 / 9070 XT / RTX 5050<br/>(+ $10 to $46)"] end
subgraph HighEnd["GDDR7 & NVIDIA Escalation ($96 to $900+)"] D["Mainstream NVIDIA 50-Series<br/>(+$96 to +$306)"] E["RTX 5090 Flagship<br/>(+$900 In-Stock Average)"] end
A -.-> D B --> D C --> D D --> E ```
[12:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=747s) Retail Availability & Listing Depletion
Stock health is evaluated by the number of unique board partner models available per GPU. While not a direct tally of warehouse inventory, the count of active listings illustrates relative availability: - **Widest Availability:** The RTX 5080, RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, and Radeon RX 9070 XT tied at the top, each boasting 15 distinct model listings in stock. - **Extreme Scarcity:** The RTX 5050, RTX 5090, RX 9060 XT 8 GB, and Intel Arc Battlemage cards bottomed out with three or fewer models in stock. - Intel's presence has cratered post-Battlemage launch; maintaining three or fewer listings across the board severely undermines any effort to gain desktop market share.
[13:24](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=804s) Percentage Over MSRP & The Prosumer Shift
Calculating the percentage premium of in-stock prices against MSRP exposes massive vendor divides. The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE was the only GPU matching its baseline MSRP, though AMD achieved this via marketing sleight of hand by pegging it to the same $550 launch price as the faster RX 9070 non-GRE. Intel Arc Battlemage models sat 18% to 24% over MSRP, while mainstream Radeon offerings hovered between 26% and 45% over sticker price.
``` +--------------------------+-----------------------+ | GPU Model / Family | Average % Over MSRP | +--------------------------+-----------------------+ | Radeon RX 9070 GRE | 0% (At $550 MSRP) | | Intel Battlemage (B-Gen) | 18% - 24% | | AMD Radeon (Mainstream) | 26% - 45% | | NVIDIA RTX 5060 - 5080 | 57% - 86% | | NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000 | ~87% over launch | | NVIDIA RTX 5090 | 144% | +--------------------------+-----------------------+ ```
NVIDIA's gaming stack—including the RTX 5070 Ti, 5070, 5060, 5080, and the 16 GB 5060 Ti—ran 57% to 86% over MSRP. The RTX 5090 blew past the rest of the market at 144% over its list price. This extreme markup stems from AMD abandoning the ultra-enthusiast tier and the 5090 standing as the only consumer card offering more than 16 GB of VRAM.
This divide indicates that future xx90 cards (like an RTX 6090) are being systematically transformed into prosumer workstation hardware. Much like the Titan series of old, cards like the 4090 and 5090 are de facto workstation boards masquerading as consumer gaming products. If the RTX 5090 commands $4,000 to $5,000 on the open market, NVIDIA has little incentive to launch a successor at $2,000; raising baseline MSRPs to $2,500, $3,000, or $4,000 and marketing them toward local AI and creator workflows would formally cement this market tier.
[15:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=951s) Absolute Dollar Increases Over MSRP
Evaluating absolute dollar premiums demonstrates the heavy penalty on higher-tier cards: - Midrange GPUs from AMD and Intel generally carry absolute markups of $100 to $200 over launch pricing. - NVIDIA cards configured with 12 GB to 16 GB of VRAM demand premiums ranging from $340 to $800 above MSRP. - The RTX 5090 is an extreme outlier, with average in-stock units selling for nearly $3,000 over MSRP. - NVIDIA's RTX Pro 6000 workstation card logs an absolute markup of $8,435 over its launch figure.
[16:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=992s) Memory Capacity Divide: 16 GB vs. Sub-16 GB Trends
Historical snapshots across June 2025, November 2025, February 2026, and the present highlight a widening split based on VRAM capacity. November 2025 marked the absolute trough and the best buying window of the cycle. At that time, initial launch hysteria had settled and impending tariff impacts had flattened demand right before the current DRAM shortage hit full force.
While premium AIB models historically command modest markups for upgraded VRMs, hybrid coolers, or extreme overclocking features, today's pricing diverges sharply from the normal variance seen during the GTX 10-series, RTX 20-series, or RTX 30-series eras. Base-MSRP cards have vanished, and memory configuration dictates the premium: - **Cards with ≤12 GB VRAM:** Started 25% over MSRP in June 2025, dropped to 3% over in November, rebounded to 23% in February 2026, and now sit at 34% over MSRP. - **Cards with ≥16 GB VRAM:** Sat 33% over MSRP in June 2025, declined to 19% in November, rose to 44% in February, and spiked to 67% over MSRP currently.
High-capacity memory has become the primary driver of retail inflation, systematically penalizing buyers who require 16 GB or more for gaming and workstation tasks.
[18:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1113s) Vendor Comparison: NVIDIA vs. AMD Price Premiums
Tracking vendor-level averages over time demonstrates how NVIDIA card prices decoupled from the rest of the market throughout 2025 and 2026: - **NVIDIA:** Sat at 29% over MSRP in June 2025, dipped to 15% in November, jumped to 39% in February 2026, and accelerated to an average of 70% over MSRP in the latest snapshot. - **AMD:** Averaged 21% over MSRP in June 2025, dropped to 7% in November, climbed to 32% in February, and softened slightly to 28% over MSRP currently.
[19:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1141s) NVIDIA vs. AMD vs. Intel: Price Premium Over MSRP
AMD managed to keep its retail markup under control in part through strategic product positioning, specifically by pricing the Radeon RX 7900 GRE very close to the Radeon RX 7900 XT. That pricing ceiling effectively forced board partners to maintain the lower MSRP on the GRE model. Intel, meanwhile, charted an erratic course across the tracking period. In June 2025, Intel Arc cards averaged an oddly high 49% over MSRP, though that figure was heavily distorted by several overpriced Gunnir partner listings. By November 2025, Intel prices dropped to an impressive low of just 3% over MSRP, before rebounding to 17% in February 2026 and creeping up to roughly 21% over MSRP in the latest snapshot.
The pricing gap between the two major GPU makers has widened into a chasm. Between June 2025 and February 2026, NVIDIA’s average premium over MSRP sat roughly 7 to 8 percentage points higher than AMD's. In the latest dataset, however, that spread exploded: NVIDIA's average percentage over MSRP is now 42 percentage points greater than AMD's, underscoring how aggressively NVIDIA pricing has decoupled from its original targets compared to the rest of the market.
| Vendor | June 2025 (% Over MSRP) | November 2025 (% Over MSRP) | February 2026 (% Over MSRP) | Latest Snapshot (% Over MSRP) | |:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- |:--- | | **NVIDIA** | ~7–8% higher than AMD | Close to MSRP | ~7–8% higher than AMD | **42% higher than AMD** | | **Intel** | 49% (inflated by Gunnir) | 3% | 17% | 21% | | **AMD** | Baseline competitive | Near MSRP | Baseline competitive | Significantly lower premium |
---
[19:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1184s) Market Availability and In-Stock Share by Vendor
Looking at the distribution of total in-stock GPU model listings across vendors highlights significant shifts in retail shelf presence, even if raw unit production volumes remain proprietary. Since June 2025, NVIDIA’s share of total in-stock listings has steadily eroded from roughly 75% down to 66%. In practical terms, NVIDIA went from representing three out of every four available model listings on retailer shelves to two out of three.
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Retail GPU In-Stock Listing Share Trends accDescr: Visual breakdown of vendor retail availability share shifting between June 2025 and late 2026.
subgraph June2025["June 2025 Listing Share"] NV_Old["NVIDIA: ~75% (3 in 4 listings)"] AMD_Old["AMD: 15%"] INT_Old["Intel: ~10% (Peak)"] end
subgraph Late2026["Late 2026 Listing Share"] NV_New["NVIDIA: 66% (2 in 3 listings)"] AMD_New["AMD: ~33% (Nearly 1 in 3)"] INT_New["Intel: ~2% (Near Non-Existent)"] end
NV_Old -->|"Gradual decline"| NV_New AMD_Old -->|"Steady market climb"| AMD_New INT_Old -->|"Severe contraction"| INT_New ```
In stark contrast, AMD has steadily captured retail listing share over the same timeframe. AMD cards accounted for just 15% of in-stock model listings in June 2025, but have climbed to just under a third of all listings today. Intel has moved in the opposite direction: after peaking at nearly 10% of available model listings in June 2025, Intel Arc availability has withered to barely over 2%. Over the course of a single year, AMD dramatically expanded its presence on digital storefronts, while Intel has been reduced to near non-existence.
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[20:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1235s) Conclusion: Structural Market Shifts and the AI Bubble
The fact that graphics card prices are still climbing a year and a half after launch points to a deeper, permanent structural transformation in the consumer GPU landscape. While NVIDIA historically tends to ratchet prices upward with successive architectures—punctuated by rare resets, such as the RTX 30-series adjusting downward from the RTX 20-series—current market behavior suggests launch MSRPs for next-generation products will be significantly higher. As Steve puts it plainly: "There's really no reason to launch a flagship at $2,000 MSRP if it can steadily sell at $4,000 to $5,000."
NVIDIA has already demonstrated this pricing power directly with cards like the Blackwell-based RTX 6000 Ada/Blackwell generation workstation models; because NVIDIA is the sole seller of that hardware, it was forced to adjust the MSRP upward directly rather than blaming partner markup. In Steve's view, the only external force capable of puncturing this pricing spiral would be an outright collapse of the AI market bubble.
However, relying on an AI bubble burst to fix GPU pricing is a dangerous proposition. The scale of the enterprise AI buildout means that a collapse would not be an isolated correction for PC gaming components; it would trigger a severe, broad macroeconomic shock. While Steve caveats that he is not an economist, an economic contagion that resets consumer prices would simultaneously leave consumers without the jobs or disposable income needed to buy hardware anyway.
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[22:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1333s) The Buying Dilemma: Why Steve Advises Against PC Building
Gamers Nexus generally avoids forecasting price trajectories, but the current data strongly indicates that pricing will either plateau at these highs or worsen before any relief arrives. While there were viable buying windows over the past year—most notably in November 2025, when parts were selling close to baseline MSRP—purchasing hardware in the current environment makes virtually no financial sense. Steve explicitly advises viewers against building a PC right now unless they are facing an outright hardware failure, require high-performance compute for their livelihood, or possess enough disposable income to absorb the expense without worrying about unexpected unemployment.
Steve acknowledges the irony of his position, noting, "I make money if you build computers, right? I'm saying that. So, I don't think it makes sense to build computers right now, except for in those very rare instances." The double blow of inflated GPU pricing and the compounding DRAM shortage has ruined the value proposition of the hobby. While companion components like PC cases and CPU coolers are enjoying historically low prices, the core computing silicon makes a fresh system build unviable.
- **Scavenging Alternatives:** Builders determined to assemble a system should salvage existing components where possible, such as carrying over an older RTX 30-series card or repurposing DDR5 memory from an unused system to pair with affordable modern cases and coolers. - **The "Car" Analogy:** Steve compares modern PCs to vehicles—expensive capital investments where the best strategy is to "drive it into the ground" until the hardware simply cannot run anymore. - **Historical Perspective:** Steve reflects on the late tech journalist Gordon Mah Ung, who spent decades reporting on recurring industry claims about the "death of the PC" that never materialized, though Steve admits current structural headwinds feel uniquely hostile to ordinary enthusiasts. - **Upcoming Channel Projects:** Upcoming Gamers Nexus investigations and reviews include component price roundups, the Fractal Summit case review, an LG smart TV privacy deep-dive, and hands-on guides for DIY routers and self-hosted VPNs under the viewer-funded "Data Dragnet" initiative.
---
[26:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1573s) A Positive Message: Redirecting Hardware Passion to Home Labs and Privacy
Steve closes the update by reiterating an encouraging takeaway for hobbyists feeling priced out of PC gaming. While the economics of DIY gaming rigs are broken, the core enthusiast drive—the curiosity to learn, tinker, dismantle, and understand computing technology—remains completely intact. Instead of abandoning the hobby, Steve encourages enthusiasts to redirect that energy toward home lab systems, local network infrastructure, and digital privacy.
Building self-hosted home infrastructure does not require high-end, overpriced graphics cards. Enthusiasts can easily pull retired hardware out of storage—such as an older ATX platform, an old NVIDIA GeForce GTX 700-series card, or an AMD Radeon RX 480 or RX 580—drop in an inexpensive network interface card (like a 10Gb NIC), and transform it into a dedicated open-source router or VPN gateway.
- **Ditching "Spy Routers":** Building a custom router allows users to reclaim network privacy from commercial routers loaded with telemetry and background monitoring. - **Smart TV Liberation:** Enthusiasts can focus their tinkering on rooting smart TVs to strip out integrated ad systems and telemetry, or assembling local open-source media appliances. - **Local Cloud Storage:** Setting up local network-attached storage or personal cloud instances provides a direct path to migrate personal data off proprietary cloud ecosystems like Google Drive. - **Accessible Engineering:** These projects offer deep exposure to network engineering, Linux environments, and software configuration at minimal cost using parts users already own.
Steve concludes that while this is a terrible time to build a dedicated gaming PC, it remains a fantastic time to apply enthusiast skills toward digital independence and privacy, thanking supporters who back GN via Patreon and store.gamersnexus.net for funding their investigative reporting.
## Notable quotes > [00:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1s) Things did, in fact, get worse. — Steve Burke
> [01:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=113s) the call is coming from inside the house. — Steve Burke
> [01:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=113s) unless they're ASUS. — Steve Burke
> [05:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=302s) it's CNBC, so they have Jim Cramer — Steve Burke
> [06:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=402s) In some sense, I think we are probably more aligned than we've ever been, which is actually a really good thing. — Lisa Su
> [06:42](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=402s) Lisa, really not the best time. I was trying to help you guys out. — Steve Burke
> [09:18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=558s) fantastic for us. — Jensen Huang
> [20:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1235s) There's really no reason to launch a flagship at $2,000 MSRP if it can steadily sell at $4,000 to $5,000. — Steve Burke
> [22:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1333s) I make money if you build computers, right? I'm saying that. So, I don't think it makes sense to build computers right now, except for in those very rare instances. — Steve Burke
> [22:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk&t=1333s) drive it into the ground — Steve Burke
## Mentioned Thermal Grizzly Duronaut, Gamers Nexus, Steve Burke, Tim Phetdara, Tannen Williams, NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, RTX 5090, RX 9060 XT, SK Hynix, Samsung, Micron, TSMC, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, Benchlife, United Daily News (UDN), RTX Pro 6000, Joseph Hsu (Xu Xiang), VideoCardz, CNBC, Jim Cramer, Lisa Su, PC Partner, Zotac, Manli, Inno3D, Sapphire, Jon Peddie Research, Jensen Huang, Newegg, Intel Arc Battlemage B570, Intel Arc Battlemage B580, Radeon RX 9070, Radeon RX 9070 XT, RTX 5050, RTX 5080, RTX 5060 Ti, Radeon RX 9070 GRE, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5070, RTX 5060, RTX 6090, Titan series, RTX 4090, GTX 10-series, RTX 20-series, RTX 30-series, Radeon RX 7900 GRE, Radeon RX 7900 XT, Gunnir, RTX 6000 Ada, Gordon Mah Ung, Fractal Summit, LG, GeForce GTX 700-series, Radeon RX 480, Radeon RX 580, Google Drive
## Video description Sponsor: Thermal Grizzly Duronaut on Amazon - https://geni.us/tpgcPMw GPU prices have become a meme, with NVIDIA leading the pack at (on average) 70% over listed MSRP for its consumer and gaming video cards. AMD and Intel are likewise running higher prices than previously, reaching new highs for GPU prices in our year-long series tracking them. November of 2025 seems like it was the best time to buy, with prices now climbing even past what we saw in February of 2026. This continues to get worse with thanks to the ongoing DRAM availability crisis thanks to AI data center buildout -- one largely caused by the very companies that make the consumer GPUs.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - NVIDIA, Take the Wheel 01:53 - DRAM Shortage Driving Increases 05:02 - Super Series Delay Timeline 06:42 - DEFINITELY COMPETITORS 07:31 - GPU Public Sales Figures 10:12 - Price Methodology 11:22 - Average Price Comparison of In Stock GPUs 12:27 - GPU Availability 13:24 - Percent Over MSRP 14:30 - The 90-Class Moves to Workstation and AI 15:51 - Dollar Amount Over MSRP 16:32 - 16GB vs Lower VRAM Price Over MSRP 18:33 - NVIDIA vs AMD vs Intel Price Over MSRP 19:44 - Availability by Vendor 20:35 - Conclusion 26:13 - A Positive Message from Steve
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Steve Burke: Host, Additional Writing Tim Phetdara: Editing Tannen Williams: Writing
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV4fow4JUMk)