The ripple effect of the global memory shortage is steadily expanding and affecting industries beyond DRAM and NAND production. Nvidia is reportedly no longer supplying VRAM to its GPU board partners, and some Japanese PC retailers are starting to feel the pinch, according to ITmedia [machine translated]. Although the publication still hasn’t seen massive hikes in GPU pricing (compared to memory and storage), one shop said that it is only a matter of time before we start seeing empty shelves in the graphics card section.
Tsukumo eX., one of Akihabara’s most popular PC stores, is limiting buyers to just one GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or higher, or a Radeon RX 9000 series or higher, per purchase. The store says, “Cards equipped with high-capacity memory have become very difficult to procure. We still have stock at the moment, but we’re in a situation where we don’t know when the next shipment will arrive — or if it will arrive at all.” Other shops have similar concerns, wherein GPUs with 8GB of VRAM or more are becoming harder to restock.
The entire world is in the midst of a memory crunch due to unprecedented demand from AI data centers, driving prices to historic highs. Furthermore, many analysts and industry leaders say we won’t see relief in 2026, primarily because memory makers are hedging their bets against an AI bubble and aren't expanding production. RAM kits and SSDs were the first items to be struck by this crisis, with modules seeing price increases by more than 246% in 2025 alone. This has custom PC builders reeling, with Framework no longer selling standalone RAM and Japanese shops halting desktop PC orders until 2026.
It seems that other components, like GPUs, are also starting to be hit by the crisis. Graphics cards require VRAM, which differs from the memory modules we use in our computers. However, they’re still based on the same DRAM-type semiconductor technology, so when the big three chipmakers slashed DRAM production, GDDR supply tightened as well, likely forcing the consumer graphics card divisions of AMD, Intel, and Nvidia to reduce their output.
With memory chip manufacturers focusing their output on the lucrative AI market, consumers have no choice but to hold on to their existing devices or shell out exorbitant prices for anything that requires memory modules. And even if memory makers decide to expand capacity and start building new production lines and fabs today, it will take a few years for these to go online, meaning we will have to wait longer before memory pricing and supply normalize once more.
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