- Rumors Suggest Nvidia Might Stop Supplying Video RAM to Partners
- Typically, VRAM is included with the chip when it is sold to card manufacturers.
- If true, Nvidia would leave VRAM sourcing to individual manufacturers, and that could be a real problem for smaller companies.
Nvidia could stop providing video RAM (VRAM) along with its GPU chips when supplying third-party graphics card manufacturers it works with.
VideoCardz noted that on Weibo, Golden Pig Upgrade, a regular leaker of all things GPU, claims that Nvidia will only supply the chip itself, and not the video memory, to its partners like Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, etc.
Standard practice in the PC graphics card world is for chipmakers AMD, Intel, and Nvidia to make the actual GPU chip (of course) and then combine it with the required amount (and specifications) of VRAM in a package sent to the card manufacturer, who then sources everything else (the PCB and other components) and assembles it all.
If Nvidia changes course as suggested, this means those partners will need to separately source and purchase video RAM with the correct specifications for each model they produce.
This may not be true (add a lot of skepticism to any rumor, naturally), but it makes some sense, and it would be very bad news for some graphics card manufacturers if that’s really what Nvidia is planning, as I’ll discuss below.
Analysis: is it going EVGA’s way?
Let’s address those points in order, first considering why this rumor fits with the current picture of PC components. As you’ve probably noticed, the price of RAM has skyrocketed recently (it’s been a sharp, almost vertical increase over the last month) and this also affects video RAM (and SSDs as a side note).
With RAM modules becoming scarcer for everyone and more expensive as a result, Nvidia may be looking to prioritize its AI GPUs more in terms of memory allocations, as this is the booming area (the AI gold rush is a big part of the reason for all these RAM issues in the first place) and where the truly lucrative profits lie.
That seems entirely plausible, or even inevitable (profit is, of course, the primary concern), but this focus on AI GPUs could make it harder for Nvidia to meet obligations on the consumer side of the equation in terms of included VRAM for GeForce graphics card makers.
Now, let’s see why this is bad news if Nvidia is really following this policy and just getting rid of the packaged memory and letting the board manufacturers fend for themselves. This will be problematic for smaller card manufacturers who have no connections in the industry and who will likely be ignored by RAM vendors as minnows. Those types of teams may not be able to get the necessary VRAM, so this could be the end of the road for their Nvidia GPU ambitions (which reminds me of EVGA abandoning the Team Green team a few years ago).
For PC gamers, this could ultimately mean fewer Nvidia graphics cards on the shelves and fewer options. At the same time, larger board manufacturers that can source their own VRAM will pay more for it (they won’t be able to negotiate the kind of discounts on volume purchases that Nvidia can certainly achieve), and therefore the cost of making graphics cards will increase. This would add to the increases already being driven by RAM price increases (if they continue, and the prediction is that they will throughout 2026).
In short, there will be fewer options and more expensive GPUs if Nvidia goes this route. Also, remember that AMD is rumored to be pushing a 10% price increase on all of its Radeon graphics cards.
In general it is not a pretty panorama, right? But Green Team’s alleged VRAM plan may not happen with any luck, and could be mere errant gossip from the grapevine, or an idea that Nvidia is currently mulling over but ultimately decides against.
However, it’s further evidence in the growing pile of claims that if you want to get a good price on a graphics card, the current Black Friday GPU deals could be your last port of call to grab a bargain. (And that goes for a full PC too, actually.)
The best graphics cards for all budgets
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