Nvidia Could Delay New GPU Due To Deepening Memory Crunch

News flow around the memory crunch is accelerating by the week, and the casualty list is growing.

Just this morning, Qualcomm and Arm Holdings warned that shortages of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) could crimp smartphone production this year. Apple signaled earlier this week that it will prioritize higher-end iPhone models, while Nintendo shares slid as soaring HBM costs threaten to squeeze margins.

The alarm bells are getting louder after a new report from The Information, citing two sources, saying Nvidia won’t release a new gaming GPU (RTX 60 series) this year due to a HBM supply crunch, forcing it to prioritize limited HBM for its far more profitable AI chips over gaming GPUs.

If confirmed, it would mark the first year in roughly three decades that Nvidia has not released a new consumer-grade gaming GPU.

Here’s more color from The Information:

The delay will also push back the release of Nvidia’s next-generation gaming GPU. Likely called the RTX 60 series, it was originally scheduled to begin mass production at the end of 2027, according to one of th people.

The existing line of gaming GPUs, the RTX 50, is based on Nvidia’s current Blackwell GPUs, while the RTX 60 is based on the upcoming Rubin chips.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang publicly announced last month that mass production of Rubin AI chips had already started and that the company was on track to ship them to customers in the second half of this year.

. . . 

Nvidia is also slashing production of its current line of gaming chips—the GeForce RTX 50 GPUs—because of the memory shortage, one of the people said. Prices of Nvidia’s latest gaming GPUs have already risen at retail stores and websites due to their scarcity over the past year.

“Demand for GeForce RTX GPUs is strong, and memory supply is constrained,” a Nvidia spokesperson told the tech outlet, without confirming the delay. The person added that all GeForce products are in stock and shipping to customers.

Latest on the memory crunch:

• Memory Shortage Fears Spread, Raising Alarm At Qualcomm And Arm

• Nintendo Profit Misses As Soaring Memory Prices Could Become Major Headache

• Apple Prioritizes Premium iPhone Rollout As ‘Great Memory Crunch’ Tightens Global Supply

Makes sense:

• “Do It Now”: Industry Insiders Urge Consumers To Front-Run PC, TV, Smartphone Purchases As ‘Memory Crunch’ Will Intensify

Professional subscribers can learn more about the memory industry on our new Marketdesk.ai portal​​​​.

We suspect the memory crunch is about to get a whole lot worse.