In a troubling sign, Nvidia RTX 50 series prices jump up to 30% in South Korea — TSMC wafer hikes and $20 GDDR7 modules push RTX 5090 past $5,100
Yet another blow for gamers.
GPU prices are set to increase in South Korea starting this month, specifically Nvidia’s desktop GeForce RTX 50 series. According to a recent report, the price increase is primarily due to the recent increase in price for advanced process wafers from TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), along with the rising price for GDDR7 memory. Perhaps most troubling is that, due to global market dynamics, pricing doesn't exist in a vacuum for any single region, suggesting that price hikes could be in store for other areas in the future.
For context, TSMC recently asked its customers to prepare for price increases across its advanced chipmaking portfolio. This hike was extended beyond the newer 3nm process to include 7nm and other legacy products. ZDnet Korea’s report additionally cites market research firm TrendForce, claiming that GDDR7 2GB modules used in the RTX 50 series GPUs have increased to $20 per unit. As fabrication and memory costs have increased, Nvidia has raised the prices of the RTX 50 series GPU packages it sells to board partners. These board partners, thus, have little choice but to pass those higher costs on to consumers.
Multiple officials from domestic importers and distributors in the region have reportedly confirmed the price rise and have announced that major graphics card manufacturers plan to raise the prices of RTX 50 series models by up to 30% starting this month.
According to a manufacturing company official, "Major manufacturers have temporarily suspended shipments ahead of the August price hike, and to my knowledge, few companies have secured inventory prior to the price increase." Similarly, a local distributor said, "One manufacturer with a low domestic market share is considering a price increase of about 20% compared to existing levels, and other manufacturers are also preparing for price increases of up to around 30%."
High-end graphics cards with larger GDDR7 memory configurations are expected to see the biggest increase in production costs, leading to higher retail prices. According to Danawa, a South Korean price comparison website, the cheapest RTX 5060 Ti 8GB model now sells for around 700,000 won (about $490), up roughly 100,000 won (about $70). Meanwhile, the lowest-priced RTX 5070 model is listed at around 1.1 million won (about $770), an increase of approximately 200,000 won (about $140).
The flagship RTX 5090 has seen the biggest price hike. Depending on the model and manufacturer, it is currently selling for up to 7.3 million won (around $5,112), an increase of as much as 1.5 million won (around $1,050) compared to last month.
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Kunal Khullar is a contributing writer at Tom’s Hardware. He is a long time technology journalist and reviewer specializing in PC components and peripherals, and welcomes any and every question around building a PC.
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3ogdy That's got a very simple solution.Reply
Stop buying GPUs.
See the market fall. Game developers depend on it, AIBs will feel it to a certain extent, retailers will be stuck with stock on the shelves etc.
Then, the pressure to live in reality becomes real. As long as we've got people paying these crazy prices, this will be the path these companies will follow.
Gamers can take various markets down by simply withholding the money they earned and putting it to better use.
Until then, spend $350 on 60-class GPUs like it's "the new normal". -
Gururu Can't be done without the help of the tech sites. Even alarmists like Gamers Nexus can't stop covering the 5090 as enthusiast hardware. I say drop it from all testing. Let's stop comparing everything to what is pretty much a professional standard now.Reply -
usertests Reply
The invisible hand of the free market will decide if $350 for 60-class is the new normal or not. Some gamers are holding out, others are paying the toll. More will hold out if memory pricing takes the GPUs to unrealistic heights.3ogdy said:That's got a very simple solution.
Stop buying GPUs.
See the market fall. Game developers depend on it, AIBs will feel it to a certain extent, retailers will be stuck with stock on the shelves etc.
Gamers can take various markets down by simply withholding the money they earned and putting it to better use.
Until then, spend $350 on 60-class GPUs like it's "the new normal".
If we're looking at apocalyptic market conditions lasting 5+ years, game developers can adjust the targets for their games that are entering development, optimizing them as much as possible or sacrificing graphics if needed. People like how Skyrim or GTA V look, and those games ran on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
Nah, they should keep using it for the purpose of eliminating the GPU bottleneck.Gururu said:Can't be done without the help of the tech sites. Even alarmists like Gamers Nexus can't stop covering the 5090 as enthusiast hardware. I say drop it from all testing. Let's stop comparing everything to what is pretty much a professional standard now.
Although it's a bad day if a reviewer's 5090 breaks. -
Gururu Reply
If there was a $40,000 GPU that could beat a 5090 at gaming, do you think they'd be using that for more realistic resolutions? I really doubt it because they'd call it a "professional" device. Thus, the complicity in nVidia price gouging is perpetuated.usertests said:Nah, they should keep using it for the purpose of eliminating the GPU bottleneck.
Although it's a bad day if a reviewer's 5090 breaks. -
usertests Reply
Although it's been at or above the $2k MSRP for the entirety of its life, many people managed to get it below $3000, such as in the period between July 2025 and December 2025. Probably more than a few users of this forum have one.Gururu said:If there was a $40,000 GPU that could beat a 5090 at gaming, do you think they'd be using that for more realistic resolutions? I really doubt it because they'd call it a "professional" device. Thus, the complicity in nVidia price gouging is perpetuated.
2x pricing of the 5090 vs. the 5080 is understandable since it's basically double the die area and memory. Now it's more like 3x (on Newegg US). But some people managed to get a 5090 for less than 2x the current 5080 pricing (~$1400).
The 5090 is thought of as a "prosumer" card, but it uses the GeForce Game Ready drivers, not the professional drivers. It was positioned as a (rich) consumer card.
I don't think anyone is going to care about such a crusade, nor should they. I don't see anyone of prominence leading the charge and denouncing Gamers Nexus for doing CPU reviews with 5090s while making consumer rights content. Reviewers should use the 5090 for CPUs if they have it. There's nothing stopping them from running gaming benchmarks on an RTX PRO 6000 either.
Tom's is guilty, RIP.Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 Founder’s Edition
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Gururu Reply
And the consumer will consume it until the provider moves on to a bigger more lucrative consumer, leaving the consumers that built it to find new hobbies. So thus must the daily headlines each morning lament the state of the hardware industry for the DIY builder.usertests said:Although it's been at or above the $2k MSRP for the entirety of its life, many people managed to get it below $3000, such as in the period between July 2025 and December 2025. Probably more than a few users of this forum have one.
2x pricing of the 5090 vs. the 5080 is understandable since it's basically double the die area and memory. Now it's more like 3x (on Newegg US). But some people managed to get a 5090 for less than 2x the current 5080 pricing (~$1400).
The 5090 is thought of as a "prosumer" card, but it uses the GeForce Game Ready drivers, not the professional drivers. It was positioned as a (rich) consumer card.
I don't think anyone is going to care about such a crusade, nor should they. I don't see anyone of prominence leading the charge and denouncing Gamers Nexus for doing CPU reviews with 5090s while making consumer rights content. Reviewers should use the 5090 for CPUs if they have it. There's nothing stopping them from running gaming benchmarks on an RTX PRO 6000 either.
Tom's is guilty, RIP. -
beyondlogic Behold another crash on the horizon when they financially push to hard and it all falls like a pile of dominoes.Reply
All it will do is push out consumers and business consumers will find another way or grow a new company to challenge it. -
3ogdy onigami, don't you think that, at that point someone might find it interesting enough to provide hardware and then offer gamers a good deal? Asian manufacturers, maybe...Reply
Unless gamers really are a dying breed. -
Eximo Gaming industry does seems to be deflating. Fewer and fewer expensive and flagship mainstream titles. All competing with subscription and cheap indie titles, mobile gaming. $80-90 video game with no box, accessories, etc. Just not the same incentive to spend the money.Reply
I've mostly spent money on expansions for older games. The few that still do that. -
usertests Reply
China will find it even harder than Intel to break into gaming dGPUs. They'll probably crack it eventually, but it doesn't solve memory being expensive in the meantime.3ogdy said:onigami, don't you think that, at that point someone might find it interesting enough to provide hardware and then offer gamers a good deal? Asian manufacturers, maybe...
Unless gamers really are a dying breed.