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Micron discontinues 2GB GDDR7 chips for gaming GPUs as it pivots toward higher-density memory for AI — chipmaker reportedly pivots to high-margin 3GB silicon for AI GPUs
Micron is reportedly pulling the plug on its 2 GB (16Gb) GDDR7 memory chips, ending production and sales of both the 28 Gbps and 32 Gbps variants. According to an X post by UNIKO’s Hardware, the chips — some of which shipped on some GeForce RTX 50 graphics cards — are now designated as “End of Life” on Micron's site. Tom’s Hardware can confirm that the pages for module norms return “No results found.”
Micron just began supplying its 2GB GDDR7 to Nvidia earlier this year, with Samsung and SK Hynix being the main GDDR7 suppliers. As a result, Micron's 2GB module only shipped on a few Nvidia models, such as retail variants of the GeForce RTX 5060. Samsung and SK Hynix cover the vast bulk of 2 GB GDDR7 modules for the standard RTX 50 retail lineup, so the risk of immediate shortages is minimal. Micron’s uncompetitive position in the 2 GB segment also appears to have made a fast exit logical to free up fabrication capacity.
The company is reportedly shifting its focus toward higher-density 3 GB (24 Gb) GDDR7 chips. These larger packages are considered impractical for Nvidia's RTX 50 lineup because they are more expensive and result in less conventional consumer memory capacities. However, they yield higher profit margins and are actively utilized in Nvidia's high-end RTX PRO Blackwell GPUs tailored for generative and agentic AI workloads.
Micron’s decision follows the ongoing trend of memory suppliers prioritizing AI-facing technologies over their consumer and retail counterparts. The company exited its Crucial consumer memory and SSD business earlier, explicitly saying that surging AI data-center demand had prompted it to prioritize larger strategic customers in faster-growing segments.
Etiido Uko is a news contributor for Tom's Hardware covering the latest updates in big tech and the PC industry. He is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in gadgets, manufacturing, robotics, automotive, and aerospace.
This is probably a sign it's time for the consumer market to move on from 2GB chips to the 3GB chips. I know Nvidia doesn't want gamers to have more memory capacity, but having producers concentrate on one line of products instead of 2 lines should result in controlling costs and supplies over the long term.
This is probably a sign it's time for the consumer market to move on from 2GB chips to the 3GB chips. I know Nvidia doesn't want gamers to have more memory capacity, but having producers concentrate on one line of products instead of 2 lines should result in controlling costs and supplies over the long term.
This is probably a sign it's time for the consumer market to move on from 2GB chips to the 3GB chips. I know Nvidia doesn't want gamers to have more memory capacity, but having producers concentrate on one line of products instead of 2 lines should result in controlling costs and supplies over the long term.
We were unfairly denied our 96-bit RTX 5050 9GB budget masterpiece. Maybe it's still coming.
This is probably a sign it's time for the consumer market to move on from 2GB chips to the 3GB chips. I know Nvidia doesn't want gamers to have more memory capacity, but having producers concentrate on one line of products instead of 2 lines should result in controlling costs and supplies over the long term.
3GB is carrying a large price premium right now so while this would be the next step don't expect it any time soon. Micron was the last supplier to get approved by nvidia for GDDR7 so chances are their 2GB package volume was lower than the other two. It makes sense to focus on the higher profit part when there's lots of demand and the volume of the lower profit part is low.
