Katarzyna Petru
The technology industry is buzzing. In early 2026, we received concerning information about the alleged end of production of popular next-generation graphics cards. Although NVIDIA and ASUS officially deny these reports, the facts are indisputable: the global memory market crisis is starting to dictate terms that we will all feel.
ASUS and NVIDIA: Communication Paralysis Around the RTX 50 Series
It all started with a report from Hardware Unboxed, which, citing representatives from ASUS, announced the status of EOL (End of Life) for the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB models. This information triggered panic, suggesting that just a few months after launch, NVIDIA is pulling some of the most cost-effective cards with larger amounts of VRAM off the market.
The reaction from the manufacturers was swift, but also chaotic. ASUS issued a statement clarifying that these cards have not been recalled, and that earlier reports were the result of "incomplete communication" from the PR department. NVIDIA added that demand is enormous, and production is ongoing, however, it conceded one key point: the supply of memory is extremely limited.
AI is devouring the world's memory
The real reason for the confusion is not the lack of willingness from producers, but a drastic shortage of memory chips (both GDDR7 and standard DRAM). The explosion in demand for infrastructure for Artificial Intelligence has caused giants like Samsung and SK Hynix to redirect their production capacities towards AI server farms, where profit margins are significantly higher. As a result, the production of graphics cards with 16 GB of memory is becoming a logistical nightmare for manufacturers. NVIDIA is faced with a difficult choice: either produce expensive flagship models (RTX 5090) or revert back to models with 8 GB of memory to maintain any availability of products on the shelves.
Will TVs also get more expensive?
While it might seem that the crisis only affects powerful computers, the RTV industry will also be impacted. Modern Smart TVs typically have between 3 to 4 GB of RAM – which is not much compared to graphics cards, but on the scale of millions of units produced, the demand for these components is massive.
During the CES 2026 exhibition, representatives from Samsung warned that the costs of DRAM for consumer devices have nearly doubled over the past year. Even if a TV does not require the fastest GDDR7 chips, the competition for basic DRAM modules is becoming increasingly fierce “No company is immune to the effects of this crisis. It affects everything – from smartphones to home appliances and TVs” – admitted TM Roh, co-CEO of Samsung.
For us, the consumers, this means one thing: the upcoming television releases for 2026 may debut with higher starting prices, and manufacturers might be looking for savings by reducing the amount of memory in cheaper models, which will directly impact the performance of Smart TV systems.
Source: Hardware Unboxed, Tom’s Hardware, NVIDIA, ASUS, FlatpanelsHD
