Nvidia is prioritizing the supply of its notebook GPUs in China over desktop GPUs, according to a report coming via HardwareTimes. This is apparently due to supply of notebook GPUs being in demand, but there are some indicators that this move may reduce the number of Nvidia desktop GPUs in supply, increasing demand and pushing up prices.
The source makes it seem likely this contraction in production numbers will largely hit the RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 GPUs, as they are supposedly the two lowest performing products in Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace catalogue. The worry is that such a drop in desktop GPU manufacturing may lead to price rises later in the year as supply drops.
While it’s not exactly cynical to assume Nvidia is doing this to squeeze demand and push up prices, it’s probably not worth worrying about an impact on desktop GPU prices. While prices generally go up when supply drops, it’s more likely this change will largely only apply in China. It’s also more down to market fluctuations in demand, which may simply mean gaming laptops are becoming more popular, and the demand for DIY PC building is on the wane, or has somewhat stablized for the moment. This is supported by other reports, which suggest the GPU market as a whole is stable at the moment.
The other reason not to be worried about price rises from Nvidia is the specter of AMD. We’re expecting that the new RX 7600 will be released at some point later this year, and we can expect AMD to comfortably undercut the RTX 4060 with that release. Given the sales for the RTX 4060 haven’t exactly been stellar, it would be unwise for Nvidia to force through a price change with that on the horizon. The same logic would also apply to the RX 7800, which is looking to directly take on the RTX 4070. In fact, it would make the most sense for Nvidia to drop prices with that in mind. Will that happen? Unlikely, but it seems more likely than a supply line drop that forces prices upwards.