Is the GPU crisis down to real shortages, or is it market manipulation?

Date:
Fri, 23 Oct 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Description:
One thing is clear enough high-end GeForce GPUs are suffering serious price hikes thanks to stock issues.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A new report claims that Amazon is buying up more AI GPU racks than it can deploy in data centers An analyst links this report to Nvidia's GeForce GPU supply woes, theorizing that
there's a connection The contention is that Nvidia is deliberately 'channel stuffing' or in other words, pushing an excess of AI GPUs to the detriment of gaming GPU chips Nvidia 's supply issues with its gaming GPUs are seemingly the result of a strategy to get AI giants to stock up on more graphics chips than they can handle, if fresh reports are to be believed.

You can't have failed to notice the stock issues around Nvidia's GeForce
GPUs, and the spike in prices that has happened over the past few months , particularly for higher-end graphics cards. Well, according to the musings of tech pundit and analyst Ed Zitron (via RespawnFirst ) who picked up on a report by Business Insider the consumer GPU shortage is a direct result of Nvidia pushing AI graphics cards on the likes of Amazon . Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Business Insider informs us that Amazon (or rather AWS) is buying more Nvidia GPUs than it can deploy. Apparently, racks of the AI graphics cards are being kept unused in holding warehouses until there's power available at the data centers where they'll be used (electricity capacity, not space, is the issue here).

Amazon is paying out huge sums for these GB300 racks from Nvidia, and according to an internal email that Business Insider got hold of, a new
'Early Rack Receipt' process (buying these GPUs upfront, before they're installed) saw some $5 billion worth of server racks paid for in August 2026. Seemingly $3 billion more are on order every month for the "foreseeable future" going by another email. You may like As Nvidia's RTX 5090 seemingly disappears, I'm worried about GeForce GPUs RTX 5090s are going for as much as $9000, as AI server builders reportedly buy Nvidia's flagship by the pallet, but the photos behind the story may be AI-generated GPU prices may be on the rise again? I'm not even slightly surprised

We're told one AWS team didn't have a "clear forecasted path" for getting the purchased racks installed in other words, they're not even sure when these GPUs might be used.

Zitron's argument is based on a key phrase in the Business Insider report, where the author states that the reason for the switch in policy Amazon only used to pay for racks when they were installed in a data center is that "Amazon has to compete more for scarce resources as it jockeys with rivals
for access to Nvidia GPUs and other AI components." Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The conclusion Zitron draws is that this is basically indicating that Nvidia is making Amazon, and others buying up AI GPUs, compete with each other by agreeing to order a whole pile of them there and then more than they
possibly need otherwise they won't get their allocation (presumably). Analysis: GPU misery is clear enough to see (Image credit: Shutterstock / aslysun) In short, these AI GPUs aren't actually needed as such not by
Amazon in this quantity, as per the Business Insider report but Nvidia is effectively strong-arming the company into buying the chips, or as Zitron
puts it, this is "deliberate channel stuffing." Meaning Nvidia is forcing
this AI demand artificially to the seeming detriment of GeForce GPUs, with lesser chip supply for those gaming cards causing price inflation and general misery for gamers.

Obviously we need to take this with a good deal of caution that goes for the initial report from Business Insider, and doubly so with the theorizing that Zitron applies on top of that article. What to read next 'GPU pricing to
climb significantly' warns a PC maker in the US Analyst believes RAM crisis may get far worse in 2027, and you can blame AI Rumor suggests big GPU price hikes are coming so should you buy now?

There's no denying, however, that we have witnessed a frustrating shortage of consumer GPUs, and in particular Nvidia's high-end gaming graphics cards have become painfully thin on the ground and pricey. The RTX 5090 is either unobtainable, save through third-party marketplace sellers trying to gouge
you out of the best part of 10 grand (in the US), or it's hideously expensive to the tune of over 6,000 in the UK, for example.

What's worse is the RTX 5080 is now getting ridiculously pricey too, reaching 1,400 in the UK. And in the US on Newegg, there's now only one model for sale (direct from the retailer) and it'll set you back $2,000. It's all getting silly, frankly, and with rumors that the RTX 5090 is being discontinued doing the rounds speculation Nvidia has denied, I should make clear it's
currently a disappointingly gloomy picture for GPUs.

The expectation is that matters are only going to get worse for RAM, SSDs,
and GPUs, as next year rolls into town and that makes all the above theorizing seem a bit more plausible. It's certainly clear that Nvidia's priority is AI GPUs rather than GeForce graphics cards because of the profits involved with AI, but of course, Team Green is a business so what do we expect? Prioritization is one thing, though, and the levelled accusation of the practice of 'channel stuffing' is entirely another. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best graphics cards for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best graphics card 1. Best overall: AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT 2. Best budget: Intel Arc B580 3. Best Nvidia: Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti 4. Best AMD: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/gpu/is-the-gpu-stock-crisis-down-to-real-s hortages-or-has-the-market-been-manipulated-gamers-wont-like-the-theory-floate d-by-one-analyst


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