AMD would be preparing a +10% increase on its GPUs: should you buy your Radeon now?

Ten percent more in the fourth quarter. This is the increase that AMD would have communicated to its partners for several families of chips, including the consumer Radeon GPUs. If you were planning to buy an RX 9000 before the end of the year, the figure definitely raises eyebrows. On a card priced at €800, 10% represents €80. Not exactly pocket change.

Before filling the cart in a panic, let's put the leak back in its place. AMD has not issued any statement and has not confirmed this increase. The information comes from ChannelGate and discussions from the Chinese supply chain, then was relayed on September 17, 2026, on X by @harukaze5719 . PC Guide, TechPowerUp, Club386 and other hardware media have picked it up. They all talk about the same rumor, not four independent confirmations.

The rumor remains credible, as it aligns with a movement already visible on manufacturing costs and memory. But credible does not mean certain. Here is what we know, what we extrapolate, and especially at what price a Radeon is truly worth buying now.

The message attributed to ChannelGate mentions an increase of about 10% in Q4 2026, that is, between October 1 and December 31. Three categories are named: accelerators for artificial intelligence, consumer GPUs, and motherboard chipsets. The Radeon therefore falls within the reported scope.

• Radeon GPU: explicitly concerned in the leak relays.
• Motherboard chipsets: also mentioned, with a possible effect on certain AM5 cards.
• Ryzen : not explicitly mentioned in the original message. Several titles add it by deduction because TSMC also fabricates AMD's CPU chiplets.
• Store price: no new recommended price or any date of impact has leaked.

The shortcut "all AMD takes 10%" is therefore too broad. It is possible that the CPUs will follow. It is equally possible that AMD protects certain Ryzen, absorbs part of the extra cost, or only adjusts specific references. For graphics cards, the signal is clearer, but the amount paid by the player remains unknown.

The reason given is simple: TSMC would have raised its manufacturing prices. AMD relies on the Taiwanese foundry for its recent chips, so an increase in the wafer ultimately shows up somewhere in the bill. Either AMD cuts its margin, or the partners absorb the shock, or the consumer pays. In practice, everyone usually takes a piece of the pie.

And this is not the first warning of the year. On July 3, 2026, TrendForce reported already an increase of about 10 % on the GPU + GDDR memory kits sold to AIB partners like Sapphire, ASUS and XFX. This wave was linked to the surge in GDDR6, which according to MyDrivers went from about 2.5 to 7.5 dollars per GB on the spot market.

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The increase in Q4 would be different: it would target the cost of the chips themselves, not just the GPU-memory bundle. Two waves in the same year, that's starting to be a lot. This is precisely what makes the leak plausible and, frankly, a bit painful for the PC market.

A graphics card is not just about the GPU charged by AMD. You have to add the memory, the PCB, the VRMs, the cooling, the assembly, the transport, the manufacturer's margin, the distributor's margin, and the VAT. If the price of a single component increases by 10%, the total cost of the card does not automatically rise in the same proportion.

Let's take a deliberately simplified example. If the kit provided by AMD represents 60% of the production cost and takes 10%, the total cost rises by about 6%, before the reactions of the brand and the reseller. A RX 9070 XT at €800 could therefore rise to €830 or €850, and not necessarily €880. But merchants can also anticipate the replacement cost of their stock and raise prices earlier. We've seen it before.

There is finally the opposite effect: a promotion on a card made before the increase can temporarily mask the movement. That’s why it’s better to monitor the price of a specific model than to cling to the round figure of 10 %.

Prices change from day to day, so let's keep dated references. At the beginning of September, GinjFo noted a Gigabyte RX 9070 XT Gaming OC at €799.90, compared to €889.90 at Cybertek, €979.99 at TopAchat, and €999.95 at Materiel.net. The same GPU therefore showed almost a €200 difference depending on the store.

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In the mid-range, the Sapphire Pulse RX 9060 XT 16 Go dropped to €489.90 on August 26. The same card then cost €539.99 at Cybertek and €559 at PcComponentes. The price comparison sites consulted around September 18 placed the best prices at around €559 to €624 for an RX 9070, €759 to €799.90 for an RX 9070 XT, and €479 to €489.90 for an RX 9060 XT 16 Go. These are spot floors, not guaranteed prices.

The table blindly applies 10 % to the reported floor prices. This is not a forecast. It is used to measure the maximum risk if the shops pass on the entire increase and if no promotion compensates.

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On a RX 9060 XT 16 Go, we're talking about around fifty euros. On the RX 9070 XT, rather 75 to 80 €. The real question is therefore not "will the price change?", but "is the current card already a good deal?" Buying too expensively today to avoid a hypothetical increase tomorrow remains a bad operation.

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The RX 9070 XT is the most exposed model in absolute value: its high entry ticket amplifies every percentage. Under €800 for a good triple fan version, the purchase is justified if you are building the PC now and aiming for very fast 1440p or 4K with FSR 4. At €850, you already need to seriously compare with the GeForce available on the same day. Beyond €900, the value for money becomes frankly shaky.

Don't just choose the GPU. A card at €780 with noisy cooling and a complicated warranty may be less interesting than a model at €810 sold by a solid store. Also watch the length, thickness, and power supply required. The urgency of pricing does not negate the constraints of your case.

My simple threshold : if you find a RX 9070 XT between 759 and 799 €, that the seller is reliable and that you actually intended to buy it before December, take it. If you were still hesitating between several ranges, wait for a promotion rather than giving in to fear.

At €559-600, the RX 9070 may be the best Radeon compromise at the moment. It retains 16 GB of memory and avoids part of the premium asked for the XT. The catch is the gap: if a 9070 costs €650 and a 9070 XT is available for €760, saving €110 makes sense. If the gap drops to €50, the XT regains the advantage.

The RX 9060 XT 16 GB requires even more discipline. At €479-490, it is consistent for comfortable 1080p and reasonable 1440p. At €550, it starts to sting, especially if an RX 9070 appears around €600. The 8 GB version may seem cheaper, but its memory is already a limit on some heavy games. In 2026, saving €80 or €100 to stay at 8 GB is not my preferred choice for a setup intended to last.

In short: aim for the price, not the badge. A crossed-out "promo" at -15% is worth nothing if the final price remains poor compared to neighboring cards.

If your PC is still working and you have no urgent games, you can wait. Black Friday can sell off stock purchased before the price increase, and a supplier cost rumor does not guarantee an immediate spike. Promotions exist precisely when distributors want to recover cash or clear out a model.

On the other hand, waiting is not very interesting in three situations: your card just failed, you have already validated your entire setup, or you find one of the real floor prices above. The potential gain from an additional promotion may then be 30 or 40 €. The risk of a price increase may be higher on the RX 9070 XT.

• Buy now if the model is at the floor price, sold by a reliable merchant, and your need already exists.
• Wait if you only look "in case", if the card exceeds our thresholds, or if your current setup still lasts several months.
• Avoid the obscure marketplaces, sellers without real stock and the payment of a large premium for an OC edition that gains 2% performance.

The best protection against a rise is not to buy quickly. It is to have a written target price before opening the stores. Otherwise, every red counter ends up looking like a good deal.

Motherboard chipsets are included in the leak. An increase could therefore affect new deliveries of AM5 boards, especially high-end references already loaded with controllers. But the chipset is only part of the cost of a motherboard. Again, +10 % on the chip does not mean +10 % on the final price.

For Ryzen, nothing is guaranteed. TSMC manufactures the CPU chiplets, so the assumption of an adjustment is technically valid. However, the cited source does not mention consumer processors. Presenting a Ryzen increase as certain would be going further than the leak. If you are preparing a complete build, keep an eye on both markets, but do not order a CPU in haste for this sole reason.

This nuance is important: an alarmist headline can turn a blurry line of supply chain into a general increase of the entire AMD catalog. We are not there yet.

Yes, the risk of a new Radeon increase is real. The leak indeed targets consumer GPUs, it comes after a first reported increase on GPU + GDDR kits, and TSMC has the power to pass its costs onto AMD. The scenario holds up.

No, you should not buy just any card this morning. AMD has not confirmed anything, the +10% concerns a reported supplier cost and its translation in-store may be lower, delayed, or absorbed by promotions. A RX 9070 XT under €800, a RX 9070 around €560-600 or a RX 9060 XT 16 Go under €500 are defensible purchases if your need is immediate. Above that, wait and compare.

The right reflex: capture the current price of two or three models, set your ceiling, then check every week. Not very spectacular. But significantly more effective than chasing a rumor.

No. As of September 18, 2026, the information remains a rumor from ChannelGate / Board Channels and relayed on X. No public statement from AMD confirms the figure or the models involved.

The leak talks about the fourth quarter of 2026, so between October 1 and December 31. In-store prices may react earlier in anticipation or later if resellers sell off their old stocks.

Probably not. The reported increase concerns the costs of chips. The final price also depends on memory, PCB, cooling, margins, and promotions. Each model and each store may evolve differently.

Around 759 to 799 € for a decent version, the price is interesting in the market of September 2026. Between 850 and 900 €, compare the NVIDIA alternatives and the RX 9070. Beyond 900 €, the value for money is difficult to defend.

For a config that needs to last, yes in most cases. The 16 GB provides more headroom on textures and heavy games. The 8 GB version is only interesting if the price gap is significant and you stay at 1080p with suitable settings.

The leak was relayed by @harukaze5719 on X then detailed by PC Guide . The previous one from July comes from TrendForce . The RX 9070 XT and RX 9060 XT 16 GB benchmarks come from GinjFo reports dated September 8 and August 26, 2026.