GDDR6 type graphics memory 70 percent more expensive than GDDR5

The launch of the Geforce RTX 2000 series did not only include Nvidia’s new architecture Turing. The new graphics cards are flanked by the brand new memory type GDDR6, which already with the first generation has increased the bandwidth enormously compared to GDDR5 and its further development GDDR5X.

As with all new technologies, news also means higher prices. German 3DCenter has mapped the unit prices of GDDR6 from Micron and states that the graphics memory is 70 percent more expensive than GDDR5. For the latter, the prices are similar regardless of speed, while GDDR6 is the most expensive at 14 Gbps used in all of Nvidia’s graphics cards.

GDDR6 memory circuits with a capacity of 8 Gb (1 GB) and a speed of 14 Gbps have a unit price of 11.69 USD, compared to USD 6,864 for GDDR5 in 8 Gbps with the same capacity. The price difference of 70 percent also corresponds to GDDR6 delivering 75 percent higher bandwidth per memory capsule.

Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 and RTX 2070 are both equipped with 8 GB GDDR6, ie eight memory capsules, corresponding to a price difference of 59 USD or about 530 kronor. However, this does not take into account that Nvidia and other players receive slightly discounted prices when they sign contracts for larger volumes.

Nvidia will soon launch the Geforce RTX 2060, which will have 6 GB of GDDR6 memory, which with Micron’s unit prices costs 70.14 USD and just over 28 USD more than the corresponding capacity GDDR5. A significant part of the manufacturing cost thus goes to memory, which was sold means that this is where Nvidia could compromise to reach lower price points with the model.

Interesting in this context is that information that Geforce RTX 2060 will be sold with six different memory configurations. At the end of 2018, Gigabyte registered the Geforce RTX 2060 with both GDDR6 and GDDR5, in both cases with the capacities 6 GB, 4 GB and 3 GB.

Read more about the Nvidia Geforce RTX series: