ASUS Ends Production of NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB GPUs

Hardware Unboxed Explains Market Shift

According to reports from the YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed, NVIDIA has effectively halted the production of its 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB graphics cards due to the current issues surrounding memory availability. ASUS has informed the channel of significant supply constraints impacting the RTX 5070 Ti, prompting the decision to cease production, marking the card as 'end of life.'

Retailers Confirm Absence from Shelves

Discussions with Australian retailers have revealed that the 5070 Ti is no longer accessible through partners and distributors. This is anticipated to remain true at least through the initial quarter of the year. Additionally, the 5060 Ti 16GB is nearing its production halt, with ASUS affirming no further production plans for the model. Both GPUs, featuring 16GB, now face heightened production expenses amidst challenging economic conditions. Despite potential hopes of a resurgence later in the year, Hardware Unboxed suggests a revival is improbable. Meanwhile, NVIDIA's strategy seems to pivot toward 8GB models, including the RTX 5050, 5060, and a continued presence of the 12GB 5070. The high-end, high-margin 5080 and 5090 models remain secure from these changes.

Impact of AI on Component Demand

The burgeoning artificial intelligence sector has driven an unprecedented demand for RAM and similar components from data infrastructure enterprises. Consequently, numerous memory producers have redirected production efforts towards meeting high-bandwidth memory needs for AI clients, adversely affecting regular consumer offerings and driving up prices for RAM, GPUs, and SSDs. In a strategic shift, Micron Technology recently declared its intent to phase out consumer branding in favor of catering to AI component requirements.

ASUS Takes the Lead in Addressing Memory Shortage

ASUS stands as the inaugural add-in board partner of NVIDIA to openly discuss the memory shortage's market repercussions. These partners are chiefly responsible for manufacturing the vast majority of graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD. Traditionally, NVIDIA offered both the GPU dies and memory to its partners for card production. However, a recent report suggested that NVIDIA is now mandating these partners to independently secure their memory resources.

Implications for Gamers

Should this truly represent the conclusion of the 5070 Ti and 5060 Ti 16GB graphics cards, it is unfortunate news for gaming enthusiasts. Modern top-tier games frequently require more than 8GB of VRAM, rendering these 16GB cards from NVIDIA and AMD highly desirable for newly assembled systems or upgrades to existing gaming rigs.