Supply chain whispers suggest a production pause for the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB as GDDR7 prices climb, with partners pivoting to 8GB models as shipments ease in 2026.
© A. Krivonosov
Rumors have surfaced about a possible temporary pause in production of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti with 16GB of memory. According to supply chain sources, the potential trigger is a sharp rise in memory chip prices and tighter availability—pressure that hits high‑VRAM models especially hard. In a segment where bill‑of‑materials swings can make or break a midrange SKU, the concern sounds plausible.
It is said that rolling out the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti is becoming less economical. Implementing 16GB on a 128‑bit bus requires eight GDDR7 chips mounted on both sides of the PCB. That’s nearly as many as in pricier cards, while the RTX 5060 tier is built around tighter cost ceilings. For comparison, the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti uses four chips, and the 12GB RTX 5070 uses six.
As an alternative, NVIDIA’s partners may reportedly lean on the GeForce RTX 5060 and the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti, steering users who need more VRAM toward the RTX 5070. Such a move would reduce price and performance overlap across the midrange and simplify positioning as costs climb. It would also create a clearer step‑up path without forcing 16GB into a budget‑sensitive design.
These whispers dovetail with broader talk of reduced RTX 50‑series shipments. Industry sources suggest deliveries in the first half of 2026 could run 30–40 percent lower than a year earlier, again due to memory constraints. NVIDIA has not confirmed this, so it should be treated as preliminary—at least until any shifts become visible in actual shipments and on store shelves. For now, it remains a storyline to watch rather than a settled outcome.