And I thought DDR5 prices were bad: Samsung is apparently charging $700 for its latest AI-empowering HBM product

A promotional image of Samsung's HBM4, showing a generic module and a stylized die shot — (Image credit: Samsung)

The AI-fuelled memory supply crisis has been difficult to escape—after all, even those literally living under a rock still need RAM for the glowing RGB rig they're keeping under there.

But it's important to note AI datacentres aren't gobbling up consumer-grade kit specifically. Some sources suggest major players have bought up close to 40% of wafer production (i.e., not fully-finished chips). Others are specifically buying up High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), which is specifically built for the demands of an AI datacentre—and Samsung may soon be raking it in thanks to its "industry-first commercial HBM4."

Samsung's asking price for this oh-so-fresh hardware? About $700. As Yonhap News points out, that's a 20–30% price increase over the last generation HBM3E (via Jukan).

An image showing a stylized Nvidia Rubin GPU, with a selection of performance metrics listed next to it — Nvidia's next-gen AI 'superchip' uses *lots* of HBM4. (Image credit: Nvidia)

So, in other words, Samsung knows both DRAM in general and HBM4 are in high demand—but it's not going to make oodles more to meet that demand. This makes sense beyond just profitability; should the market turn, Samsung won't be left holding a whole load of expensive HBM it can no longer sell or production facilities it no longer needs.

Currently, industry sources suggest that only Nvidia has requested HBM4 so far this year. Other heavy hitters, like Google, are apparently still focused on securing HBM3E for its AI acceleration plans. With a price tag like that, who could blame them?

There's a strong possibility that Nvidia is currently preparing to unveil AI accelerators kitted out with Samsung's shiniest HBM during the GTC 2026 conference in March. Whether that includes Nvidia's Vera Rubin, the six-trillion transistor 'superchip' for AI, remains to be seen.

But while we're on the subject, rumours claim Rubin will be first in line to receive TSMC's ultra-advanced A16 chip node. As this year's GTC is slated to begin in San Jose on March 16, we won't have to wait too much longer to find out.

And as for us gamers, HBM isn't really our bag. AMD did try it with the RX Vega cards once upon a time, but that generation didn't go down well with the gaming masses. We'll stick to our very limited supply of GDDR, thanks.

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Jess has been writing about games for over ten years, spending the last seven working on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine. When she’s not writing about all things hardware here, she’s getting cosy with a horror classic, ranting about a cult hit to a captive audience, or tinkering with some tabletop nonsense.

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