In 2025, warranty costs for AMD and NVIDIA simply exploded, with NVIDIA posting a four-figure percentage increase. We’d scoff a bit and say it has something to do with the use of the 12V-2×6 connector, whose reliability is… To watch, to keep it polite. But in reality, this increase has more to do with the current economic situation and the state of the market than with a faulty connector… Well, not entirely.
AMD and NVIDIA face rising warranty costs!
+1000% for NVIDIA in 2025!
We’ll start with the scary figures, and then qualify them a little later. But broadly speaking, warranty costs have been rising at NVIDIA for the last three years… But in 2025, costs explode on the chameleon’s side. Between 2022 and 2024, costs related to the management of SAV were generally around $100 million. But last year, these costs rose to $894 million! Budget allocations over the year break down as follows:
- 147 million in the first quarter
- 80 million in the second quarter
- $156 million in the third quarter
- $511 million in the fourth quarter
AMD’s costs are also rising:
AMD’s after-sales costs are also on the rise, increasing by around 2/3. In simple terms, the brand will spend $110 million in 2024, rising to $238 million in 2025. What’s more, the rate of support requests will rise from 0.43% in 2024 to 0.69% in 2025. In fact, NVIDIA is no better in this respect: 0.90% in Q4 2025 versus 0.17% in Q1 of the same year.
Why does it go up?
Ultimately, the main reason for the rise in after-sales support costs is cyclical. At the end of 2025, shortages and soaring memory prices were beginning to make themselves felt. In fact, it was during this period that the Chameleon’s budget exploded. And let’s not forget that 2025 was the year of tariffs, which pushed up the price of electronic and computer components. Mechanically, this is also reflected in the rise in component repair costs. What’s more, since NVIDIA has a market share of over 90%, this is also reflected in after-sales costs.
What about 12V-2×6?
From NVIDIA’s point of view, the 16-pin power connector is also a thorn in the side, since since the arrival of the RTX 4000, there have been a number of boards whose power connector has melted. These cards have to be supported, which also costs the company money. Yes, there has been an increase in after-sales costs since its introduction in 2022. No, the connector is not responsible for the exponential rise in costs in 2025. In fact, we’re curious to see the figures for 2026. Costs are bound to skyrocket.
