The highly anticipated Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are set to launch on January 30th, but concerns about immediate shortages are growing. Reports from retailers and manufacturers indicate limited initial stock, fueled by the upcoming Lunar New Year impacting production.
Early indications suggest extremely high demand, with prospective buyers already lining up outside stores. The cards' premium pricing ($1,999 for the RTX 5090 and $999 for the RTX 5080) hasn't deterred this enthusiasm, positioning them as potentially the most sought-after GPUs ever released.
Manufacturer MSI, citing the Lunar New Year, has confirmed limited initial availability, expecting stock to improve in February. This aligns with reports from retailers like Overclockers UK, who reported receiving only a handful of RTX 5090 units and a few hundred RTX 5080 units. PowerGPU in the US echoed these concerns, predicting extremely low availability for the RTX 5090 launch.
In response to the growing concerns, Nvidia issued a statement acknowledging anticipated high demand and the possibility of stock-outs. They assured consumers that they and their partners are actively working to increase retail supply.
Despite Nvidia's statement, the scarcity is already attracting scalpers. Pre-sale listings on eBay are showing inflated prices, with one Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed for a staggering $5,750—a markup of 187% over the MSRP.
Adding to Nvidia's challenges, their share price experienced a significant drop (16.86%) following the announcement of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, raising questions about the future of their datacenter GPU sales. This may further impact the allocation of resources and potentially exacerbate the consumer GPU shortage.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos
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