Just four years ago, the crypto boom and pandemic-related supply chain shortages caused havoc for those trying to buy a graphics card. Desktop towers with a yawning PCIe express slot may be sitting empty once more, according to Nvidia. The company confirmed speculation that demand for its latest $1,000 GeForce RTX 5080 and $2,000 RTX 5090 cards is high enough that stores everywhere may run out of stock very quickly after release on Jan. 30.
There have been numerous signs that some PC gamers will have a very hard time acquiring Nvidia’s new graphics cards. Notably, MSI already noted in its official U.S. Discord that it won’t ship its RTX 5090 cards until Feb. 6. In a post to the official Nvidia forums Tuesday, the company wrote, “We expect significant demand for the GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 and believe stock-outs may happen.”
This may also be the case for other OEMs planning to release their own versions of Nvidia’s flagship GPUs. The company said it and its partners “are shipping more stock to retail daily to help get GPUs into the hands of gamers.” That doesn’t offer us a sense of how long stocks will be in short supply. Prebuilt PC maker PowerGPU noted on its Twitter page last week that “The launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability. Already being told to expect it to be that way for the first three months.”
Warning you all now.
The launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability. Already being told to expect it to be that way for the first 3 months.
— PowerGPU (@PowerGPU) January 21, 2025
The stock issue is reportedly going to happen worldwide. As reported by VideoCardz, regular Nvidia OEM Zotac Korea said shipments may only go out in mid-February. There’s further reason to be skeptical about any release date promises. UK retailer Overclockers posted on its forums that it had ” single-digit” numbers of RTX 5090s in stock and only a “few hundred” 5080s available last week.
Chinese tech site Benchlife (via WCCFTech and read with machine translation) cited industry sources claiming that there were “communication issues” between Nvidia and AIC (add-in card) partners. So far, we’ve seen leaks of OEM pricing between $1,000 and $1,500 for the high-end version of the RTX 5080. The few pricing leaks of the 5090 show it could cost between $2,000 and $2,200. But that’s only MSRP, and with stocks so low, there’s concern among customers that online pricing could peak way beyond that.
Nvidia reps confirmed with Gizmodo over email that stock shortages are expected in the near future. The missing piece in this mess is the $550 RTX 5070 and $750 5070 Ti, the two mid-range cards meant to supply frame gen graphics goodness for those who can’t drop $2,000 on a new GPU on a whim. That card’s release date is still listed as February. Gizmodo reached out to Nvidia for any word on the RTX 5070 release window, which has changed, and we will update this post if we hear more.
The stock issues have incentivized more graphics-obsessed gamers to camp out in front of shops before release. You can find examples on Reddit of people camping out in front of a Micro Center in Tustin, California. Micro Center has its own YouTube video that cautions customers about camping out. The shop claims it will offer vouchers for those in line on launch day on a first-come, first-serve basis. We can’t recommend setting up a tent in front of your local shop, especially not this month. More frames are not worth catching pneumonia, after all.
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