As a huge GPU enthusiast , a new launch is basically a political party for me — and it ’s a political party that often lasts for months . With both Nvidia and AMD staggering their product releases , there ’s plenty to get stimulate for as newfangled models keep getting add up to our ranking of thebest graphic cardsevery few weeks .
This time , the excitement is only truthful on newspaper publisher . In fact , I ’m beginning to palpate disappointed . After waiting for Blackwell for a long meter , it ’s starting to feel like it would ’ve been better if we waited a small bit longer .
The GPU shortage is back
Not everyone remembers the GPU shortage that plagued Nvidia ’s RTX 30 - series and AMD ’s RX 6000 - serial , but those who do remember for sure recognize how abominable it was . I wo n’t bore you with a full review , but as someone who want to advance my PC during that time and could n’t because of the shortage , I ’ll be the first one to separate you that it was a crazy metre . Some GPUs sold at 300 % of their recommended leaning Leontyne Price ( MSRP ) and scalpers were run rearing .
This situation came about as a final result of a world-wide chip shot dearth , the pandemic , and cryptocurrency mining being at its peak . Now , with all three factors no longer cripple the supplying chain , you ’d reckon that the RTX 50 - series launching would be as tranquil as butter .
longsighted story short : It ’s certainlynotbeen smooth .
week before the GPUs even shoot the market , leaker have been spreading rumor about the low-toned supply of theRTX 5090 . The stock storey of the quietus of the lineup remained undecipherable , but the general world was quick . Days before launching , people were already camping out of doors of retail computer memory . Some retailers turn to a drawing system to allow people to buy a GPU , and in some pillowcase , those events speedily devolved into total topsy-turvydom .
It ’s like we ’re all the way back in 2021 again , and although it ’s not quite as bleak as that , it ’s not look good .
chronicle of GPU launches 2023 - 2025 , with launch twenty-four hour period cut-rate sale volume ( at Mindfactory ) and availability after the launch dayhttps://t.co/VxRxKbBWxnpic.twitter.com/LoWbQFM6bf
& mdash ; 3DCenter.org ( @3DCenter_org)February 21 , 2025
3DCenter analyse the handiness of the RTX 50 - series and compared it to premature launching . This data only comes from one German retail merchant , Mindfactory , but many other retailers report like findings . In short : Both the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 were only released in very small numbers , and there are no signs of imminent restocks .
Some retailers arrogate thatthe RTX 5090 may not be back until June . If you want to buy one of the raw cards , you ’re force to either wait or pay scalper premiums , which can append several hundreds or chiliad of dollar on top of an already hefty Mary Leontyne Price .
Another number stems from the fact that even when the posting are in inventory , they ’re impossible to find at MSRP . fashion model that deal at the minimum price are few and far apart ; you ’re far likelier to get an overclocked card that costs up to $ 1,200 more than Nvidia ’s MSRP .
My one hope was that things would get better with the RTX 5070 Ti , but that also did n’t pan out out .
The RTX 5070 Ti is largely unavailable , just two Day after launch . There are a dyad of overclocked poser on Amazon , but they be a thumping $ 1,887 and $ 1,739 , which is an insane price for this GPU . Meanwhile , at Newegg , the GPU is only available as part of a prebuilt PC , and at Best Buy , all of them are sold out .
When will they be back ? No one knows . The worst part ? This execration does n’t finish with the RTX 5070 Ti .
Mainstream GPUs may share the same fate
The RTX 5070 , now said to establish at the beginning of March , was reportedly ab initio meant to get at the same prison term as the RTX 5070 Ti . However , Nvidia is say to have pushed the outlet date of the GPU for undisclosed reasons .
As reported byCTEE , Nvidia ran into military issue with the chip pattern that squeeze it to implement changes . This delayed production at plate , and as a outcome , the RTX 5070 will be scarcely available once it does appear on the shelves .
I ’m not going to take this reputation at face note value , as it seems quite late in the production cycle per second for Nvidia to run into some unexpected hardware - relate issues . However , I wo n’t be surprised if the RTX 5070 is , indeed , difficult to spot for the first few week of its retail handiness . It is what we ’ve seen with the other three GPUs , and this one launch a mere two weeks later ; I ’m dubious that Nvidia can as if by magic come up with immense numbers of graphic cards in that time .
Worse yet , the RTX xx70 GPU is typically one of Nvidia ’s most popular models . While most gamers wo n’t be purchase an RTX 5090 ( although it sure enough feel as if they are in good order now ) , many mass would be glad to upgrade to an RTX 5070 , which Nvidia claims will be capable to outperform the RTX 4090 thanks to Multi - Frame Generation ( MFG ) inDLSS 4 . This is a mainstream GPU with need to agree .
Simply put , we need more of those RTX 5070s on the shelves than we need RTX 5090s , and it does n’t seem probable that we ’ll have either of them in the coming weeks .
If there ’s one card that even more people are waiting for , it ’s the RTX 5060 . This GPU will believably follow in the footsteps of its herald and go on to become a pop choice , even if it only sports 8 GB VRAM ( which seems potential ) . However , even though Nvidia has yet to announce it , the RTX 5060 is already tell to be facing delays .
As per the same report from CTEE , the RTX 5060 is yet to record aggregative output , and it wo n’t enter that phase until mid - April . This means that even if it does launch in April — which is the current expectation — it ’ll remain unavailable until May or by and by .
Ming - Chi Kuo , a well - know market analyst , believes the same thing : it ’ll be a recollective prison term before we can bribe the RTX 5070 and the RTX 5060 with informality .
Nvidia had to step in
Nvidia may have opt to release the GPUs before being ready to cater the market with an passable number of nontextual matter cards , but it ’s not cut the situation . Team Green brought back the Verified Priority Access programme , which is a solvent that it also used for the RTX 4090 and the RTX 4080 ( even though those two GPUs did n’t have such a tumultuous launching ) .
As part of the program , prime registered users will be able-bodied to buy one of Nvidia ’s Founders Edition graphics menu . Right now , only the RTX 5090 and the RTX 5080 are include .
to qualify , you ’ll need to have an Nvidia story that was made before January 30 , 2025 , so signing up now wo n’t help . Next , you ’ll have tofill in the phase on Nvidia ’s websiteto express your interest in buying a GPU . If you ’re one of the lucky ones and get picked , you ’ll be give the option to buy an Nvidia Founders Edition artwork plug-in at MSRP .
The VPA program is only usable to users in the United States . Nvidia also did n’t specify how many GPUs are up for grabs , so it ’s unclear just how much this will assist . Still , this remains one of the very few ways to seduce an RTX 50 - series card at MSRP , so you might as well essay it if you ’re in the market for one .
We have to be patient
As before long as one GPU release cycle end , the wait for the next one begins . And in the case of the RTX 50 - series , it ’s been pretty long ; many leaker ab initio bear the artwork cards to be reveal in September 2024 , but that obviously never happened .
Unfortunately , now that they ’re finally here , we ’re still forced to remain patient . compare to the RTX 40 - serial , this has been a rocky launch , with special accessibility , sky - gamey prices , escape ROPs , and even the return of issues such asmelting connectors .
With that said , all three GPUs so far seem great in their own right . The RTX 5090 ingest the jacket crown as the best GPU of this generation ; meanwhile , the RTX 5070 Ti has the makings of a great GPU if it ever becomes available at MSRP .
Although this should be an exciting meter , for many , it ’s been nothing but frustrating . We have no selection but to be patient here , though .
Stock government issue , while annoying , will finally settle down . It might take months , but we ’ll take off discover these cards in stock sooner or afterwards . Meanwhile , the arriver of AMD ’s next generation of graphics cards might still shake thing up .
The RX 9070 XT is come soon , and it ’ll be a unmediated competition to the RTX 5070 , or perhaps even the RTX 5070 Ti . AMD is said to beplanning to make it cheap , which is promising . On the other hand , I do wonder whether that will be the case , as it really doesn’tneedto right on now — it just want to be cheaper than Nvidia , which is easy , what with those $ 1,800 RTX 5070 Ti model I peach about above . At this point , I ’m too jaded to be full - on optimistic here .
Given the plethora of problems people are encountering when seek to get an RTX 50 - serial publication GPU , I ca n’t help but wonder if the timing would n’t have been better if the cards formally launched a couple of months later . Alas , they did not , and now , all we can do is wait patiently and trust that they ’ll be back in bloodline sometime soon , turning this so - called newspaper publisher launch into something real .
