The much-anticipated launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs is set for January 30, but concerns about potential shortages are already casting a shadow over the event. Enthusiasts and hopeful buyers are already camping outside stores, eager to get their hands on these highly sought-after graphics cards, despite their hefty price tags of $1,999 for the RTX 5090 and $999 for the RTX 5080.
Manufacturer MSI, as reported by WCCFTech, has highlighted that the upcoming Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, will impact the initial stock availability of these GPUs. The first wave of cards is expected to be in short supply, with stock levels anticipated to stabilize as we move into February and beyond.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos
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Retailers have echoed these concerns, particularly regarding the RTX 5090. Overclockers UK claimed to have received only "single digits at present" of the RTX 5090, and mentioned last week that it had only a "few hundred" RTX 5080 GPUs available for launch. Similarly, U.S. retailer PowerGPU tweeted, "The launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability."
In response to the growing concerns about stock availability, Nvidia's representative, Tim@Nvidia, posted a statement on the company's official forum titled "GeForce RTX 50 Series Availability." The statement reads, "We expect significant demand for the GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 and believe stock-outs may happen. Nvidia and our partners are shipping more stock to retail every day to help get GPUs into the hands of gamers."
As fears of limited stock persist, scalpers are already taking advantage of the situation. Listings for RTX 5090 GPUs have appeared on eBay as "pre-sale," with one such listing showcasing an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 available to order from a collectibles reseller for a staggering $5,750, marking an 187% increase over the original MSRP of the already expensive $1,999 card.
Amidst the launch of its latest consumer GPUs, Nvidia is also facing other challenges. The company's share price tumbled by 16.86% on Monday following the emergence of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, which claims to have been trained for just $6 million, potentially threatening Nvidia's datacenter GPU sales prospects.
