RTX 5090, 5080 Shortage Warning for PC Gamers

The highly anticipated Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards are set to launch on January 30th, but concerns about immediate shortages are mounting. Reports from various retailers and manufacturers suggest limited initial stock.

With eager buyers already lining up, the RTX 5090 ($1,999) and RTX 5080 ($999) are expected to be incredibly popular, despite their premium prices. Manufacturer MSI attributes the initial scarcity to the Lunar New Year, anticipating stock levels to improve in February.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Images

5 ImagesRetailers like Overclockers UK have confirmed extremely limited RTX 5090 stock, reporting only "single digits" currently available. PowerGPU echoed these concerns, predicting severely limited availability for the RTX 5090 launch.

In response to the growing concerns, Nvidia's Tim@Nvidia issued a statement acknowledging the high demand and potential for stock-outs, assuring consumers that more cards are being shipped daily.

However, the limited supply is already fueling price gouging by scalpers. Pre-sale listings on eBay are showing the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed for a staggering $5,750 – a massive markup of 187% over the MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges, the company's share price experienced a significant drop (16.86%) following the announcement of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, raising concerns about the future of Nvidia's data center GPU sales. This could further impact the allocation of resources and potentially exacerbate the consumer GPU shortage.