It has been a running story over the past two GPU launches from Nvidia: Team Green releases a flagship 90 series card that is pretty powerful but hard to buy at MSRP due to limited stock. We experienced this with the RTX 3090 and again with the RTX 4090. It now seems that the RTX 5090, which is set to release on January 30 at an MSRP of $1,999, will share the same fate.
Multiple reports have now appeared online stating that the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 launch stock will be limited, possibly resulting in a tight supply of MSRP models. For instance, Moore’s Law Is Dead claimed a few days ago that even AIBs are expecting the RTX 5090 supply to be similar to the RTX 3090.
PowerGPU, a custom gaming PC maker, has now confirmed MLID’s assertion and warned gamers on X that “the launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability”. The company is not expecting the situation to change “for the first 3 months”.
We must mention here that the supply chain that a custom PC builder might use is not necessarily the same as that of a retailer like Best Buy. So, chances are high that the overall stock situation might look a bit better for major retailers.
What possible RTX 5090 launch supply issues mean for gamers
Assuming the RTX 5090 suffers from low stock at launch, gamers should expect the models priced at the official MSRP to be the hardest to buy. This makes sense since the RTX 5090 models priced at $2,000 will be the cheapest. AIBs usually prefer to outfit flagship GeForce cards with fancy coolers and sell them for more than Nvidia’s Founders Edition GPUs.
Additionally, if there is a low supply of GPUs that are sought after, we can be sure that scalpers will be on the hunt to snag as much stock as possible and sell the cards at crazy markups. We saw a similar thing play out during the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 launches.
In the end, only time will tell how much better or worse the RTX 5090 launch is vs the RTX 4090 and the RTX 3090. We do hope that the reports of stock issues are overblown.
Source(s)
PowerGPU on X, Teaser image: Nvidia, Joel Filipe Unsplash, edited