Scalpers may have a field day with the RTX 5090 this week
Nvidia board partners are going to have a tough time with the upcoming RTX 5090
Troov
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Nvidia’s upcoming GeForce RTX 5090 is expected to face limited availability from board partners, potentially leading to frustration for gamers eager to secure the flagship GPU. As per reports, the scarcity stems from Nvidia’s tight pricing margins on the RTX 50-series, which have reportedly made it increasingly difficult for board partners to profit from custom GPU designs.
According to VideoCardz, Nvidia’s approach to maintaining aggressive profit margins is placing significant financial strain on its manufacturing partners. One anonymous board partner even described the MSRP pricing structure as feeling “like charity,” highlighting how little room there is for profitability despite the premium retail cost of Nvidia’s flagship GPUs. This strategy, while beneficial for Nvidia’s bottom line, is creating a challenging environment for partners producing custom RTX 50-series cards.
The situation was further clarified by MSI China, which recently confirmed that the RTX 50-series, including the RTX 5090, will see limited supply. While Nvidia’s Founders Edition cards are expected to remain widely available, custom models featuring enhanced cooling solutions, factory overclocking, or unique designs could become increasingly hard to find. This limited availability might lead to higher demand and potential price hikes on the aftermarket.
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One possible explanation has been cited to the increased cost of GDDR7 memory which is being moved onto the board partners by Nvidia. While board partners do have the option of buying the GDDR7 memory independently, the pricing is not as attractive as what Nvidia sells in bundles. As Nvidia continues to dominate the GPU market, it seems intent on retaining a larger share of the profits, leaving its partners struggling to make ends meet while still delivering high-quality, innovative designs.
ChiphellFor gamers and enthusiasts, the limited supply of custom RTX 5090 cards could evoke memories of previous GPU shortages, where high demand and low availability created chaos. Scalping and inflated secondary market prices may once again become an issue if Nvidia and its partners cannot strike a balance.
With the RTX 5090 set to launch soon, the high-performance GPU is expected to push boundaries in gaming and AI workloads. However, the availability of custom variants—often the most sought-after options—may be far from ideal. Gamers may want to stay vigilant and act quickly when pre-orders open, as securing an RTX 5090 could turn into a race against time.
Kunal Khullar is a computing writer at Digital Trends who contributes to various topics, including CPUs, GPUs, monitors, and…
Nvidia may soon bid farewell to its most popular GPU
Nvidia's RTX 50-series is right around the corner -- but this means that some of the current best graphics cards will soon be hard to come by. According to a post on the Board Channels forums, several of Nvidia's most popular RTX 40-series GPUs will soon be gone, including the budget-friendly RTX 4060.
We've heard reports of Nvidia slowly sunsetting the majority of its last-gen lineup over the past few months. The RTX 4090 was the first to go, and according to unofficial sources, the RTX 4080 and the RTX 4070 (including their Super and Ti variants) have already ceased production. As per leaks shared on the Board Channels, the only GPUs that are still being produced are the RTX 4060 and its Ti version -- but not for long.
Nvidia says the RTX 5080 is ‘about’ 15% faster than the RTX 4080 without DLSS
Nvidia made some bold claims about its RTX 50-series GPUs when they were announced earlier this month, saying that the new range can outclass their previous-gen counterparts with twice the performance. Although Nvidia's new lineup might be among the best graphics cards when they launch, the vast majority of the extra performance comes on the back of the new DLSS Multi-Frame Generation feature that's exclusive to RTX 50-series GPUs.
During Nvidia's Editor's Day for Blackwell GPUs at CES 2025, GeForce desktop product manager Justin Walker said that the RTX 5080 was about 15% faster than the RTX 4080 without DLSS 4, and that the RTX 5070 would be about 20% faster than the RTX 4070 without the feature. Nvidia didn't provide hard performance numbers for any of the new GPUs it's releasing, so pay careful attention to the "about" at the start of that statement. Walker provided a general impression of the generational uplift you can expect, but it's important to wait for reviews before drawing any conclusions about the new cards.
The RTX 5060 will be Nvidia’s most important GPU, and I’m worried about it
Nvidia just finished revealing its range of new RTX 50-series GPUs, the first of which will arrive in just a couple of weeks. They're some of the best graphics cards ever made, according to Nvidia, and for the flagship RTX 5090 that clocks in at $2,000, I believe the company. Lower down the stack, however, I'm concerned.
For the past couple of years, there's been a growing issue surrounding graphics cards with 8GB of VRAM, which is something we've seen on full display with games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Despite backlash in the previous generation concerning releases like the RTX 4060 Ti, I'm worried that Nvidia will repeat the mistakes of the past when the RTX 5060 inevitably rolls around.
It'll be popular
