The highly anticipated Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are set to launch on January 30th, but concerns about immediate shortages are growing. Reports from retailers and manufacturers suggest limited initial stock. Consumers are already lining up, highlighting the intense demand for these high-end graphics cards, despite their hefty price tags of $1,999 and $999 respectively.

MSI, a major manufacturer, attributes the initial scarcity to the Lunar New Year, anticipating stock levels to improve in February. Retailers like Overclockers UK have reported receiving extremely limited quantities of the RTX 5090, further fueling concerns. PowerGPU echoed these sentiments, predicting severely limited availability for the RTX 5090 launch.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Images

In response to the growing anxiety, Nvidia issued a statement acknowledging the anticipated high demand and potential for stock-outs. The company assures consumers that it and its partners are actively working to increase retail stock.

However, the limited supply is already attracting scalpers. Pre-sale listings on eBay are showing inflated prices, with one Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed for a staggering $5,750 – a massive markup of 187%.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges, its share price experienced a significant drop (16.86%) following the announcement of a new Chinese AI model, DeepSeek, which claims to have achieved comparable results at a fraction of the cost, potentially impacting Nvidia's datacenter GPU market.