Nvidia Warns of RTX 5090, 5080 Stock Shortage Before Release

The much-anticipated launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs is set for January 30, but reports suggest potential shortages of these high-end graphics cards. Enthusiasts are already camping outside stores in hopes of securing one of these coveted GPUs, which come with hefty price tags of $1,999 for the RTX 5090 and $999 for the RTX 5080.

Manufacturer MSI, as reported by WCCFTech, has warned that the initial supply of these GPUs will be limited due to the Lunar New Year celebrations, also known as Chinese New Year. This holiday is expected to impact the first wave of stock, with availability projected to improve in February and beyond.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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Retailers have voiced concerns specifically about the RTX 5090's availability. Overclockers UK claimed to have received only "single digits at present," while last week, it reported having just a "few hundred" RTX 5080 GPUs for the launch. U.S. retailer PowerGPU echoed these concerns, tweeting that "The launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability."

In response to the growing concerns, Nvidia's representative, Tim@Nvidia, posted a statement on the company's official forum titled "GeForce RTX 50 Series Availability," stating:

"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."

Amid fears of limited stock, 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 for an astonishing $5,750 from a collectibles reseller, marking an 187% increase over the original $1,999 MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's 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. This development poses a potential threat to Nvidia's datacenter GPU sales prospects, even as it launches its latest consumer GPUs.