Nvidia Warns PC Gamers of RTX 5090, 5080 Stock Shortages Before Release

The much-anticipated launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 is set for January 30, but potential buyers are facing the grim reality of potential shortages. Reports from retailers and manufacturers have heightened concerns about the availability of these high-end GPUs. Eager consumers have already started camping outside stores in hopes of securing one of these coveted graphics cards, despite their steep price points 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 constrained due to the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. This holiday is expected to impact the first wave of GPUs, with stock anticipated to stabilize as we move through February and beyond.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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Specific concerns about the RTX 5090 have been voiced by retailers. Overclockers UK claimed it has only received "single digits at present," while last week it reported having just "a few hundred" RTX 5080 GPUs available for the launch. These stock issues were echoed by U.S. retailer PowerGPU, which tweeted, "The launch of the RTX 5090 will be the worst when it comes to availability."

In response to the growing unease about stock levels, Nvidia representative Tim@Nvidia posted a statement on the company’s official forum titled "GeForce RTX 50 Series Availability." The statement reassures buyers: "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."

Amidst these supply concerns, scalpers are already taking advantage of the situation. Several RTX 5090 GPUs are listed on eBay as "pre-sale" items. A notable example is an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed by a collectibles reseller for $5,750, marking an 187% markup over its original $1,999 MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges this week, the company's share price tumbled by 16.86% on Monday due to the emergence of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek. This model, reportedly trained for just $6 million, poses a threat to Nvidia’s datacenter GPU sales prospects.