Slept in? There's no point in visiting the nearest Micro Center as all RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, two of the best graphics cards, are sold out within hours of launch. If you need to score a GPU on day one, be ready to pay through the nose since scalpers are charging 2x-3x more than MSRP. Supply-chain rumors and inventory woes were clear indicators of a chaotic launch day, but all things considered, the limited supply, or lack thereof, suggests this is no more than a paper launch.
We heard several weeks back that the retail supply of the RTX 5090 would be extremely tight, with many stores likely to receive only a couple of cards. That has proven to be the case.
Retailers like Micro Center, Newegg, and Best Buy are all out of stock. Even custom models that cost up to 40% higher than MSRP have also been snapped up by enthusiasts. The only practical way to get a Blackwell card right now is to buy a pre-built PC. A handful of pre-builts equipped with Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are available. Still, you'd be paying for the entire system and a significant markup compared to assembling an equivalent build yourself.
All NVIDIA 5090 and 5080 GPUs are sold out, please check back regularly for restocks! https://t.co/DyBjLQmLk8 pic.twitter.com/IjY2R7lOmAJanuary 30, 2025
Users at r/Microcenter have been up all night, sharing their experiences and the inventory at each Microcenter outlet. Per a compiled spreadsheet (First image in the gallery below) shared by a user at r/Nvidia, 68% of the listed outlets had less than 10 RTX 5090s in stock.
Note that this list is prone to errors, so it shouldn't be considered definitive. Still, that's an absurdly low amount for such a sought-after product, which explains why enthusiasts or scalpers were camping days before launch. The second image in the gallery captures the frenzy in Sharonville, where a crowd of campers is competing for, reportedly, just four RTX 5090s.
The situation overseas is no better. In Japan (third image), customers were seen hopping over the fence of a neighboring kindergarten to secure their next GPU. The Japanese retailer resorted to a lottery-like system to prevent scalping. Adding insult to injury, the lottery ended before attendees arrived, fueling further frustration and chaos.
Likewise, SET news reports that Taiwan has a limited supply of just 84 RTX 5090 and 340 RTX 5080 units nationwide. Several Chinese customers have joined the queue, intending to resell the GPUs at double the price within China.
Ultimately, each GB202/203 (RTX 5090/5080) chip represents a lost opportunity to manufacture a data-center GB200 (B100/B200) GPU, as both rely on the same wafers. Thus, Nvidia is incentivized to push more AI accelerators out, even if it means fewer consumer GPUs. For context, Q3 earnings show that 88% of Nvidia's total revenue is derived from its data center offerings, with gaming amounting to a measly 9%. Once RDNA 4 is in full swing, likely in March, we can expect Nvidia to amp up production or even sooner.
