A UK-based retailer has confirmed that stock of the upcoming Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 gaming GPUs will be “mega tight.” Overclockers UK’s Andy Gibson, or “Gibbo”, the Purchasing Manager at the company said you would need “patience” if you wanted to buy one of the new Nvidia graphics cards.
We’ve already assessed the new card in our Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review, and while it’s expensive, it’s also the best graphics card you can buy now in terms of sheer power. Gibson’s statement lines up with previous leaks stating that Nvidia is struggling to supply stock of the new RTX 5000 GPUs. He even suggests not selling your current GPU, or even buying an older, cheaper RTX 30-series or 40-series card in the meantime.
Nvidia’s latest and greatest graphics cards will be in high demand, especially as the artificial intelligence boom rages on. Expect to not only be fighting against PC gaming fanatics, who need every single frame but also AI boffins who need more juice to run a generative AI model at home.
The OCUK staffer insists that you’ll need “to be extremely patient” and keep your eyes peeled on any resources, such as Nvidia’s website, for any stock drops. Gibbo’s other reasoning, outside of stock problems, is the Lunar New Year in China, which has potentially caused some havoc with manufacturing.
With potential PC builders looking to squeeze as much performance out of their machines as possible, it will be quite the race as soon as any stock drops. Gibbo – in what appears to be a blanket message to the crowd – insists that everyone “act like adults.”
Elsewhere, PC builder PowerGPU’s X account has stated that stock problems could persist for up to “the first [three] months”. If you’re looking to upgrade or build a new PC, it might be best to hang tight until everything blows over. PowerGPU also responded to a user asking how to get one with a GIF of a streamer laughing and then turning quite stern.
VideoCardz did report that the stock shortage could be tied to Nvidia’s own internal issues. According to their report, the final BIOS wasn’t handed over to manufacturers in time, leading to a longer lead time on getting the GPUs on shelves.
While Nvidia’s RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs could be plagued by stock issues, AMD is apparently taking a more leisurely approach to launching its competitors. The RX 9070 XT release date will be landing in March, with AMD’s general manager of Radeon stating that the Radeon RX 9070 delay is to ensure decent Radeon RX 9070 XT stock and stability at the launch.
