RTX 5090 prices soar even higher in sudden hike, customers place the blame on tariffs
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Since the launch of the Nvidia RTX 50 series of graphics cards, retailers have been struggling to keep them in stock. These supply issues have led to higher prices. However, the situation may have just gotten worse, and some customers are blaming import tariffs.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is the most powerful consumer graphics card ever made up until this point. It is somewhat expected that such a powerful graphics card would cost a premium price. What customers were not expecting, however, was to see prices soar above $3,000. Many are blaming trade tariffs for the price hike.
- GPU: GB202
- CUDA cores: 21,760
- VRAM: 32GB GDDR7
- Memory Bus width: 512-bit
- Base clock speed: 2010MHz
- Boost clock speed: TBD
The retail price of the RTX 5090 has been hovering way above MSRP since launch. The $1,999 MSRP for the RTX 5090 seems like a distant dream to many, with customers paying hundreds of dollars above that price.
One Reddit user posted an image of two Zotac brand RTX 5090 cards from a retail website. The first was the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 Solid OC, priced at $3,199.99. The second was the Zotac Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 AMD Extreme Infinity, which was priced at an incredible $3,349.99, almost a $1,500 increase over the MSRP. Both of these cards were listed as ‘Sold Out', however.
Another Reddit user called u/Big_Boss_707 posted an email sent by hardware wholesaler and supplier CDW regarding a price increase. The order was originally placed for an MSI RTX 5090 32G Gaming Trio OC, with an original price of $2,772.54, including tax and shipping. The email indicated this price had now shot up to an eye-watering total of $3,488.99.
Tariffs or corporate greed?
Though many users in the Reddit thread speculated that this was down to the newly imposed US import tariffs, some users were doubtful. User u/DredgenCyka pointed out that the majority of silicon chips are exempt from the import tariffs, prompting some to wonder if this was nothing more than greed and opportunism from retailers.
Until an official statement is released clarifying the position of graphics cards in the new regulations, it is hard to say for sure. The impact of the tariffs is already being felt in other areas of gaming, such as Nintendo suspending Switch 2 pre-orders in the USA until the pricing situation can be clarified.
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