You might have to wait weeks to get an RTX 5090 or 5080 due to “extremely limited supply” at launch
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Nvidia fans are currently looking forward to the launch of the RTX 50-series GPUs, which were announced during CES 2025. Two cards, the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, are currently scheduled to launch on January 30, and PC enthusiasts cannot wait to get their hands on them. However, according to a moderator on the German PCGHx forum, the chances of securing a unit on launch day, or even in the weeks after, are pretty slim due to “extremely limited supply.”
Securing an RTX 5090 or 5080 at launch could be a serious challenge
According to Pokerclock on the PCGHx forum, Nvidia will be controlling the distribution carefully, making sure only specific retailers receive stock. Because of this, many B2B dealers and wholesale sellers, especially those working with business customers, might not get any stock at all. The user further added that the only way to buy an RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 at launch will be through ‘end-customer retailers,’ where the demand is expected to be overwhelming.
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However, the biggest issues regular consumers will face are scalpers and bots. For those who don’t know, scalpers use bots to buy multiple GPUs instantly, leaving regular buyers with nothing. They then resell the GPUs at much higher prices on eBay and other platforms, forcing people to pay well above the original retail price. This is something we’ve already seen with previous major hardware releases, and the RTX 5090 and 5080 will likely be no exception.
The worst part is that Pokerclock mentions retailers like Amazon might not receive stock for weeks, and when they do, prices will be significantly higher than the original retail price. If you’re in Germany, the moderator says the best chance of getting a unit on day one is through retailers like Mindfactory, Alternate, Caseking, Cyberport, NBB, or Proshop.
If you want to buy an RTX 5090 or 5080 at launch, make sure your account is set up on the retailers you’re planning to buy from and keep them open before the launch. Also, don’t rely on just a single retailer. Instead, keep multiple tabs open in your browser to increase your chances of securing a unit.
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