I wish Nvidia had postponed the release of the RTX 50-series.

      As a passionate GPU enthusiast, each new launch feels like a celebration for me—a celebration that often stretches over several months. With Nvidia and AMD alternating their product releases, there’s much to look forward to as new models are frequently added to our list of the best graphics cards.

      However, this time, the excitement is largely superficial. I find myself starting to feel let down. After a long wait for Blackwell, it seems like a longer delay might have been preferable.

      The GPU shortage has returned

      Not everyone recalls the GPU shortage that affected Nvidia’s RTX 30-series and AMD’s RX 6000-series, but those who do certainly remember how difficult it was. I won't delve too deeply into the details, but as someone who aimed to upgrade my PC during that period and couldn’t due to the scarcity, I can assure you that it was a chaotic time. Many GPUs were sold for 300% of their suggested retail price (MSRP), and scalpers were rampant.

      This scenario emerged from a global chip shortage, the pandemic, and a peak in cryptocurrency mining. Now that these three factors aren’t paralyzing the supply chain anymore, one would expect the RTX 50-series launch to occur without any issues.

      In short: it has been anything but smooth.

      Weeks ahead of the GPUs hitting the market, rumors about the low supply of the RTX 5090 began circulating among leakers. While the stock levels for the rest of the lineup remained uncertain, anticipation was high. Just days before the launch, people were already lining up outside retail stores. Some retailers opted for a lottery system for GPU sales, and those events often descended into chaos.

      It feels as though we’ve reverted to 2021, and while the situation isn’t as grim, it’s definitely concerning.

      3DCenter conducted an analysis of the RTX 50-series availability compared to previous launches. This data is derived from one German retailer, Mindfactory, yet many others reported equivalent results. In brief: both the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 were released in very limited quantities, and hints of imminent restocks are absent.

      Some retailers suggest that the RTX 5090 may not return until June. If you’re looking to purchase one of the new cards, you must either wait or pay inflated prices from scalpers, which could add hundreds or thousands of dollars to an already steep price.

      Another complication is that when the cards are available, they are hard to find at MSRP. Models selling at the minimum price are rare; you're far more likely to encounter overclocked cards priced up to $1,200 beyond Nvidia’s MSRP.

      Initially, I hoped that things would improve with the RTX 5070 Ti, but that hasn’t materialized either.

      The RTX 5070 Ti is mostly unavailable just two days post-launch. A few overclocked versions are on Amazon, priced at an astonishing $1,887 and $1,739—extremely high for this GPU. Meanwhile, at Newegg, it can only be acquired as part of a prebuilt PC, and at Best Buy, all stock is gone.

      When will they become available again? No one has the answer. The unfortunate truth is that this problem doesn’t end with the RTX 5070 Ti.

      Mainstream GPUs might face the same challenges

      The RTX 5070, now expected to launch in early March, was reportedly initially slated to be released alongside the RTX 5070 Ti. However, Nvidia is said to have delayed this GPU's launch for undisclosed reasons.

      As reported by CTEE, Nvidia encountered issues with the chip design that required alterations. This delayed mass production, meaning the RTX 5070 will be in short supply when it finally arrives on store shelves.

      I’m hesitant to take this report at face value, as it seems rather late in the production cycle for Nvidia to face unforeseen hardware problems. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the RTX 5070 proves elusive during its initial weeks on the market. We've seen similar patterns with the other three GPUs, and this one launches just two weeks later; I’m skeptical that Nvidia can suddenly manufacture a large number of graphics cards in such a short timeframe.

      To make matters worse, the RTX xx70 is typically one of Nvidia’s most sought-after models. While most gamers aren’t looking to purchase an RTX 5090 (even if it somewhat feels like they are), there’s a strong demand for the RTX 5070, which Nvidia claims will outperform the RTX 4090 using Multi-Frame Generation (MFG) in DLSS 4. This is a mainstream GPU with significant demand.

      In simple terms, we need more RTX 5070s on the shelves than RTX 5090s, but it appears unlikely we’ll see either anytime soon.

      There's even greater anticipation for the RTX 5060. This GPU is expected to follow a similar path as its predecessor and likely become a popular choice, even if it