The launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 is eagerly anticipated, set for January 30. Despite the excitement, there's growing concern about potential shortages of these high-end GPUs. Priced at $1,999 and $999 respectively, both cards are drawing significant attention, with enthusiasts even camping outside stores to secure a unit.

MSI, through WCCFTech, has warned that the initial stock of these GPUs will be limited due to the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. This holiday is expected to impact the first wave of GPUs, though MSI anticipates that supply will improve throughout February and into the future.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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Retailers have echoed these concerns, particularly regarding the RTX 5090. Overclockers UK reported receiving only a handful of units, stating they currently have "single digits at present." Similarly, last week, they noted having only a "few hundred" RTX 5080 GPUs for the launch. U.S. retailer PowerGPU tweeted that the RTX 5090 launch could be "the worst when it comes to availability."

In response to the swirling rumors, Nvidia's Tim@Nvidia issued a statement on the company's official forum titled "GeForce RTX 50 Series Availability." The statement acknowledges the anticipated high demand and potential stock-outs, reassuring customers that Nvidia and its partners are actively shipping more units to retailers every day to meet the demand.

Amid the concerns of limited stock, scalpers are already taking advantage of the situation. Listings for RTX 5090 GPUs, such as an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090, are appearing on eBay as "pre-sale." These listings are marked up significantly, with one reseller asking for $5,750, a staggering 187% increase over the card's $1,999 MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges this week, the company's share price dropped by 16.86% on Monday. This decline followed the emergence of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, which was reportedly trained for just $6 million, posing a potential threat to Nvidia's datacenter GPU sales.