- Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPU prices have dropped in Europe
- This price drop is due to the better exchange rate in Euro currency
- Restock may need to be met with a permanent buying scheme to stop scalpers
Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPU lineup (notably the RTX 5090 and RTX 5090) provides some of the best PC gaming experiences today, despite many setbacks Team Green has faced since its launch. Fortunately, there's some good news regarding prices, but it’s perhaps not the news you might want to hear.
As reported by VideoCardz, Nvidia's RTX 5000 series GPU prices have been cut in Europe, thanks to the Euro currency's strengthening (meaning better exchange rates) - most importantly, the RTX 5090 now costs €2229 (previously €2329), while the RTX 5080 now costs €1119 (previously €1169).
These aren't significant price drops, and it’s a shame not to see similar price drops in the US and beyond - it's really only a result of the better exchange rate in Europe - but it's still good to see Nvidia responding like this considering the recent frustrations surrounding GPU pricing. However, the problem with the Founders Edition GPUs isn't just pricing, it's availability, and this price drop doesn't solve that issue - in fact, it could make matters a little worse.
It's no secret that Nvidia's GeForce RTX GPUs are always highly sought after: the Blackwell GPU lineup has faced several issues such as missing ROPs, but it doesn't seem to be enough to turn consumers away from the GPUs completely. With this in mind, if scalpers catch wind of any price drops (especially ones bigger than this) after a restock, scalping will likely be far worse - and it would take genuine buyers right back to square one of scrambling for a card at MSRP.
Nvidia needs to make its 'Verified Priority Access' a permanent scheme
Nvidia recently resumed its ‘Verified Priority Access’ scheme, which gives users a chance to buy one Founders Edition card - and I see no reason why it shouldn't be made permanent for all consumers.
I say this because the stipulations involved with the VPA scheme mean that only customers in the US (who had also made an Nvidia account on or before January 30) can receive a chance to buy the RTX 5090 or RTX 5080. Scalping, low availability, and price inflation (for board partner cards) aren't issues that are exclusive to the US - and I can say from my experience that it often feels nearly impossible to find a Founders Edition GPU once a new GPU lineup launches.
I believe the only solution to this issue is to implement this scheme as a permanent measure: I've seen strict measures from retailers like Scan UK during the RTX 3000 series launch, which had a limit of one per customer and in some cases one per household. I realize it would likely be difficult to make the Verified Priority Access scheme permanent, as it partly relies on account age - but introducing further measures such as a fixed limit per household could suffice.
That may sound incredibly aggressive, but at this current rate, I don't see any other methods Team Green could introduce to stop - or at the very least limit - scalping once stock is replenished...
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