Nvidia RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 could launch as early as this month so don’t upgrade your gaming PC just yet!

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If you’ve been waiting to upgrade your gaming PC I’d suggest waiting a little bit longer, as a new rumor suggests that Nvidia could launch its next-gen RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 graphics cards in a matter of weeks.

The rumor comes from Chinese website Benchlife – and reported by PC Gamer – which says (translated) "If all goes well, the GeForce RTX 5090/D and GeForce RTX 5080/D with the Blackwell GPU architecture are scheduled to officially launch in September."

This is both exciting and surprising. Nvidia’s current flagship GPU, the RTX 4090, launched back in October 2022, and while it remains one of the best graphics cards ever made, and very few games even come close to making use of all its power, there are plenty of enthusiasts (including me) who are excited to see how Nvidia improves upon it.

While Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series of graphics cards, built on its new Blackwell architecture, has been expected for a while now, previous rumors had us preparing for a late 2024 or early 2025 launch. So, if this rumor is correct – and that’s a big if at the moment – then we’re getting the two high-end Blackwell GPUs earlier than expected.

Hold your PC building horses

While I’m not entirely convinced that this rumor is accurate, as we’ve had no other leaks suggesting a launch is imminent, it’s not out of the question, either. As I mentioned above, the RTX 4090 launched in October 2022, so a September 2024 announcement for its successor is possible.

Regardless, we’ll likely see new Blackwell graphics from Nvidia sooner rather than later, and that’s why I feel right now is the wrong time to build or upgrade your gaming PC. We’re so close to a likely launch that it’s worth holding on a little longer to see what these new GPUs have in store.

If they blow our socks off, then you can build your PC around the new GPUs and have a cutting-edge gaming rig that will play the best PC games with ease for years to come.

On the other hand, if they are a disappointing upgrade over the RTX 4000 series, you could end up saving money, as the prices of the RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 will likely drop once newer models are out.

We won’t know for sure until the new GPUs are officially announced, though recent rumors suggest the RTX 5090 in particular could be a real power guzzler. Hopefully, we won’t have much longer to wait, then we can crack open our gaming PCs and get upgrading.

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Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.