Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 GPU stock shortage rumors are piling high – and now there’s a suggestion the RTX 5070 could be delayed

• Another rumor hints that Nvidia may not have much stock for the release of its RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs
• There are worries about hiked pricing at the launch of the next-gen GPUs, too
• A further possibility aired is that the RTX 5070 might be delayed until March

More worrying rumors have emerged about Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs, casting doubt on stock levels (again) and also the pricing of the GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 – and the launch timing of RTX 5070 models, too.

In a report (hat tip to Wccftech) on AMD’s RX 9070 launch (now confirmed for March), Chinese tech site Benchlife also touches on Nvidia’s incoming Blackwell graphics cards, telling us that the RTX 5090 and 5080 will be short on supply. Apparently this is “mainly due to some communication issues between Nvidia and AIC partners” (AIC stands for add-in card, meaning graphics card makers).

Another issue is the Chinese New Year (and related manufacturing slowdowns, due to holidays and factories being shut), but the better news is that the situation is expected to improve in February.

Benchlife also claims that the RTX 5070 Ti will appear in mid-to-late February – so far, Nvidia has only said February for both 5070 models, and we don’t have a firm date, but it seems that it could be later, rather than sooner.

And then the report drops something of a bombshell in mentioning that the RTX 5070 may not be available until early March.

Wccftech also flags a report from UDN (also in China, via Dan Nystedt, a financial analyst on X), which underlines the stock woes around the initial Blackwell GPUs (but appears to be mostly based on a previous video from a YouTube leaker). However, this article also highlights that consumers might have to pay increased prices for Blackwell GPUs initially, even to the tune of them being doubled.

That’s in Asia, of course, so may not reflect the situation elsewhere – and indeed it may be completely off the mark full-stop. I’d hope so, and it doesn’t seem realistic that graphics cards could be selling for double their MSRP – well, at least not at retailers (though maybe on auction sites where scalpers will sell their ill-gotten gains).

Analysis: A touch of hysteria?

On the one hand, the sheer number of concerns being raised about RTX 5000 stock and Nvidia’s next-gen launch has got to be a worry. Although on the other, I’m tempted to say it feels like a touch of hysteria (and/or limelight grabbing) is creeping in at this point.

There’s not usually smoke without fire, though, as they say, and given the widespread chatter about worryingly low initial stock levels for the RTX 5090 and 5080, I’m bracing myself for this to be the case, at this stage.

There’s something even worse to fret about here, of course, for the mainstream GPU buyers who’ll be looking at a mid-range graphics card, and not the much pricier Blackwell models – and that’s this sudden theory that the RTX 5070 could be delayed, and not make the promised February launch.

This seems unlikely, though, that Nvidia would break that promise – although there’s always the prospect of a so-called ‘paper launch’ with hardly any boards released initially. With all the negativity flying around regarding stock levels, this idea might be easier to believe.

A further thought is that this could also explain why AMD has just announced that its RX 9070 models won’t launch until March, much later than expected. Maybe Team Red got wind of rumors from distributors relating to Nvidia’s launch plans, and knows that there’s no rush to get its RDNA 4 mid-range GPUs to market before March – if the rival RTX 5070 isn’t going to be around in any quantity.

Take all this with a wheelbarrow full of salt, and remember that AMD purportedly has its own issues to sort out around RX 9070 pricing. For now, I’m not going to buy these suggestions of an RTX 5070 delay – at least not until we hear this from other corners of the rumor mill.

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