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[li]MSI says there will be a limited supply of the RTX 5090 at launch[/li][li]This shortage reportedly stems from miscommunication with Nvidia[/li][li]Scalpers may have the upper hand at launch due to limited availability[/li][/ul]
Nvidiaās RTX 5090 is about to launch at multiple retailers on January 30 and considering the power it packs for providing the best gaming performance across the board, many PC gamers are keen to get hold of one - but unfortunately, that might not be easy.
As reported by Wccftech, MSI claims that the supply of the RTX 5090 will be limited at launch, suggesting a chip shortage on Nvidiaās part. While this is only one of Team Greenās third-party partners, it certainly doesnāt spell good news for other partners and those attempting to purchase Founders Edition GPUs.
Considering the history of scalping surrounding the previous generationās RTX 4090, Iām worried it might turn out to be much worse this time around - with an MSRP of $1,999 / Ā£1,939 / AU$4,039 (along with the combination of a limited supply), we could be seeing a far more dire situation. Itās also worth noting that most partner cards will be more expensive than Nvidiaās Founders Edition, so this may give scalpers an opportunity to go overboard with pricing if demand is suitably high.
According to IT Home (translated from Chinese), the projected short supply at launch stems from miscommunication between Nvidia and partners, plus the āSpring Festivalā (Chinese New Year) affecting factory opening times. Whilst itās not the end of the world for those intent on purchasing the flagship GPU, it does indeed point towards a potential long (and expensive) wait if scalpers are quick to strike.
[IMG alt=āAn Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 on a desk next to its retail packagingā]https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cE...N33Xm3ySgD.jpg
(Image credit: Future)
[HEADING=1]So, how do you beat scalpers?[/HEADING]
Letās face it: thereās not much one can do to beat scalpers other than staring at your screen and constantly refreshing the store page to reach the checkout before everything sells out. The same can be said for those camping outside retailers for the RTX 5090 due to the limited supply as highlighted by IGN - besides this, most of it is left to luck and any measures put in place by Nvidia itself or retailers.
Weāve seen this occur with the likes of Valveās Steam Deck, which was limited to one order per account when in high demand - and whilst it didnāt completely eliminate scalping, it did a great job at softening the blow, though at the cost of customers left on edge when awaiting a new batch of units. If youāre wondering where to buy Nvidiaās RTX 5090, weāve made a short guide on the best online retailers to keep tabs on.
If scalpers manage to beat customers and units sell out quickly, Iād say itās worth waiting patiently to avoid overpaying - especially if youāre still using an RTX 4090, as I promise you, youāre perfectly fine for the time being.
[HEADING=2]You may also likeā¦[/HEADING]
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[li]Where to buy Nvidia RTX 5080: Iād check for stock here first[/li][li]Are Nvidiaās RTX 5060 GPUs about to arrive? Rumor hints they might be - with the RTX 5060 Ti potentially coming with 16GB VRAM[/li][li]AMD looks set to compete with Nvidia in the laptop GPU space - Team Red claims Ryzen AI Max 395+'s iGPU outperforms RTX 4070 laptop GPU[/li][/ul]
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