If the goal is to make PC gaming a luxury, then Nvidia is clearly headed in the right direction. During the last month, the prices of graphics cards from the GeForce RTX 50 series literally exploded, far above the recommended prices, and the situation shows signs of further deterioration. Instead of a gradual stabilization of the market after the launch, customers are faced with prices that are anything but realistic.
Today, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is sold for $500 more than the starting price of $1,000, while the situation with the RTX 5090 is even more extreme, as some models reach almost $5,000, although the starting price should have been around $2,000. The main cause is the global memory shortage, further exacerbated by massive AI data-center projects that have directed DRAM and GDDR production towards industry rather than the consumer market.
Partners warn of a serious crisis
The biggest burden of this price increase is borne by the so-called AIB partners, graphics card manufacturers that use Nvidia chips. The Korean branch of the company Zotac publicly warned that the situation is “so serious that it threatens the survival of manufacturers and distributors of graphics cards”, noting that the new prices even for the RTX 5060 are “shocking”.
The problems further escalated after Nvidia reportedly ended a rebate program for partners that had previously helped keep prices under control. Smaller manufacturers, who do not have the capacity to independently provide memory and components, are the hardest hit.
The middle class is practically disappearing from the market. Models with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, which are the minimum for serious 1440p and 4K gaming today, sell for prices that reach or exceed $1,500. Even manufacturers like ASUS have been forced to deny rumors about the shutdown of certain models, citing “fluctuations in the supply chain”, although market prices suggest otherwise.
If the current trend continues, the GeForce RTX 50 series could become a symbol of the end of affordable PC gaming, not because of technological limitations, but because of the market reality in which the priority is no longer gamers, but AI infrastructure and profit margins, writes Gizmodo.