The highly anticipated RTX 50 series launch availability was nothing short of a disaster. People preparing for hours and days ahead of the launch were left disappointed. Users who wanted to order one online complained they were put in a queue, seconds after launch, and were handed an out-of-stock notification soon after.
This was also the case for offline purchases where hundreds of people were lined up in front of stores like Micro Center and BestBuy. As reported by Gamers Nexus, physical stores only received a maximum of 10 RTX 5090 on launch with the majority having GPU stock in single digits.
People gambling for a chance to purchase RTX 5090
The situation got so bad that stores had to draw a lottery for all customers to win a ‘chance’ to purchase the RTX 5090. The low supply and unavailability of the GPU isn’t surprising and not the first time happening. Many expected the GPUs to be low on supply as multiple reports previously revealed, however, no one expected them to be this low.
A similar thing also occurred during the RTX 30 series launch, which was reportedly worse. The supply with the RTX 30 series was plenty but the GPUs were scalped in masses due to the crypto boom. Compared to that the RTX 5090 and 5080 were already released in low stock which was nowhere enough to fulfill the demand.
Also Read: Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 may launch in low supply: Report
FAQ
Why did RTX 5090 run out of stock?
There are two reasons behind the disastrous launch, first, the RTX 5090 supply was very low and the demand was quite high with many finally upgrading from the older 10 series GPUs. Second and the main reason was scalpers who sniped all the GPUs available online using bots and are reportedly trying to sell them at double and triple prices.
When will RTX 5090 and 5080 come back in stock?
People looking to buy the new Nvidia GPUs are hit with an ‘out of stock’ or ‘notify me’ message and at the moment, there is no information on re-stocks. Even if there is, things may be similar until the February end, at least for the 5090. As for 5080, it is still available across some online stores.