The highly anticipated Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are set to launch on January 30th, but concerns regarding limited availability are already surfacing. Reports from retailers and manufacturers point to potential shortages, fueled by factors including the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Early indications suggest extremely high demand, with prospective buyers already lining up outside stores. This intense interest is expected despite the cards' hefty price tags: $1,999 for the RTX 5090 and $999 for the RTX 5080.

Manufacturer MSI, citing the Lunar New Year's impact on production, anticipates limited initial stock of the new GPUs, with supply expected to improve in February. This limited supply has been echoed by several retailers. Overclockers UK, for example, reports receiving only a small number of RTX 5090 units, and previously stated similarly low stock for the RTX 5080. PowerGPU in the US has even predicted the RTX 5090 launch to have the worst availability.

In response to these concerns, Nvidia issued a statement acknowledging the anticipated high demand and the possibility of stock-outs. The company assures customers that additional stock is being shipped daily to retailers.

However, the limited supply is already attracting scalpers. Several pre-sale listings on eBay are offering the RTX 5090 at significantly inflated prices – one listing shows an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 priced at a staggering $5,750, a massive markup of 187% over the MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges, the company's share price experienced a significant drop on Monday following the announcement of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek. DeepSeek's comparatively low training cost raises questions about the future of Nvidia's datacenter GPU sales.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Images