Is the RTX 5090 Discontinued? NVIDIA Says No, but It’s Vanished From Shelves and Prices Have Hit $8,500

Is the RTX 5090 discontinued? According to NVIDIA, no. But you'd be forgiven for thinking so. NVIDIA's flagship graphics card has disappeared from NVIDIA's own online store and from Micro Center, reports say production has stopped, and the few cards still for sale cost $7,000 to $8,500 or more, more than four times NVIDIA's $1,999 price.

Here's what NVIDIA has actually said, what's only rumored, and what it means if you're trying to buy one.

RTX 5090 shortage at a glance

Has NVIDIA discontinued the RTX 5090?

Not according to NVIDIA. Jeff Fisher, NVIDIA's senior vice president, addressed the rumors after an RTX Spark event in Taipei, according to Taiwanese outlets including 4Gamers and SJTV. As translated by Tom's Hardware, he said:

"The supply chain (capacity) is indeed somewhat constrained, but NVIDIA is doing everything it can to get the product on the market. Although there are other variants of the RTX 5090 (chip), production has not been discontinued, and NVIDIA will continue to ship, which is very important."

Two things to note. First, this came from an interview reported by Taiwanese media, not an official NVIDIA press release, and Tom's Hardware says NVIDIA didn't reply to its own request for comment. Second, Fisher didn't give any shipment numbers or a restock date, so "not discontinued" doesn't mean the card will be easy to buy soon.

Why has the RTX 5090 disappeared from shelves?

The card is still very hard to find. At the time Tom's Hardware checked:

• NVIDIA's own marketplace no longer listed the RTX 5090.
• Micro Center marked its RTX 5090 listings as "not carried."
• Best Buy had none for sale.
• Amazon only had third-party sellers, at about $8,500.
• Newegg listed cards at about $7,300, apparently from sellers overseas, before any US import tariffs.

The production rumors come from leakers, who claim NVIDIA has stopped supplying the RTX 5090's GB202 chip to graphics card makers and is using it for its far more expensive RTX Pro 6000 workstation cards instead. NVIDIA hasn't confirmed this. Fisher's comment about "other variants" of the chip may refer to those professional cards, but he didn't say supply had been moved away from gaming cards.

Why is the RTX 5090 so expensive now?

Simple supply and demand. The RTX 5090 launched at $1,999 with 32GB of GDDR7 memory, and it has been hard to find at that price since launch. Industry reports blame tight memory supply, with AI data centers buying huge amounts of it, and the same top-end GPU chips sell for far more in AI and professional cards. NVIDIA itself has only said that supply is "somewhat constrained." With almost no new stock arriving, the remaining cards are being resold at four or more times their original price.

Should you buy an RTX 5090 right now?

For most people, no. Paying $7,000 to $8,500 for a card with a $1,999 price tag is a huge premium, and buying from third-party or overseas sellers adds risks around warranties, returns and import fees. Our advice:

• Don't pay scalper prices. NVIDIA says the card will keep shipping, so prices should fall if supply recovers.
• Buy from authorized retailers only, so your warranty is valid.
• Consider an RTX 5080. It's far cheaper and still a high-end card for 4K gaming. See our RTX 5080 vs RTX 4090 comparison.
• Watch NVIDIA's store for the Founders Edition returning at its official price.

What happens next?

NVIDIA hasn't given a restock date. We'll update this article if NVIDIA confirms the card's future, if it returns to NVIDIA's store, or if prices start to fall. In the meantime, NVIDIA is pushing its new RTX Spark laptops, which went on sale on October 16.

More PC hardware on iGame Magazine

• RTX 5080 vs RTX 4090 – the best alternatives to the RTX 5090
• NVIDIA RTX Spark laptops – NVIDIA's new laptop chip, now on sale
• Surface Laptop Ultra review roundup – the first RTX Spark laptop

RTX 5090 discontinued FAQ