More than a month after the unveiling at CES 2025, NVIDIA's latest generation of RTX 50 series GPUs has faced significant criticism. Issues surrounding manufacturing delays, misleading marketing strategies, and minimal performance improvements over the previous 40 series have left many consumers feeling let down. This scenario echoes similar problems encountered during the launch of earlier GPU generations, particularly in terms of pricing and availability. The current market dynamics highlight a recurring issue within the industry: inflated prices and limited stock, which have been exacerbated by the business practices of NVIDIA’s partners. This article delves into these challenges and explores why the situation feels so familiar.

The launch of the 50 series GPUs has reignited discussions about the recurring pattern of supply shortages and inflated prices that have plagued the graphics card market. In 2022, an article reflected on the difficulties of purchasing GPUs during periods of high demand, particularly noting the impact of cryptocurrency mining on pricing. The author anticipated that new GPUs would be more expensive and harder to find at reasonable prices, a prediction that proved accurate with the 40 series. Now, two years later, history is repeating itself. Regular consumers seeking to upgrade their gaming PCs are once again facing near-impossible odds in finding the new 50 series GPUs at reasonable prices. Despite no ongoing pandemic, the problem persists, raising questions about the underlying causes.

The root of the issue can be traced back to the trends set during the COVID-19 era. Since 2020, some buyers have been willing to pay premium prices for newly released GPUs, leading to a precedent where scalpers could profit from this behavior. Today, however, NVIDIA's partners have taken control of this market dynamic, marking up prices as high as the market will bear. This strategy results in GPUs being sold at prices far above NVIDIA's suggested retail price, especially when supply remains constrained. The end result is a market where consumers face exorbitant costs for what should be standard products.

This situation underscores a broader problem within the GPU industry. AIBs (Add-In Board Partners) like ASUS, Gigabyte, XFX, and Zotac produce the majority of GPUs available from NVIDIA and AMD. Historically, these partnerships allowed for differentiation among cards within the same tier, offering options like increased VRAM or better cooling. However, modern GPUs have become largely standardized, with only minor variations between models. Despite this, pricing discrepancies remain significant, leading critics to argue that the AIB model now serves primarily to extract more value from consumers without offering meaningful differentiation.

The case of the 5070 Ti exemplifies this issue. Officially priced at $749 by NVIDIA, retailer listings tell a different story. On platforms like Newegg, the lowest price for the 5070 Ti is $799, with many models exceeding $830, and one even listed at $920. This price inflation significantly diminishes the value proposition for consumers, making it clear that the actual market price can vary widely from the advertised figure. While NVIDIA has attempted to address the issue with limited direct sales programs, the core problem remains unresolved. The introduction of AMD's competitively priced Radeon 9070 and 9070 XT may put pressure on NVIDIA to adjust its pricing strategy, but whether this will lead to meaningful change remains to be seen.

Pricing for this generation of GPUs will likely stabilize eventually, but unless there is a fundamental shift in how the industry operates, these issues are bound to resurface with each new launch. The status quo, characterized by inflated prices and limited availability, continues to worsen with each cycle. It's time for the industry to reconsider its business practices and ensure that future launches do not repeat the same mistakes.