Nvidia RTX 50 series supply woes extend to system builders as scalpers drive up prices

[Skye Jacobs]

Facepalm: It has been nearly two months since Nvidia launched its RTX 50 series Blackwell GPUs, yet the company continues to struggle with significant supply chain issues. Despite rumors of improving availability, scalpers remain prevalent, frustrating not only individual customers but also system integrators.

System integrator PowerGPU has faced substantial challenges in securing RTX 5090 units, forcing it to raise prices. PowerGPU's CEO, Jese Martinez, recently addressed allegations of price-gouging in a video on X, stating that the company itself has fallen victim to scalping by distributors.

Martinez explained that the high prices of RTX 5090 GPUs are not due to excessive profit margins but rather the result of PowerGPU having to purchase them at inflated rates. He reported that the company is being offered entry-level to mid-range RTX 5090 models at prices ranging from $3,050 to over $3,100 – significantly higher than the official MSRP of $1,999.

Other custom PC builders, such as iBuyPower and Storm, are also experiencing similar price hikes for the RTX 5090, with prices ranging from $2,900 to over $3,300.

A significant video from our founder/CEO on the RTX 5090 pricing. pic.twitter.com/6GEvYFkD9K

– PowerGPU (@PowerGPU) March 13, 2025

Nvidia claims to have shipped twice as many Blackwell GPUs as Ada Lovelace GPUs within five weeks of launch. However, this metric does little to alleviate the frustration of customers who have been unable to purchase RTX 50 GPUs at their recommended retail price since release.

By comparison, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series launch, while not flawless, has fared better.

AMD has maintained somewhat better availability of its Radeon RX 9070 series compared to Nvidia's RTX 50 series, although it's still too soon to tell if MSRPs will be real for most consumers. At launch, AMD ensured a substantial stock of Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs and partnered with multiple board manufacturers to guarantee more widespread availability.

Despite these efforts, some retailers have quietly increased Radeon RX 9070 series prices by up to $130 above MSRP, mirroring the inflation seen with Nvidia's GPUs. Nonetheless, AMD's strategy has generally allowed consumers to purchase the RX 9070 series with fewer delays and at more stable prices than Nvidia's offerings.

The fact that Nvidia GPUs are also in higher demand for AI workloads and not just gaming, means there's more people willing to overpay to gain access to the hardware.

Also see: The State of the GPU: All Fake MSRPs?

The widespread unavailability of Nvidia GPUs has tarnished the reputation of system integrators. PowerGPU, for instance, has faced a 2-3 week wait for initial shipments, with supply remaining scarce. A recent inventory update revealed a stark contrast: while approximately 70 Radeon RX 9070 series GPUs were available, only one RTX 5090 unit was in stock.

The situation is further exacerbated by the depletion of last-generation GPU stock, which began as early as October. Searching for older models like the RTX 4090 often yields no results, leading to "pandemic-level pricing" for new GPUs. As a result, many consumers have turned to the used market, where Ampere (GeForce 30) and RDNA 2/3 GPUs remain widely available.

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Nvidia RTX 50 series supply woes extend to system builders as scalpers drive up prices

 

[Vulcanproject]

With RTX5080 the AIBs are prioritising higher end models with the few GPUs they have. No MSRP or close to MSRP models are being built or shipped. Everything is at least 25 percent above MSRP. That's far too steep for a GPU that's already expensive at MSRP. I wanted a new GPU but I just can't bring myself to feed the flames right now.

 

[dipankar]

This is what happen when monopoly dominate the industry. There will be no relief for consumer unless & until more players entry on this field and compete each other. But I don't see anybody competing with Nvidia & AMD, Intel is far behind to level of with Nvidia. Specifically, we need companies from Asia to compete with those big USA companies and to end monopoly.

 

[yRaz]

Well, there are 3 problems at play here. 1 is that nVidia simply doesn't care and isn't allocating as many cards to meet demand while also not caring about MSRP. 2 is is that nVidia is charging board partners so much money for chips that there isn't much margin left. I've heard some people say that an MSRP reference card ends up putting AIBs in the negative so they have no choice but to sell custom cards to make money.

The final, and biggest problem, is the "I need this now!" mentality combined with people not knowing or caring about the value of their money.

Frankly, I think this is strategic to milk the people who are willing to pay over MSRP first and once they have milked the market after a few months THEN we see a "price drop"

 

[KingKappa]

Scalping should be illegal and people that scalp should be fined and imprisoned.

Companies already ask a premium for their products, and then you have scalpers that buy up the entire stock to sell it for a large profit.

I especially hate this with concerts, you're waiting in queue (online) for a ticket and you have scalpers botting to buy up as many available tickets as they can, to resell them at 200-1000% of the price they bought it at.

Scalpers are the worst scum there is.

 

[NumberNine]

Exploiting people for profit? Imagine that...

 

[Megalomaniac]

I already got a 5090FE on day one.

But...it's nice to know that I can get a 5080 or 5090 from my favorite pre-built company: Alienware.

 

[Megalomaniac]

I've only waited on line - overnight - for one product in my life. It was iPhone 6 Plus on release day. And there were issues as there were tons of Chinese nations trying to buy the phones and reship them back to China. They literally bum-rushed the line an hour prior to open. I still managed to get my phone though.

Ever since that happened, Apple decided that lines and campouts were dangerous and they didn't want them. They forced every single person to preorder which meant that you couldn't get your phone unless you had a preorder and brought ID to pick it up.

Overnight, they solved the entire scalper issue.

So the question becomes: after the 2080Ti scalping bot incident, which also happened in the 3000 series releases, and again in the 4000 series release, why nothing has been done beyond weak Bot detection?

Microcenter's managers will tell you: We like the optics of the lines.

Nvidia does sell direct to the consumer, but you'll have to wait - it's not as clean cut as ordering from Apple.

Fortunately, not a single Android phone has these issues.

Playstation and Xbox had these issues, but there's no games to play so I won't expect supplies to suddenly deplete till GTA6 releases.

Nintendo will probably have the same issue with the Switch 2.

 

[Cocojambo13]

Same fiasco from 2020. you always hear "scalpers" but SCALPERS are the big companies, not the one guy that has limited cash.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Literally all AMD has to do is supply the market. That's it.

Well, there are 3 problems at play here. 1 is that nVidia simply doesn't care and isn't allocating as many cards to meet demand while also not caring about MSRP. 2 is is that nVidia is charging board partners so much money for chips that there isn't much margin left. I've heard some people say that an MSRP reference card ends up putting AIBs in the negative so they have no choice but to sell custom cards to make money.

The final, and biggest problem, is the "I need this now!" mentality combined with people not knowing or caring about the value of their money.

Frankly, I think this is strategic to milk the people who are willing to pay over MSRP first and once they have milked the market after a few months THEN we see a "price drop"

I've heard people claiming that about nVidia for 6 years now. Yet, the AIBs continue to choose to make nVidia cards, and multiple iterations, each with their own boards and BIOSes and R+D costs.

So are they all masochists? Are they stupid? Or maybe the rumors of a 5080 GPU costing $800 for an AIB is just bunk?

Scalping should be illegal and people that scalp should be fined and imprisoned.

Companies already ask a premium for their products, and then you have scalpers that buy up the entire stock to sell it for a large profit.

I especially hate this with concerts, you're waiting in queue (online) for a ticket and you have scalpers botting to buy up as many available tickets as they can, to resell them at 200-1000% of the price they bought it at.

Scalpers are the worst scum there is.

No, the worst scum are the consumers that continue to fund them by consooooming instead of being mature responsible adults.

 

[yRaz]

Literally all AMD has to do is supply the market. That's it.

I've heard people claiming that about nVidia for 6 years now. Yet, the AIBs continue to choose to make nVidia cards, and multiple iterations, each with their own boards and BIOSes and R+D costs.

So are they all masochists? Are they stupid? Or maybe the rumors of a 5080 GPU costing $800 for an AIB is just bunk?

This is the reason the EVGA sited as why they stopped doing business with nVidia and as long as scalpers keep buying AIB cards with 50% markup, it does seem to be a profitable loophole. it also helps with marketing. People buy an Asus GPU, end up being happen with it then they buy other products from them with high margin like monitors, keyboards, motherboards.

While I don't take everything at face value, it seems plausible enough to earn a spot in my mind

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This is the reason the EVGA sited as why they stopped doing business with nVidia and as long as scalpers keep buying AIB cards with 50% markup, it does seem to be a profitable loophole. it also helps with marketing. People buy an Asus GPU, end up being happen with it then they buy other products from them with high margin like monitors, keyboards, motherboards.

While I don't take everything at face value, it seems plausible enough to earn a spot in my mind

EVGA also claimed that nvidia "didnt allow them" to sell cards over MSRP, while simultaneously having Ampere cards at 50% over MSRP on their site at the same time. This is also despite every other AIB doing the exact same thing, so WTF was he talking about?

And again, if there is no profit margin in higher end GPUs, WHY ARE YOU MAKING 7 DIFFERENT VERSION? Those different PCBs, the idfferent parts, the different coolers, all that costs money to develop and support, takes more money on the supply end to build, and eats into your margins, that you supposedly dont have.

Keep in mind, EVGA is the SAME company that placed massive orders for Maxwell GPUs a month before Pascal launched (taking a loss), then did the SAME thing before Turing launched (another loss), then did the SAME THING AGAIN with the Ampere launch before totally dropping out before Ada came out. And they were the company making the GPUs that exploded with Amazon's MMO. And they had to recall GPUs for forgetting thermal pads. Then, after he stopped making nvidia, he refused to make intel or AMD cards, and instead drained the company coffers paying salaries to people who now had nothing to do, while losing their most talented workers to other companies.

Forgive me for taking their CEO's word with a mountain of salt, especially since his decision EVGA has also totally withdrawn from his soundcard market, hardly makes motherboards anymore and now just sells rebranded chinese PSUs. All over a beef with Jensen.

It's pretty clear to me that EVGA was being mismanaged and, like many family run companies, the founder couldnt figure out how to hand his company over to someone else and didnt want to walk away while wanting to retire, and thus drove his company into the ground.

 

[yRaz]

EVGA also claimed that nvidia "didnt allow them" to sell cards over MSRP, while simultaneously having Ampere cards at 50% over MSRP on their site at the same time. This is also despite every other AIB doing the exact same thing, so WTF was he talking about?

And again, if there is no profit margin in higher end GPUs, WHY ARE YOU MAKING 7 DIFFERENT VERSION? Those different PCBs, the idfferent parts, the different coolers, all that costs money to develop and support, takes more money on the supply end to build, and eats into your margins, that you supposedly dont have.

Keep in mind, EVGA is the SAME company that placed massive orders for Maxwell GPUs a month before Pascal launched (taking a loss), then did the SAME thing before Turing launched (another loss), then did the SAME THING AGAIN with the Ampere launch before totally dropping out before Ada came out. And they were the company making the GPUs that exploded with Amazon's MMO. And they had to recall GPUs for forgetting thermal pads. Then, after he stopped making nvidia, he refused to make intel or AMD cards, and instead drained the company coffers paying salaries to people who now had nothing to do, while losing their most talented workers to other companies.

Forgive me for taking their CEO's word with a mountain of salt, especially since his decision EVGA has also totally withdrawn from his soundcard market, hardly makes motherboards anymore and now just sells rebranded chinese PSUs. All over a beef with Jensen.

It's pretty clear to me that EVGA was being mismanaged and, like many family run companies, the founder couldnt figure out how to hand his company over to someone else and didnt want to walk away while wanting to retire, and thus drove his company into the ground.

Im not talking his word as law, just that "plausible" seems like a good word to describe the hearsay that's bouncing around the industry lately

 

[daffy duck]

Why do we even care about Nvidia cards at this stage. Simple solution, stop worrying and stop buying, let's see how long Leatherman takes to change course when the empire crumbles from the bottom.

 

[sreams]

Why do we even care about Nvidia cards at this stage. Simple solution, stop worrying and stop buying, let's see how long Leatherman takes to change course when the empire crumbles from the bottom.

Nvidia's empire isn't supported by gamers anymore. That's why they don't care, and that's why they won't care if gamers stop buying their cards altogether. The best thing AMD could do right now is simply take the entire market. That is... if they can get enough GPUs manufactured by TSMC.

 

[toooooot]

So, that is who keeps buying these cards no matter the price?

 

[Eldrach]

Problem isn’t Nvidia and not the consumers - it’s the fact that there’s no competition in the high end GPU segment. Nvidia may be greedy, they may have intentionally made a GPU shortage by halting the production of the 40 series early and top of that would know this would cause s massive increase in pricing - but..where are the competitors? AMD has a very good card out there now - but they left the high end segment open for Nvidia. Intel is only releasing cards at the entry level.
As a company that relies on stock prices and investors, Nvidia will always choose to cater to the ones feeding them money. Hopefully AMD will make a high end card that can compete - if they do it smart, they will release a high end card next year, which is Nvidias «leap» year. Hopefully that will be a card that beats the 5080 and brings some balance back to the market