The highly anticipated launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs is set for January 30, and excitement is building among tech enthusiasts and gamers alike. Priced at $1,999 and $999 respectively, these high-end graphics cards are expected to be in extremely high demand, with reports already surfacing about potential shortages. Eager buyers have been spotted camping outside stores in hopes of securing one of these coveted GPUs.

According to manufacturer MSI, as reported by WCCFTech, the initial supply of the new GPUs will be limited due to the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year. This holiday is likely to impact the first wave of stock, but MSI expects the situation to improve throughout February and beyond.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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Retailers are also expressing concerns about the availability of the RTX 5090. Overclockers UK claimed it has received only “single digits at present,” and last week it had just a “few hundred” RTX 5080 GPUs for the launch. This concern was echoed by U.S. retailer PowerGPU, which tweeted that the RTX 5090 launch would be the “worst” in terms of availability.

In response to growing concerns, Nvidia representative Tim@Nvidia posted a statement on the company's official forum titled “GeForce RTX 50 Series Availability,” stating:

“We expect significant demand for the GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 and believe stock-outs may happen. Nvidia and our partners are shipping more stock to retail every day to help get GPUs into the hands of gamers.”

With fears of limited stock escalating, scalpers are already taking advantage of the situation. Listings for RTX 5090 GPUs have appeared on eBay as “pre-sale,” with one notable example being an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 listed by a collectibles reseller for $5,750—a staggering 187% markup over the original $1,999 MSRP.

Adding to Nvidia's challenges, the company's stock price tumbled by 16.86% on Monday after the emergence of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek, which claims to have been trained for just $6 million. This development could potentially threaten Nvidia's datacenter GPU sales, adding another layer of complexity to the company's current situation.