The upcoming mass-production of NVIDIA’s mid-range RTX 50 GPUs has hit a snag due to a chip supply shortage that has come amid high demand.
The supply chain for NVIDIA’s RTX 50 series is having quite the struggle, leading to potential delays in the launch of their mid-range GPUs. The debut of Team Green’s RTX 50 lineup wasn’t great from the start, with some of the lowest inventory levels reported for their flagship GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 models. This scarcity seems directly linked to the global surge in semiconductor demand, a situation that doesn’t seem to be getting better anytime soon.
Notable industry insider, @mingchikuo, has pointed out that NVIDIA might postpone the launch of its mid-range RTX 50 GPUs by about a month. This shift is intended to offer their supply chain some much-needed breathing room.
In a tweet, Ming-Chi Kuo shared that both gamers and power users are chomping at the bit to grab the RTX 5090 and 5080. Unfortunately, the ongoing chip constraints are likely to push mass production of the RTX 5070 and 5060 from February/March to March/April. This constrained supply means these cards will probably sell out quickly.
Earlier today, we echoed this update, pointing out that now the RTX 5070 is expected to arrive by early March. Ming-Chi Kuo’s comments seem to solidify this timeline. The delay stems from NVIDIA’s current struggle to meet the soaring demand for its GPUs and anticipates that launching new models could lead to another letdown for consumers.
To put the supply chain issue into perspective, @kakashiii111 provided some analysis, noting that Taiwan, a crucial market for NVIDIA, received fewer than 100 units of the RTX 5090. This shortage wasn’t isolated to Taiwan, either, as retailers globally reported “single-digit” stock for NVIDIA’s premier RTX Blackwell GPU. NVIDIA clearly needs to get a grip on this supply-demand imbalance, and we foresee the situation easing after several months.
One tweet pointed out that a major Taiwanese store received only 20 units of the RTX 5090 and 300 of the 5080 in the initial batch. Smaller sellers in Taiwan weren’t faring any better, with many reporting receiving only one or two units.
NVIDIA delaying their mid-range GPU release might actually work in their favor, allowing them to draw attention away from AMD’s RX 9070 offerings, assuming they can capitalize on the release effectively. Right now, AMD stands a solid chance of dominating the mainstream GPU market with its RX 9070 series, especially since public sentiment is somewhat unfavorable towards NVIDIA at the moment.
