Coinciding with the launch of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 "Blackwell" graphics cards earlier in the year, Original Price House and MSI initiated a compelling promotional competition for Taiwanese PC hardware enthusiasts. As covered on TechPowerUp at the end of last week, eager collectors of signature "Lucky Dragon" figurines were seeking the completion of whole "Blind Box Of Lucky" sets. A qualifying quantity—of nine individual/unique designs—would grant access to a "free" MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC graphics card; supplied by Original Price House (a regional shop). The promo's original terms proudly proclaimed that "there is no limit to the exchange for a complete set." In a follow-up report, HKEPC Hardware put a spotlight on the campaign's apparent premature end.

The Hong Kong-based news PC news outlet provided evidence of the event organizers "modification of the rules"—advancing claim/collection deadlines from the (original) May 31, 2025 end date to March 31, 2025. Extra international attention has reportedly "ruined" MSI and Original Price House's local campaign. HKEPC commented on the circumstances: "it is understood that (the shop) originally estimated that the number of Lucky Dragon dolls that can be found in Taiwan is/was limited, but it obviously underestimated the power of the community. Many people bought dolls from all over the world at high prices to participate in the event, resulting in the store being 'overwhelmed with sales'." Last week's report suggested that five completed sets of Lucky Dragon figurines had happily been exchanged for premium-tier MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC models. Within the last couple of days, another six "winners" have turned up with qualifying collections of cute toys. According to HKEPC's latest coverage: "this number (of claimants) is already double the original expectation. Therefore, according to the instructions of the manufacturer (MSI), Original Price House has decided to advance the exchange deadline to March 31."

To Western audiences, ZOTAC's X-Gaming graphics card product line is not a well known quantity—a search of TechPowerUp's news archive produces one result (from 2021). As reported by VideoCardz, X-Gaming models are only available to buy in China. Roughly two months ago, the Hong Kong-headquartered manufacturer teased four new designs based on NVIDIA's emerging GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" GPUs. As mentioned during our very recent coverage of ZOTAC's GeForce RTX 5080 Apocalypse OC model, the brand introduced familiar SOLID and AMP Extreme INFINITY families. A 2025 refresh of the company's "youthful" X-Gaming series was advertised as a subversion of: "the coldness of traditional graphics card industrial design through high-saturation contrasting color splicing, modular geometric segmentation and other techniques."

Since its beginnings, X-Gaming's core design concept is described as "breaking the dimensional wall between hardware and fashion." ZOTAC's local branch has just released brand-new X-Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 SKUs, in factory-overclocked and standard/reference configurations. VideoCardz believes that the GeForce RTX 5080 X-Gaming OC model launched—in China—earlier in the year. So far, all of the launched variants share the same visual theme—ZOTAC cites "inspiration" from a famous source: "the GeForce RTX 50 X-Gaming series graphics cards have a white base and large areas of contrasting colors. The front pattern design is inspired by the well-known artist Mr. Doodle (aka Sam Cox), whose iconic intensive linearism style is accurately restored on the X-Gaming: the front of the graphics card is covered with hundreds of lines, and the seemingly disordered graffiti combination creates a vibrant visual effect. Through a special printing process, the front pattern presents a unique visual effect under different light angles, further increasing the texture and layering of the card's appearance." Regional ZOTAC enthusiasts expected the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti option to borrow its "larger" sibling's robust cooling solution, but the GB203 GPU-based model makes do with a thinner shroud profile—also present on the GeForce RTX 5070 (non-Ti) X-Gaming SKU.

Last week, ZOTAC's Chinese branch fully unveiled their GeForce RTX 5080 Apocalypse OC graphics card via a special regional giveaway. The brand's Weibo account detailed a JX Online 3-themed competition, with the brand-new "elegant + powerful" card advertised as featuring: "a very beautiful mecha appearance, luxurious materials, and excellent performance." The Hong Kong-based manufacturer started to tease its new-gen Apocalypse model back in January, alongside familiar SOLID and AMP Extreme INFINITY offerings. Lucky winners will be getting their hands on one of ZOTAC's most extravagant shroud designs.

The latest iteration seems to sport a slightly evolved take on a previous-gen offering: ZOTAC's RTX 4080 Apocalypse OC SKU (see last photo below). We are likely looking at another quad-slot behemoth, with a sizeable ARGB ring surrounding the card's central cooling fan. The brand's design team has decided to go with a white backplate (instead of black), decorated with angular "mecha" graphics, while the shroud sports a few gold sections. Curiously, the latest setup seems to lack rear-mounting points for two extra mini-ARGB cooling fans placed over backplate cutouts—as seen on Ada Lovelace-era options. ZOTAC's January teaser hinted about Apocalypse SKUs emerging across their GeForce RTX 50-series stack (5090 down to 5070)—VideoCardz has heard murmurs about a possible RTX 5070 Ti variant being released in the near future. At the time of writing, ZOTAC China's website does not feature a dedicated GeForce RTX 5080 Apocalypse OC product page.

Taiwan's Original Price House and MSI are running a compelling promotion; involving the trade in of the manufacturer's signature "Lucky Dragon" figurines for a GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC graphics card. As reported by HKEPC Hardware, five lucky participants have managed to exchange completed sets—of nine individual toys—for GB203 GPU-based flagships. According to MSI's "Blind Box Of Lucky" landing page, ten exclusive designs—including a rare Maoi secret edition—were produced and then (randomly) bundled into VANGUARD Launch Edition packages. HKEPC outlined conditions: "applicable models include GeForce RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090. It is limited to only 1,000 pieces worldwide." VideoCardz reckons that majority of Lucky Dragon VANGUARD boxes were sent to reviewers and influencers, so it could be challenging for mere mortals to accumulate a qualifying tally of cute plastic mascots.

As disclosed by HKEPC (a Hong Kong-based organization), one individual has gone to great lengths to complete the set: "a Taiwanese netizen posted in the HKEPC DIY group, hoping to purchase the 'Lucky Dragon' at a high price of NT$4,000 ($121 USD). After inquiry, it was learned that this is related to an event currently being held in Taiwan. As long as you collect 9 different Lucky Around the World Dragons before May 31, 2025 and keep the outer box, Taiwan Original Price House will exchange them for an MSI RTX 5080 VANGUARD graphics card worth NT$43,990 ($1332 USD), and there is no limit to the number of cards you can exchange." As of late January, the editor of Cool PC—a Taiwanese media outlet—was seeking to complete their set of MSI "Lucky Around The World" dragon collectibles. They used their news section to send out a personal request to readers: "when he has collected 9 of them, he can exchange them for a GeForce RTX 5080 at Original Price House!..The editor likes it very much, and is willing to exchange it with the lucky person who has collected a set of 9 different Lucky Around the World Dragons."

Yesterday evening, the NVIDIA AI Developer social media account sent out a red alert regarding a time limited sale of flagship-tier Blackwell gaming hardware: "GeForce RTX 5090s are available at the Gear Store in the park right now at GTC 2025. 90 units are available for the next 30 minutes, with more coming tomorrow. Come say hi!" PC hardware news outlets have picked up on Team Green's latest stock bulletin, with Tom's Hardware disclosing some extra details. Under normal circumstances, NVIDIA's Gear Store Mobile Truck would be selling fairly standard merchandise—e.g. T-shirts, sweaters, hats, etc. According to the latest reports, the company's mobile pop-up store is taking orders for add-in-boards (AIB) GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 models. An information placard advertises old school/launch day guide prices of $1999 and $999 (respectively).

Tom's Hardware noted several caveats: "the graphics cards must be purchased from NVIDIA's van from 7 AM to 12 PM on Thursday or Friday and then picked up at South Hall main entrance the same day. The graphics boards are available to conference pass ($1145 for one day, or $2295 for five days) and exhibit pass holders only; with a limit of one card per person." According to folks on the ground, Team Green and its board partners have stockpiled a thousand of each highly-desirable GPU model at the San Jose Convention Center. The first waves of time-limited batches were made available yesterday (March 19). Demand for flagship and top-end GeForce RTX 50 series cards has far exceeded supply, starting back in late January. Following an absorption of plentiful feedback, NVIDIA revived its "Verified Priority Access" scheme a couple of weeks ago. This anti-scalping initiative was advertised as offering: "a limited number of verified GeForce gamers and creators in the United States the opportunity to purchase one GeForce RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card from the NVIDIA Marketplace."

Graphics card price watchers have highlighted refreshing downward motion in Europe, apparently affecting three out of the four GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. VideoCardz received a couple of email tip-offs from its pan-European audience, prompting the publication of a short investigative piece. NVIDIA's slight adjustment of official pricing for GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 models is the result of a strengthened Euro. The US dollar's value has dropped by roughly 3.9 %; according to recent detective work, focusing on German trends. Team Green's "generous" reductions have arrived roughly two weeks after a stabilization of the USD-EUR exchange rate.

Curiously, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is an outlier here—NVIDIA did not reduce its German guide price (€879 + VAT) for this upper-mid-range offer. A Founders Edition does not exist at this GPU level, so Team Green has tasked its board partners with the creation of so-called "MSRP conformant" alternatives. One of VideoCardz's tipsters has observed various GeForce RTX 50 series models simply "rotting on shelves," due to potential buyers balking at unreasonable retailer-implemented price hikes. NVIDIA's minor changes (4.3 to 4.6 %) are unlikely to make a noticeable impact across the Euro zone.

PNY officially introduced its launch lineup of GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards at CES 2025; all brand-new offerings were plainly labelled as "Triple Fan" models. Yesterday, VideoCardz alerted its readership to the emergence of "Plus" variants—all utilizing upper-mid-range NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 Ti "Blackwell" GPU. In recent times, several of Team Green's board partners have stealthily added new products to web presences without any PR fanfare accompaniment. Last week, ZOTAC quietly expanded its SOLID GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti product ranges with "slimmer" CORE options.

PNY's four freshest additions are dubbed "Triple Fan Plus"—quite fittingly, this updated moniker refers to larger card dimensions. Price and launch information was not available at the time of writing, but we can safely assume that their GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ARGB Triple Fan Plus OC SKU will sit at the top of the American AIB's resized pack. A non-overclocked ARGB-lit model is present on TPU's GPU database, alongside non-ARGB OC and standard variants. PNY's Triple Fan Plus shroud design is a chunky unit; VideoCardz noted growth (over vanilla variants) in two dimensions—gaining 1.7 cm in width, and roughly 3 cm in length. The already released Triple Fan housing officially occupied "2.8"-slots, but the larger "Plus" sibling is a proper 3-slot space filler. VideoCardz highlighted revised retail packaging—instead of a simple side-printed "GeForce RTX" logo, Plus boxes are adorned with a full GPU readout: "GeForce RTX 5070 Ti." The newer shroud design seems to sport shinier black accents, and wider ARGB lighting channels.

ZOTAC has quietly introduced its brand-new SOLID CORE graphics card design—four GeForce RTX 50-series models appeared on the brand's website at some point last week. An official press release was not issued alongside the fresh publication of product pages. On first inspection, the Hong Kong-based manufacturer seems to be reusing their existing SOLID shroud and backplate setup. As reported by VideoCardz, ZOTAC's engineering team has implemented a very mild shrink in one dimension. Triple-fan cooled SOLID COREs have arrived with a "slimmer profile" 2.5 slot design (56 mm/2.2 inches), albeit with an I/O bracket that still occupies three rows. The original SOLID card is a substantial 3.5-slot prospect; with its shroud's height measured at 68 mm/2.7 inches.

Specification sheets for SOLID CORE GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti SKUs (standard and OC) advertise familiar feature sets—barring a difference in height, the usual SOLID provisions are present. Highlights include a vapor chamber-based "IceStorm 3.0 Advanced Cooling" solution, BladeLink Fans, 12V-2x6 Safety Light, and SPECTRA RGB Lighting. Circa-CES 2025, NVIDIA and its board partners were keenly advertising some "SFF-Ready" products, but ZOTAC's flagship and high-end "Blackwell" GB203 GPU-based models are distinct space fillers—even in 2.5-slot form. The company's GeForce RTX 5070 SOLID design exists as a proper 2-slot solution; VideoCardz believes that a variation of this shroud will be attached to upcoming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti models.

A farcical "GIGABYTE RTX 5090 Super Bundle" was highlighted by PC hardware media outlets last week—the steep demand for flagship and high-end NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics cards has prompted the creation of many "innovative" anti-scalper selling strategies. Another ludicrous example has emerged courtesy of fresh news coverage focusing on an "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign." This competition is open to residents of India—EliteHubs advertises itself as a popular regional "computer accessories store and Esports tournament organizer." Unfortunately, current global market conditions have inflated prices of recently launched new generation graphics card models—the "EliteHubs x COLORFUL RTX 5080 Campaign" apparently rallies against such practices, albeit in an extremely limited fashion. The competition's author delivered crucial details: "we're thrilled to announce an exclusive opportunity where three lucky winners will each receive a brand-new COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra White OC graphics card—one unit per person! This powerhouse graphics card is available at the official NVIDIA MSRP of Rs. 1,10,000 (~$1265 USD)."

According to TechSpot, a quick investigation revealed that the advertised cost of ownership was accurate—they noted: "checking other online stores in India shows all the COLORFUL RTX 5080 Ultra W OC models are priced above that MSRP. This is a higher-end third-party card, admittedly, so it appears participants are getting the chance to buy it at a slightly cheaper price than usual. Still, most people expect competitions to have actual prizes, and the fact there will be only three winners is a bit comical." Prior to official launch—in late January—a Vietnamese customer managed to bag themselves the same model for a princely sum of $1400. VideoCardz did not receive a response from COLORFUL, prior to the publication of their news coverage. The Chinese AIB did not provide comment when asked about said promotional campaign.

Leadtek has expanded its graphics card lineup into GeForce RTX 50-series territory, with a quiet introduction of three new generation WinFast models. We have not heard much—gaming-wise—from the Taiwanese manufacturer in recent years. Going back to Computex 2023, TechPowerUp staffers inspected several GeForce RTX 40-series offerings. Leadtek is involved in the production of NVIDIA professional graphics solutions—for data science and HPC workload purposes. Curiously, Team Green press material tends to only lightly mention its manufacturing partner's involvement. The newest WinFast entries have rolled out with "Blackwell" silicon and refreshed enclosures. As reported by VideoCardz, Leadtek has focused mainly on Asian PC gaming markets over the past decade—so the brand-new WinFast RTX 5090 HURRICANE 32G, RTX 5080 HURRICANE 16G, and RTX 5070 Ti HURRICANE 16G models are not expected to arrive on Western shores.

The 2025 WinFast HURRICANE package utilizes a triple-fan array paired with a robust heatsink design, and a "revamped" metal backplate. A total of ten heat pipes are advertised as providing strong heat dissipation—Leadtek's product description goes into more detail: "three 10 mm and seven 8 mm heat pipes, along with large aluminium fins and a vapor chamber base, quickly and efficiently dissipate heat." The three freshly introduced models all conform to NVIDIA reference specifications, so the HURRICANE cooling solution seems to be a bit over-engineered for purpose. Price details are not available at the time of writing, and an official press release is not present on Leadtek's website. The WinFast RTX 5090 HURRICANE card seems to sport a chunkier shroud, when lined up against its less powerful siblings. Leadtek has decorated its flagship with "Esports" ARGB lighting strips, while the RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti variants make do with silver-ish accents instead.

GALAX's Hall of Fame (HOF) graphics card family has welcomed another addition; their newest custom offerings house NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (GB203) GPUs. TechPowerUp's W1zzard reviewed a lower-end sibling card—GALAX's "1-Click OC White" model—that is provisioned to conform to Team Green's baseline MSRP ($750). By contrast, the freshly introduced GeForce RTX 5070 Ti HOF OC LAB Deluxe and Deluxe-X variants are expected to arrive at retail with significant premium upcharges—these are true flagships; featuring pre-binned GPU dies and high-end components. GALAX introduced its fancily-named GeForce RTX 5080 HOF OC LAB Plus-X model earlier last month, but hardcore enthusiasts will have to wait longer for an RTX 5090D-based sibling.

The GALAX GeForce RTX 5070 Ti HOF OC LAB Deluxe models are tipped to become world record breakers, due to their over-engineered makeup—prepped with a 14+6+6 phase power design. Quite fittingly, a signature (detachable) crown formation adorns several "Hall of Fame" shrouds—a similarly shaped cutout is present on HOF I/O brackets. VideoCardz believes that only two GeForce RTX 5070 Ti "Hall of Fame" SKUs will be released, instead of the expected four. Normally, GALAX introduces options that do not include their garish RGB-lit crown attachment. The publication noted a mere 30 MHz difference between Deluxe and Deluxe-X SKUs overclocked frequencies: 2580 MHz and 2610 MHz (respectively). Spec sheets reveal many shared traits; including gaming clocks of 2512 MHz, 300 W TGP (max. 350 W), and GB203 GPU. Visual analysis—of the bare HOF board—points to the utilization of Team Green's GB203-400 variant. VideoCardz reckons that the GALAX engineering team will be re-deploying the GeForce RTX 5080 HOF's PCB design, complete with 26 phase power design. The China-based AIB has not revealed price points for its two incoming GeForce RTX 5070 Ti HOF OC LAB Deluxe cards, but industry watchdogs anticipate costs going beyond $1000.

Over the past three weeks, press outlets and the buying public have levelled heavy criticism at NVIDIA board partners. The launches of three GeForce RTX 50-series "Blackwell" GPUs have—so far—been problematic; based on news reports and community feedback. Prior to release (on February 20), VideoCardz anticipated major price fluctuations for an all-custom portfolio of GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards. The publication did not hold back with its targeting of ASUS; one of Team Green's big time AIBs. Only a small selection of baseline MSRP ($749) conformant models were available on day one, and VideoCardz posited that manufacturers would implement price hikes soon after launch. A follow-up report continues their investigation into a lack of baseline MSRP options, as well as so-called "fake promotions."

VideoCardz repeated its belief that ASUS will jack-up the asking price for its PRIME GeForce RTX 5070 Ti model. When looking at Newegg's listing of baseline MSRP cards, the intrepid investigator stumbled up another notable absence: "we wrote three articles about the ASUS RTX 5070 Ti PRIME model not being listed as an MSRP card by retailers, which finally led ASUS to intervene (most likely for a limited time) to sell this card at the promised price. What we can immediately notice is the lack of the VENTUS 3X model from MSI, which was basically 90% of the MSRP card review coverage yesterday, as NVIDIA had no Founders Edition card for this launch and relied on board partners. In fact, the VENTUS 3X non-OC is not even included in the official launch, meaning that the card you saw yesterday in reviews is simply not available anywhere." It should be noted that TechPowerUp received an MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X OC sample unit for evaluation purposes (review guide pricing was $749); Newegg lists this particular model with a current $829.99 price point, but stock is unavailable (at the time of writing).

As reported almost a year ago, EMTEK graphics cards do not make regular appearances via Western reportage. The South Korean manufacturer has prepared its debut NVIDIA "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 50-series desktop product; as spotted by VideoCardz. The brand new EMTEK GeForce RTX 5080 MIRACLE WHITE D7 16 GB model has appeared online via Danawa's online price comparison engine. The lowest price comes in at 2,656,000 KRW (~$1841 USD), so there is clear evidence of major price hiking activities going on in South Korea. One store is offering EMTEK's cutting-edge white custom model for a cool 4,000,000 KRW (~$2773 USD).

EMTEK's GeForce RTX 5080 MIRACLE WHITE D7 16 GB graphics card conforms to Team Green's reference specifications; making the higher than expected entry fee even more painful to bear. We hope that prices level-off to reasonable lines in the near future. This snow-white custom design seemingly carries a couple of premium features; namely translucent ARGB-lit fans in a triple-formation. This integrated "dynamic lighting" system can be controlled through Windows 11 (via a USB-C connection), rather than proprietary software. VideoCardz reports that the South Korean graphics producer is not known to release its own RGB control suite. A cutaway render shows a very robust cooling solution that houses eight 6 mm heat pipes. Unfortunately, the PCB's shape is not as radical as the one found in an Ada Lovelace-based sibling. Judging from the internal promo shots, EMTEK has missed another opportunity to bung in a white board design, and attach similarly pale parts. Many NVIDIA AIBs should spend more time copying GALAX, Yeston, and PowerColor's (AMD-powered) homework—the latter's Spectral White Editions usually nail the almost all-white aesthetic.

Yesterday, NVIDIA confirmed that board partner GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards (minus a Founders Edition) will be hitting global retail markets on February 20. Team Green has set a baseline MSRP of $749 (USD) for North America, and €884 (plus region variable VAT) for European territories. Recent accidental e-tail listings have presented daunting price points (in Austria and France), that sit far higher than NVIDIA's guideline figure. A fresh VideoCardz news report piles on extra pain; various readership tip-offs have indicated that next week's population of launch products will be composed of mostly very expensive offerings. CaseKing.de has listed a grand total of twelve ASUS, GIGABYTE and MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti cards—the cheapest non-overclocked option comes in at €1149 (including customary 19% sales tax), plus shipping costs starting at €4.99. GIGABYTE's premium-tier AORUS RTX 5070 Ti MASTER is priced at €1399 (incl. VAT). This German retail outlet is not known to implement generous discounts, especially early on in a product's lifespan. VideoCardz looked elsewhere for evidence of baseline MSRP conformant AIB cards. Press outlets could be analyzing placeholder numbers, so things could change closer to release day.

Proshop in Denmark and Finland seem to be the only e-tail outlets (in Europe/Scandinavia) that offer a model that conforms to official NVIDIA minimum pricing decree. The non-overclocked barebones Inno3D RTX 5070 Ti X3 card is priced at 6899 kr (incl. VAT) in Denmark, and €924 (incl. VAT) in Finland. An extra €75 premium grants access to an overclocked sibling: Inno3D RTX 5070 Ti X3 OC. Potential buyers—in North America—have one baseline MSRP-friendly option, courtesy of Micro Center. VideoCardz highlighted the PNY RTX 5070 Ti Overclocked Triple Fan model's price point of $750. At the time of writing, they believe that this is the only example of a factory-overclocked card sticking to Team Green guidelines. AMD's incoming Radeon RX 9070 GPU series is set to battle it out with NVIDIA's next wave of "Blackwell" GPUs. According to industry whispers, Team Red will be deeply involved in analysis of GeForce RTX 5070 Ti market performance. Speculative first wave RDNA 4-based graphics card pricing has leaked online this week; will they commit to undercutting their main competition?

NVIDIA's official GeForce Twitter handle just confirmed that the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti will be available from February 20, 2025. This is the third RTX 50-series "Blackwell" graphics card launch. The RTX 5070 Ti is positioned in the enthusiast segment considering its starting price of $749, with custom-design OC cards expected to be priced well above $800. Although officially being recommended for maxed out gameplay at WQHD (2560 x 1440) or ultrawide 3440 x 1440 resolutions, we expect the RTX 5070 Ti to be capable of gameplay at 4K UHD considering its predecessors, the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti, each were at launch.

The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is carved out from the same 5 nm "GB203" silicon that powers the RTX 5080 launched late last month. It is endowed with 70 out of 84 SM present on the silicon, which works out to 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 Tensor cores, 70 RT cores, 280 TMUs, and possibly 96 ROPs. The card gets 16 GB of [at least] 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory, giving it 896 GB/s of memory bandwidth on tap, a massive increase from the 12 GB and 504 GB/s of its predecessor. Then there are the Blackwell-exclusive technologies such as DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, Neural Rendering, Mega Geometry for ray tracing, and an updated display engine with support for DisplayPort 2.1b UHBR20. The picture NVIDIA used in its tweet shows an abstract-looking card, which could be a sign that there won't be a Founders Edition card of the RTX 5070 Ti.

ASUS has released version one of a BIOS update tool for its ultra-premium air-cooled ROG Astral graphics cards, OC and standard flavors. Yesterday's update advertises an improved "Quiet Mode," that implements a "more silent fan curve." TechPowerUp reviewed the quad-fan configured ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 OC Edition cards late last month. Resident GPU evaluator, W1zzard, awarded the astronomically-priced flagship model with an "Editor's Choice" badge, but simultaneously pinned on a "But Expensive" honor. The lesser (GB203-based) Astral did not receive any accolades. Both models have courted criticism for louder than expected operation; W1zzard did not enjoy listening to the Astral GeForce RTX 5090 OC Edition's collective fan concerto. "Out of the box" settings were not great, and the quiet BIOS mode did not "help much" in reducing the highest-end Astral's cacophony.

TPU's GPU guru elaborated further: "the second BIOS runs a more relaxed fan curve, but it's not much quieter and achieves 36.5 dBA with 70°C. Sure, good temperature, but isn't the point of a 'quiet' BIOS that isn't quiet, even if temperatures are higher? MSI's Suprim lineup does much better noise-wise, with temperatures that aren't that much higher." The ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Edition seems to be a less noisy prospect, given that its cooling solution is not dealing with the largest "Blackwell" GPU die. Its sound signature was less offensive, but W1zzard reckoned that there was room for improvement. On this subject he stated: "with the default (performance) BIOS, temperatures are extremely low, but noise levels are a little bit on the high side with 36 dBA. I would have preferred a more balanced setting. Good thing that ASUS includes a secondary quiet BIOS with their card. Now the card runs whisper quiet, emitting only 26 dBA, which is highly impressive for a card in this performance segment. It is not the quietest card though, the MSI Suprim SOC is a tiny bit quieter, and it is so out of the box, without requiring a manual BIOS switch change." ASUS has seemingly absorbed initial feedback from review outlets (plus early adopters)—yesterday's update arrived just under two weeks from launch time. Watch out for possible upcoming reassessments.

European PC hardware retailers are readying themselves with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti partner models, ahead of the GPU's freshly scheduled launch on February 20. Tech news sites and industry watchdogs have already sniffed out preliminary pricing; courtesy of accidental listings of MSI custom card designs in France and Austria. We are more than a week away from GeForce RTX 5070 Ti release day, so speculative price points are subject to change. The Austrian arm of MediaMarkt was quick to correct matters after an accidental leak, and proceeded to remove an MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GAMING TRIO OC PLUS product page from its webstore. VideoCardz managed to preserve fundamental details, prior to MediaMarkt AT's de-listing of the offending item. The card's alleged €1169 asking price has raised Central European eyebrows—factoring in the region's customary VAT, we are looking at an approximate 32% increase over NVIDIA's baseline MSRP (€884). It should be noted that a Founders Edition does not exist in Team Green's upper-mid "Blackwell" GPU segment.

MSI's price point for its GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VENTUS 3X OC PLUS card is expected to reside closer to Team Green's recommendation, but this barebones offering sits within the company's "entry-level" product tier. The manufacturer's GAMING TRIO OC PLUS range tends to slot right into middle of product hierarchies—provisioned RGB lighting, larger heatsinks and miscellaneous fancy features often demand an upcharge at retail. Tomasz Gawroński (aka GawroskiT) happened upon additional MSI listings in France; an unnamed e-tailer has priced the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GAMING TRIO OC PLUS at €1149 (€20 cheaper than MediaMarkt AT). The upper crust MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti VANGUARD SOC LIMITED EDITION model demands that French customers part way with €1199, for the pleasure of ownership.

The new ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 designs have attracted a lot of attention, due to an unusual cooling configuration that includes a backplate-mounted fourth fan. At CES 2025, MSI teased onlookers with a placard adorned with a GeForce RTX 32G "Lightning" Special Edition model—featuring a "FiveFrozr" cooling solution. A traditional triple-fan setup is placed in the expected shroud location, but two additional units are integrated into the card's backplate. According to recent reports and early reviews, GIGABYTE has deployed a somewhat related system, albeit entirely optional (depending on user discretion). The Taiwanese manufacturer sent its AORUS RTX 5090 and 5080 MASTER models to market last week. These premium card designs feature the company's new "Screen Cooling Plus" system. CES press material claims that the "extra air-boosting fan" grants more airflow.

GIGABYTE's fourth fan has flown under the radar, but major hardware news outlets have just picked up on initial impressions. Singapore's HardwareZone appreciated the inclusion of an optional extra—with their AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER sample—but criticized GIGABYTE's slightly undercooked implementation. Their reviewer did not evaluate whether the modular part made any difference in terms of reducing temperatures—instead, they opined: "to further improve cooling, the card also comes bundled with a separate 120 mm RGB fan that you can place on the back of the card to pull air out—a design reminiscent of the ROG Astral RTX 5080's built-in cooling solution. It's a practical touch but not an elegant one, as it means having to deal with additional cables to tidy up since—oddly enough—the card itself does not come with a power connector for the extra fan." GLITCHED.online, a South African tech site, took GIGABYTE's AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER ICE card for a test drive—they found that the extra bit of cooling potential made a difference, but it was "almost unnoticeable." We hope that GIGABYTE will send review samples to TPU's W1zzard in the near future. Will the fourth fan make any difference on the AORUS RTX 5090 MASTER model?

MSI has, quite appropriately, introduced new SHADOW 3X graphics card models in a low-key manner. These stealth-black GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti custom designs have just appeared online via official product pages. We expect to see press material published in the near future, perhaps closer to the launch of NVIDIA's next wave of Blackwell GPUs. MSI's newly discovered product pages place emphasis on the SHADOW 3X's essential features: "a performance-focused design that delivers the gaming experience players want, making it the ideal choice when upgrading or building a gaming rig." VideoCardz believes that the incoming SHADOW 3X cards will be the first to reach Western markets—previous-gen models have released as Chinese regional exclusives. The GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G SHADOW 3X overclocked (OC) and non-OC SKUs appear to re-use MSI's familiar VENTUS 3X design, just tinted many shades darker.

The new SHADOW 3X cards seem to utilize a fresh design, with no recycling from a similarly appointed sibling product family. MSI's latest barebones/essential tier brings a minimal set of perks: a sizable heatsink, a triple-fan cooling solution, a single 16-pin power connector and a straightforward shroud and backplate aesthetic. SHADOW 3X eschews anything RGB lighting-related. Potential buyers will not be dealing with fancy vapor chambers or liquid cooling systems. MSI will be offering overclocked editions, as well as standard models that conform to NVIDIA reference specifications. TechPowerUp's well-maintained GPU database will be updated with these new additions.

As documented on the Linus Tech Tips (LTT) subreddit, a lucky customer presented their freshly-delivered Founders Edition (FE) GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card model. Newly registered member, EssDee3D, had much to celebrate—having acquired launch stock, presumably at a non-scalped price—but they were confused by their package's contents. A question was pushed out to the LTT community: "can someone explain what happened here? Direct from NVIDIA...I ordered an RTX 5080, and I got a graphics card with 5090 engraved on it. The outer box has the 5080 SKU on it. Wondering if anyone else has seen something like this before?" Unique circumstances—possibly caused by a mix-up during the manufacturing process—have produced an oddball hybrid. EssDee3D proceeded to add this curiosity to their PC build—following an absorption of (very mixed) feedback from other LTT members. Basic diagnostics—performed in a Windows OS environment—revealed that the card in question housed a bog-standard GeForce RTX 5080 GB203-based GPU.

NVIDIA's two Founders Edition shroud designs—for its GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 SKUs—look nigh identical. TechPowerUp's resident graphics card reviewer extraordinaire—W1zzard—captured a handful of comparison shots for usage in his evaluation of NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition model. The GeForce RTX 5090 FE's cooling solution—utilizing liquid metal, instead of thermal paste—is more robust when compared to the one present on its step-down sibling—rated for a TDP of 575 W (versus 360 W). Evidently, designed to temper any radiance emitted by Team Green's GB202 GPU. EssDee3D's "chimera" card was placed in the correct packaging; a 5080-labelled paper-fiber box—but the shroud's backside advertises itself as a GeForce RTX 5090 FE. PC hardware news outlets and Redditors are wondering whether additional examples—of jumbled up "Blackwell" GPU Founders Edition parts—will appear online over the next month or two, or three...or more.

Many gamers aren't that concerned about the size of their graphics card. A wide range of today's most popular PC cases offer plenty of elbow room, even for unabashedly large cards like our new ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090. That said, there's a community of gamers who are always on the lookout for cards that deliver the performance they need in a more compact profile. Some have their eye on a space-saving small-form-factor (SFF) chassis. Others need a slimmer heatsink that leaves their secondary PCIe x16 slot accessible, perhaps to leave room for a capture card. Whatever your needs, the Prime GeForce RTX 5080 is ready for the occasion.

Slim and trim for your SFF PC
In the past, building a petite gaming PC involved double and even triple-checking component sizes to ensure compatibility. Today, the process is much easier thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce SFF-Ready program, which simplifies the process of building a space-saving PC by labeling SFF-Ready cases and graphics cards. When you select a chassis and a GPU that are both SFF-Ready, you can be confident they'll be compatible, and you'll have a streamlined building experience. Just 50 mm thick and 304 mm long, the 2.5-slot Prime GeForce RTX 5080 fits comfortably within NVIDIA's recommended form factor guidelines for SFF PCs so that you can build your space-saving PC with confidence.

The HWiNFO development team are prepping for the upcoming release of an NVIDIA upper mid-range "Blackwell" GPU—their popular system diagnostics tool will be updated with support for GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (GB203-based) graphics card models. Team Green flagship and sub-flagship SKUs were sent to market this week—with mixed results—industry experts believe that stock shortages will be in effect for many months post-release. Volatile retail conditions could force potential buyers—of next-gen graphics technology—into considering options from lower down in NVIDIA's new product stack. The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti ($749 MSRP, with no Founders Edition) and GeForce RTX 5070 ($549 MSRP) GPUs could be tempting alternatives—as stopgaps or permanent fixtures. Press outlets believe that a February 20 product launch is pencilled in.

HWiNFO's incoming 8.21 build is being readied with support for GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards, but the GeForce RTX 5070 (non-Ti) GPU is notably absent from the suite's "upcoming changes" list. An investigative VideoCardz news piece points to HWiNFO being the first bit of software to publicly acknowledge (in advance) support for Team Green's 8,960 CUDA core-equipped model. As reported earlier this week, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is based on NVIDIA's GB203 GPU—also present on a larger sibling: "RTX 5080 maxes the silicon out, enabling all 84 SM, the RTX 5070 Ti is slightly cut down, with 70 out of 84 SM being enabled, resulting in 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 Tensor cores, 70 RT cores, 280 TMUs, and an unknown number of ROPs. The memory size is 16 GB, across the chip's full 256-bit GDDR7 memory interface... Its TGP is down to 300 W compared to the 360 W of the RTX 5080."

NVIDIA's third graphics card from the RTX 50-series "Blackwell" generation, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, reportedly launches on February 20, 2025, according to a VideoCardz report. Reviews of RTX 5070 Ti priced at the NVIDIA MSRP of USD $749 should go live on February 19, with reviews of cards priced above MSRP following on February 20. All cards go on sale from February 20.

The RTX 5070 Ti is based on the same 5 nm "GB203" silicon as the RTX 5080 that launches later this week, but while the RTX 5080 maxes the silicon out, enabling all 84 SM, the RTX 5070 Ti is slightly cut down, with 70 out of 84 SM being enabled, resulting in 8,960 CUDA cores, 280 Tensor cores, 70 RT cores, 280 TMUs, and an unknown number of ROPs. The memory size is 16 GB, across the chip's full 256-bit GDDR7 memory interface, although NVIDIA didn't confirm memory speeds. Its TGP is down to 300 W compared to the 360 W of the RTX 5080.

A brave Vietnamese high-end GPU enthusiast uploaded photo evidence of a freshly made purchase—COLORFUL's iGame GeForce RTX 5080 Ultra W OC model—onto the NVIDIA subreddit. Undoubtedly, a retailer in the Southeast Asia region had thrown caution to the wind and let stock prematurely float onto shelves. The plucky customer claimed that the transaction had taken place around a week ago—so well in advance of the official January 30 launch. The original post and several photos have been deleted, but several news outlets have preserved these details. The buyer alleges that they handed over $1400 for this "beautiful" triple-slot custom design—emblazoned with a funky graffiti-inspired lighting system and street art graphics.

The $401 upcharge above baseline MSRP ($999 in the U.S.) indicates that COLORFUL has outfitted this particular model with a beefy cooling solution and other premium features (e.g. stainless steel I/O plate with an attached one-click overclocking button). This custom GeForce RTX 5080 "Blackwell" GPU-based model was added to a working PC build—one photo shows off a B650 motherboard—but the lucky owner will have to deal with a lack of publicly released drivers. Fortunately, they have skipped ahead a step—less fortunate day one customers (across the globe) are seemingly faced with an incoming storm at retail.

At the 2025 International CES, we went hands on with some of the first Schenker XMG enthusiast notebooks that feature a next-generation NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU. These include the Schenker Key 18 PRO, and the XMG Neo 16. The Key 18 Pro is a massive portable workstation featuring an 18-inch 16:10 display with either 2560 x 1600 or 3840 x 2400 pixels resolution, with either 500 nits or 400 nits brightness, respectively. The notebook is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor (8P+16E, 36 MB cache), with four DDR5 SODIMM slots that you can add up to 192 GB of memory to. The star attraction of course is its NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, which is configured with 24 GB of video memory, and 175 W of power. A large 98 Wh battery powers the beast.

Meanwhile, the XMG Neo 16, as its name suggests, has a 16-inch display. This is 16:10, with 2560 x 1600 resolution, comes with 300 Hz refresh rate, and 1000 nits brightness. You get the same combination of a Core Ultra 9 275HX processor and GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU, with the GPU getting 175 W of power. There are two DDR5 CSODIMM slots (SODIMMs with CKD). The company also showed off two of its key innovations that power the two notebooks, its mainboard with a proprietary bridge connector between the motherboard and discrete GPU board; and its two new cooling solutions.