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.

Officially, NVIDIA has only revealed mobile variants of its GeForce RTX 50 "Blackwell" GPU series going down to RTX 5070. At CES 2025, Jensen Huang's keynote presentation proposed a $1299 entry point for GB206-equipped gaming laptops—rated up to 800 AI TOPS. As demonstrated by recent market trends, "MSRP" recommendations are widely viewed as whimsical recommendations (at best). Pre-orders for upper crust to mid-range GeForce RTX 50-series laptops opened up on February 25, but the missing ROP (Raster Operations Pipeline) problem has seemingly spread to Blackwell's mobile offshoot. Reports suggest that necessary investigations have pushed initial customer-bound deliveries into April. Presumably, unannounced lower end products—in GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 Mobile form—are similarly delayed.

Earlier today, momomo_us—a notable source of pre-launch information—unearthed an alleged "Razer-authored" new product document. The American-Singaporean brand appears to be preparing a multitude of Razer Blade 16 (2025) SKUs, with a series identified as "RZ09-0528." The leaked MSRP guide contains a major error; Razer's forthcoming flagship model—powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 "Strix Point" APU and GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile GPU—will not arrive at retail/e-tail with a $1499 price tag. Focusing on the opposite end of Razer's chart, VideoCardz highlighted the $1999 OLED-equipped SKU—featuring a Ryzen AI 9 365 processor and Team Green's unannounced GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile GPU. The speculative steep asking price is not a big surprise, given the expected tagging on of Razer "premium tax." Mid-way through last week, "lowly" GeForce RTX 5050-powered laptops were accidentally listed by retail outlets. The cheapest offering was advertised with a $1720 (including VAT) price point—based on these recent (possibly unfinalized) data points, industry watchdogs have predicted steep asking prices for even the most basic of Blackwell mobile options.

"Second wave" ASUS price hikes were documented online over the past weekend; affecting air-cooled premium ROG Astral and mid-tier TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 models. Looking at the company's North American webshop, visitors noticed a freshly adjusted price for the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB OC Edition—going from a previous level of $3079.99 up to $3359.99. Curiously, the asking price of a liquid-cooled sibling was not adjusted—remaining at a "first wave" point of $3409.99. The "cheapest" model—TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 (non-OC)—experienced a $460 (representing 20%) price hike, bringing total cost of ownership up to $2759.99. As a reminder, NVIDIA's baseline MSRP guideline was $1999—as announced at CES 2025—but ROG Astral and TUF Gaming designs demand a premium or two for fancier feature sets. VideoCardz has fervently explored worrying market trends in the recent past; several of NVIDIA's big board partner players have jacked up asking prices for GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. Availability of stock is still a major sore point for potential buyers, who were not able to secure launch day wares. Despite a driving up of costs, the ASUS US webstore has absolutely zero stock of GeForce RTX 5090 SKUs—at the time of writing.

In addition, VideoCardz and other PC hardware media outlets noted price hikes affecting the manufacturer's stable of recently launched AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series TUF Gaming and PRIME models. In the absence of AMD-built (MBA) reference card designs, board partners were tasked with the providing of baseline "MSRP" conformant custom cards. The ASUS PRIME Radeon RX 9070 XT OC and RX 9070 OC Editions were readied as $599 and $549 options (respectively). Weekend sleuthing work put the spotlight on newly adjusted price points of $719.99 and $659.99 (respectively)—representing further cases of plain 20% elevations over baseline. AMD's debut batch of RDNA 4 cards was met with unprecedented demand earlier on in March, but secondary/tertiary stock shipments face unclear market conditions—Team Red GPU enthusiasts have (similarly) voiced their collective displeasure about elevated prices at retail. Mid-way through last week, the PC hardware community heard about ASUS leadership considering a new pricing strategy. The company is reportedly accelerating its manufacturing exodus from China.

MSI has officially confirmed that it will not manufacture graphics cards based on AMD's latest RDNA 4 architecture, effectively bypassing the entire Radeon RX 9000 series lineup. In a statement to Tom's Hardware, an MSI representative briefly noted the company "is not manufacturing AMD GPUs this generation," pausing its AMD partnership while leaving the door open for future collaborations. Data compiled by Tom's Hardware shows MSI produced 45 distinct models during the RDNA 2 generation (RX 6000-series), but dramatically scaled back to just four custom designs for RDNA 3 (RX 7000-series)—representing a 91% reduction in AMD SKU diversity. Those limited RDNA 3 offerings, including the flagship RX 7900 XTX, notably reused cooling solutions from previous-generation AMD cards, indicating reduced R&D allocation compared to the company's NVIDIA lineup.

MSI's withdrawal from offering AMD-based solutions is due to several factors. NVIDIA's dominance in market share (83%, according to Steam hardware surveys) provides partners with stronger return-on-investment potential, while EVGA's 2022 exit from the GPU market created an opportunity for MSI to strengthen its position as a premier NVIDIA partner. There were reportedly delays in finalizing the MSRP for the RX 9000 series, which complicated manufacturers' calculations, production planning, and shipments. The vacuum left by MSI creates potential opportunities for other emerging players like Acer, which has been slowly expanding its AMD graphics card presence. However, MSI's decision—likely finalized during earlier strategic planning cycles—could potentially push away AMD enthusiasts despite strong projected demand for the Radeon RX 9070 series. Whether this represents a permanent strategic realignment or a temporary market response, we are yet to find out. AMD plans to return to the high-end GPU segment with its UDNA generation, so we have to wait and see if MSI makes a comeback here. For AIBs, partnerships with GPU makers are essential to get R&D resources behind a new product. Once partnerships pause, it is hard to get that wheel going again.

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.

The PC hardware rumor mill theorized that NVIDIA would unveil its GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 graphics cards today (March 13). An official announcement has not yet transpired—at the time of writing. Earlier in the week, specification sheets for Team Green's cheaper Blackwell GPU models were leaked online—courtesy of kopite7kimi, a noted inside tracker of NVIDIA activities. Not long after that disclosure, reportage focused on an Acer Nitro N50 pre-built gaming PC—featuring an unannounced GeForce RTX 5060 GPU with 8 GB of GDDR7 SDRAM. The relatively rapid delivery of GB206 related leaks suggests that something is on the imminent release horizon.

An anonymous tip-off from a Chinese audience member has resulted in the publication of another VideoCardz investigative article. Apparently an unnamed local e-tailer provided pre-release price points (presumably including VAT) for GeForce RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 graphics card; 4299 RMB and 3799 RMB (respectively). For reference, the tipster's screenshot also included prices for various GeForce RTX 5070 models—the cheapest being 4799 RMB (~$663 USD). As noted by VideoCardz, Chinese baseline MSRP for the RTX 5070 is 4599 RMB (~$635 USD). Curiously, the webstore's entry for a non-specific GeForce RTX 5060 card designates it as a 12 GB variant. This could be a pre-launch error, based on placeholder material—recent leaks have indicated the existence of a lone GeForce RTX 5060 SKU, with 8 GB of VRAM. The GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is tipped to arrive in two forms: with 8 GB or 16 GB VRAM configurations onboard. VideoCardz has heard whispers from industry moles about a possible official lifting of new product embargoes, ahead of next week's GTC 2025 conference.

The 8BitDo 64 Bluetooth Controller revives the iconic N64 layout, but wrapped in an ergonomic, updated body. A precision hall-effect joystick with the original gate and signature concave rubber joystick cap. Say goodbye to the infamous loose joysticks. We're bringing back the signature C-buttons, A/B and Start—with the button sizes, positioning and feel just like the original.

Multiplayer on the N64 defined an era, and now with Analogue 3D and the 8BitDo 64 Controllers, that era is redefined. The 8BitDo 64 Controller, designed hand-in-hand with Analogue, creates an experience like no other when paired with Analogue 3D. It's a celebration of the N64, the greatest multiplayer system ever. It's Bluetooth-ready, with vibration support and platform compatibility with the new Analogue 3D, Switch, (including N64 Online) and more. Play N64 games like never before—with the best of both worlds in your hands. Available to pre-order at Amazon—MSRP $39.99.

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT is demonstrating unexpected performance gains through aggressive undervolting, with overclocking specialists documenting significant improvements that push the GPU past NVIDIA's pricier GeForce RTX 5080 in specific benchmarks. Recent tests by Der8auer using a PowerColor Red Devil RX 9070 XT revealed a 10% frame rate increase in Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K Ultra settings by applying a -170 mV voltage offset while increasing the power target to 110%. This modification enabled the GPU to reach clock speeds of 3.36 GHz, compared to 2.90 GHz at stock settings, resulting in 66 FPS versus the RTX 5080's 65 FPS in identical testing environments. The undervolting phenomenon appears consistent across the product line, with YouTuber Alva Jonathan achieving similar 10% performance improvements on the standard RX 9070 using ASRock's Steel Legend model.

Both testers discovered that traditional core clock overclocking yielded negligible results, suggesting these factory-overclocked cards are already operating near their architectural limits. The voltage-frequency curve adjustments effectively lower the voltage required for higher frequencies. Memory overclocking proved counterproductive, with error correction mechanisms actually reducing in-game performance when pushed beyond stable parameters. These results come with important caveats—both tested units are premium variants with enhanced power delivery and cooling solutions that sell significantly above AMD's MSRP. The PowerColor Red Devil commanded a $200 premium over the RX 9070 XT's $599 launch price, while the ASRock Steel Legend carried a $90 markup over the RX 9070's base $550 MSRP. Even with these premiums, however, the high-end RX 9070 XT models remain approximately $200 less expensive than NVIDIA's RTX 5080 while delivering comparable rasterization performance after optimization, despite NVIDIA's ongoing advantages in ray tracing capabilities and software ecosystem.

Earlier today, AMD confirmed finalized price points and a launch date for its two incoming additions to the Ryzen 9000X3D processor lineup. The current Zen 5 processor population (with 3D V-Cache onboard) has a count of one—Team Red's reigning gaming champion: the eight-core Ryzen 7 9800X3D model. AMD's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics was the first staffer to make an official announcement regarding definitive talking points. Jack Huynh stated (via a social media post): the world's best processor for gaming and content creation is almost here. Available starting March 12th. Ryzen 9 9950X3D—$699. Ryzen 9 9900X3D—$599. A huge thank you to our incredible community of gamers, creators, and innovators for your continued support. Together, we're shaping the future of gaming and content creation! Let's level up together!"

The sixteen-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D and twelve-core 9900X3D SKUs were officially unveiled at CES 2025, in early January. Since then, many leaks have emerged online—certain soothsayers were bang on with their predictions. Almost a month ago, speculative $699 and $599 price points were leaked. On two separate occasions, a—now confirmed—March 12 launch day was projected. AMD is expected to lift media embargoes on March 11; reviews of finalized silicon will finally reveal whether the two new players can beat their incumbent sibling in gaming performance benchmarks. As reported this afternoon, China's JD.com retail platform has opened its order book to customers—a limited quantity of Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D units were made available for a short period of time.

Yesterday's global launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 was a relatively successful affair; day one stock was swiftly snapped up. Naturally, buying conditions were not ideal for every customer. Despite a prominent UK retailer's teasing of plentiful supply (pre-launch), online feedback pointed to apparent limited supplies of RDNA 4 cards across European regions. Fresh reports suggest that anticipated fluid price conditions have caused a larger than expected rush at retail; hence the rapid depletion of opening day stock. As reported yesterday, a handful of PC hardware stores have alluded to forthcoming upward shifts in pricing for the lower-end of an all-board partner-built Radeon RX 9070 series graphics card lineup. VideoCardz has highlighted a disgruntled customer's experience with Ebuyer UK. Bran180s—a Radeon subreddit member—managed to snag a baseline MSRP conformant Sapphire PULSE RX 9070 XT model for the ideal launch price (£569.99, including VAT), but the webstore reneged this transaction.

A screenshot was uploaded to Reddit, alongside a short story: "was on the website ready for the launch of the RX 9070 XT, got one straight away and paid no issues. Ebuyer emailed me today to cancel, and now the price is £150 more." The British e-tailer has issued apologies, following the absorption of online criticism (see relevant screenshot below). The "normal price" of Sapphire's basic Pulse card was eventually adjusted to a mere £664.98, but Ebuyer has de-listed this SKU (at the time of writing). Other UK webshops—Scan, AWD-IT, CCL, Box etc.—have similarly implemented price hikes across low, mid and premium card tiers. Australia's Hardware Unboxed managed to extract an official response from AMD—their social media post quoted Frank Azor. The Team Red exec indicated that his team is ready to intervene: "it is inaccurate that $549/$599 MSRP is launch-only pricing. We expect cards to be available from multiple vendors at $549/$599 (excluding region specific tariffs and/or taxes) based on the work we have done with our AIB partners, and more are coming. At the same time, the AIBs have different premium configurations at higher price points and those will also continue."

Over the past month and a half, PC hardware retailers have tasked themselves with sharing of all sorts of bad news to their respective customer bases. Inet AB has outlined the outlook for regional availability of GeForce RTX 5070 graphics cards, but a newer blog entry focuses on the Team Red side of things. The popular Swedish store put a spotlight on today's launch of RDNA 4 products: "we have learned how the recommended prices, also known as MSRP prices, work for the launch of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT. We are not allowed to say exact prices.., but simply put, they will apply to a limited number of cards. For this release, we will have MSRP prices from three manufacturers, all of whom have both an RX 9070 and an RX 9070 XT at MSRP." According to Inet's product table, the brands are: ASUS, PowerColor and SAPPHIRE. Respectively, the PRIME, Reaper and PULSE product families serve as substitutes to (absent) AMD-built equivalents.

So far, the retail launch of Radeon 9070 Series has experienced fewer hiccups—when compared to recent GeForce RTX 50-series releases. Unfortunately, Inet has indicated that price climbs are in the pipeline for AMD's brand-new RDNA 4 generation. The shop's blog elaborated on shifting circumstances: "the prices only apply to the first shipment of each model. For Sapphire and ASUS it will be just as usual, we have only received one shipment, and you can buy it until it runs out, but with PowerColor it will be different. In other words, only the cards that were released with MSRP prices at release will be sold for the lower price." Earlier today, Overclockers UK's initial batch of "baseline price conformant" stock was depleted rapidly—forum and social media posts boasted about "thousands of units" being amassed in a warehouse, prior to launch. Gibbo—a well-liked OCUK employee—shared some additional insight (yesterday): "I feel stock will be fine for a few days. MSRP is capped quantity of a few hundred, so prices will jump once those are sold through. Re-stocks and pricing is unknown going forward, nobody really knows what April will bring due to instability in world with USA starting to rage a trade war, we are all hopeful it won't impact computer stuff, but who knows."

We have just published our in-depth review of NVIDIA's latest GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition (FE) GPU, coming in at $550 MSRP. The first cohort of GeForce RTX 5070 GPUs is expected tomorrow with AIB partner designs, and NVIDIA confirmed that its special FE card will arrive a little later, in late March. While AIB designs are hitting shelves on March 5, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 FE GPU is going on shelves a few weeks later. NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 arrives with a $550 MSRP--$50 cheaper than the RTX 4070's launch price—positioning it as a compelling value for its ray tracing, DLSS 4, and efficiency gains.

The 5070 comes with 6,144 cores enabled, vs 8,960 on its bigger brother, the RTX 5070 Ti. Other unit counts have been scaled accordingly, and you get 80 ROPs. Yes, we checked. Also included are 192 TMUs and 48 RT cores. The memory subsystem uses GDDR7, too, like the other RTX 50 cards, but you only get 12 GB VRAM, and it uses a 192-bit wide memory bus, clocked at 28 Gbps. While the MSRP of the FE card is known, AIB partners will price their customized designs at a 20-40% premium. We are yet to see the supply of these cards at NVIDIA's partner retail stores and the supply that NVIDIA dedicated to its AIB partners, but scalpers could drive pricing even higher if the initial supply is tight. A Swedish retailer, Inet AB, forewarned customers about the lack of stock, but this is yet to be confirmed by other stores.

XFX appears to be lining up separate tranches of Radeon RX 9070 Series graphics cards for different markets; Chinese media outlets have reported a wide-spanning lineup of "domestic" and "overseas" edition SKUs. VideoCardz has spotted another potential China-exclusive model—their past weekend investigative piece put the spotlight on a Radeon RX 9070 XT dual-fan SWIFT design. This variant was found on XFX's Tmall e-tail store. The manufacturer's Chinese language official site does not list this curiosity, and recent press material has focused on a lineup of triple-fan cooled solutions. XFX's Western web presences do not allude to any twin-fan variants within the MERCURY, QUICKSILVER, or SWIFT classes.

AMD's recent full-fledged introduction of RDNA 4 included promotional renders of reference card designs, but the launch of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 involves an entirely board partner-manufactured pool of SKUs. The XFX Radeon RX 9070 XT SWIFT dual-fan model is priced exactly at the level of Team Red's regional guide MSRP: 4999 RMB (including VAT). It likely serves as a direct alternative to an absent AMD-built dual-fan reference card. According to a comparative table of XFX model specifications (see below), the dual-fan variant shares identical data points—excluding physical measurements—with its longer siblings.

XFX is introducing a wide selection of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 SKUs at launch (March 6), with updated naming schemes and new shroud/backplate designs. Chinese press outlets were invited to inspect the manufacturer's brand-new offerings post-conclusion of AMD's regional introductory event for RDNA 4. Expreview gathered five samples (from a total of ten reported launch units) for their recent article—local nomenclature is highly confusing (e.g. "Phoenix Nirvana"), so we will be using XFX's Western terminology. Unlike other board partners, the company has not released a comprehensive press release for its new product families (at the time of writing). Over the past weekend, VideoCardz highlighted the QUICKSILVER Radeon RX 9070 XT model. They reckon that this a special "Esport" edition, but the situation is unclear—their report repeatedly mentions new Radeon RX 7900 XT cards.

TechPowerUp returned to official sources, in order to get clarification regarding the new "red and black" QUICKSILVER design. According to a sparse XFX Radeon RX 9000 series splash page: "Customizable Shroud—the RX 9000 Series QUICKSILVER Class GPUs features customizable magnetic wings which can be easily removed and replaced to match your style and needs. Details coming soon!" We hope that an upcoming official PR piece will provide a clear rundown of SKUs and feature sets. Expreview took a look at two "Overseas Edition" QUICKSILVER RX 9070 series graphics cards; in XT and non-XT forms. They noted the presence of XFX's signature "Magnetic Air" modular fan system, as well as optional shroud pieces. Their detailed description stated: "the upper and lower sides of the graphics card radiator have detachable magnetic inscriptions and phantom wings, which are inspired by sports cars and support personalized customization, and the logo can be changed at will. It uses three 10 cm ring-blade fans, and the radiator is equipped with five 6 mm heat pipes, a metal backplate and a hidden bracket to reduce PCB deformation." Chinese market pricing for the XFX QUICKSILVER Radeon RX 9070 XT card is reported as 5799 RMB (including VAT)—AMD set a regional baseline MSRP of 4999 RMB (~$686 USD) last week.

International corporate entities have to deal with global time differences; causing uncountable logistical headaches. As evidenced by local reports; AMD and board partner representatives decided to debut their next-gen Radeon RX 9070 Series in front of a (mostly) Chinese audience. The much earlier than anticipated presentation took place well in advance of the "main event," with Jack Huynh and other Team Red big brass showcasing brand-new products to regional distributors and media outlets. VideoCardz believes that this "surprise" press mini-junket occurred—roughly—twelve hours ahead of the officially scheduled international "special broacast."

Baseline price points—VAT included—of 4999 RMB (~$686 USD) and 4499 RMB (~$617 USD) were announced, for the incoming Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 models (respectively). We now know that North American MSRPs (excluding tax) are $599 and $549 (respectively). AMD's presentation slides included more shots of their reference designs (MBA), in triple or dual-fan configurations. Earlier in the week, industry watchdogs proposed that the Radeon RX 9070 Series would launch with an all-custom card lineup; with no AMD-built options. Attendees noted several on-stage board partner company reps, including Jack Yu (ASUS China). ASRock, GIGABYTE, PowerColor, VASTARMOR, XFX and Yeston were the other participants; with demonstration hardware in their hands.

NVIDIA's upcoming mid-range GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB model is almost ready for launch, according to recent reports. Industry moles reckon that GB205 GPU-based specimens are already in the clutches of press and influencer outlets; review embargoes are due to be lifted on March 4, for $549 MSRP conformant SKUs (as disclosed by a VideoCardz source). Last week, we heard whispers about Team Green's (allegedly) troubled production cycle for incoming GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 models.

Insiders insist that these issues have caused a delay; many believed that NVIDIA had (prior) plans for a February GeForce RTX 5070 launch. A revised schedule was leaked to VideoCardz; the publication posits that GeForce RTX 5070 cards will launch at retail on March 5, with non-MSRP ($549+) reviews projected to go live on the same day. Based on various leaks, NVIDIA and AMD will likely clash with their respective new offerings. Right now, reviewers could be dealing with sizable piles of competing Team Green and Team Red hardware. Graphics card enthusiasts will be looking forward to incoming comparisons—GeForce RTX 5070 and its Ti sibling versus Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 (non-XT).

Late last week, AMD posted a helpful reminder; a special RDNA 4 Friday (February 28) event is on the calendar. Additionally, they quietly confirmed that the upcoming launch of Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards will not include reference/MBA models. Team Red enthusiasts and other interested parties are anticipating an official unveiling of performance data, technical specifications, and decisive pricing. Recent leaks have produced speculative figures for various board partner options, but industry whispers suggest that AMD's guide MSRP has fluctuated over the past couple of weeks. An almost definitive answer has arrived online, courtesy of another VideoCardz investigative piece.

The article does not class the latest pre-release disclosure as a true "leak," VideoCardz believes that their sharing of AMD press briefing slides serves as an intriguing teaser. The report dismisses yet another case of pre-launch retail spillage: "there are many rumors about relatively high prices for the RX 9070 series. For instance, a Reddit thread allegedly shows prices from Best Buy's internal system, with prices starting at $739 (see screenshot below)... From what we have been told and shared during the media briefing, AMD showed one slide that may confirm where the prices will be. The Radeon RX 9070 series is focusing on a sub-$700 price point, and AMD wants their cards to be 'more accessible.' AMD says that 85% of gamers buy cards below $700, and this is what the RDNA 4 series will focus on." Another leaked presentation slide indicates that Team Red is targeting higher resolutions (1440p and 4K), better performance; especially with "ray tracing games," as well as "easy upgrades." The last point emphasizes drop-in 8-pin power connector options. ASRock and Sapphire appear to be breaking away from this traditional connection mold with their upcoming premium-tier designs, but the majority of AIB cards are expected to stick with a tried and trusted solution.

Three weeks after the launch of its GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 "Blackwell" GPUs, NVIDIA has introduced a "Verified Priority Access" scheme for North American customers. Approximately eighteen hours ago, the Tim@NVIDIA account posted an announcement on the company's official GeForce discussion forum: "we know it's challenging to purchase a GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics card...It will give a limited number of verified GeForce gamers & creators in the United States the opportunity to purchase one GeForce RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card from the NVIDIA Marketplace." Team Green graphics card enthusiasts have experienced less than ideal buying conditions since the end of January (2025)—Jensen & Co. have likely absorbed a massive dose of feedback and reacting accordingly, but many pundits will question the relatively late rollout of an anti-scalping system.

A previous iteration of NVIDIA's "Verified Priority Access" program was tested soon after the launch of GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada Lovelace" GPUs. Founders Edition cards are (normally) offered at baseline MSRP, but scalpers have swiftly depleted initial stock allocations. Team Green's revived program presents some strict conditions: "users who have an NVIDIA Account created on or before January 30th, 2025 at 6AM Pacific Time can submit their interest for Verified Priority Access through this form. If selected, users will be notified at the email address of the NVIDIA account they enrolled with. Invites will begin rolling out next week." The Team Green staffer stated that the scheme is—"at this time"—limited to GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 Founders Edition cards. It should be noted that the just launched GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU will not arrive in Founders Edition form; potential buyers will have to navigate a jagged landscape of AIB custom designs.

Last month, ASUS revealed its refreshed ROG XG Mobile design at CES 2025. The latest iteration of their premium external GPU dock is prepped for NVIDIA's "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 50 Mobile GPU-series. According to an ITHome report, the new model will be released next week; the manufacturer's Chinese office has seemingly produced marketing material that teases a launch on February 25. The redesigned ROG XG platform leverages an improved vapor chamber system; offering "150% more cooling surface area," and features "pioneering" Thunderbolt 5 connectivity (max. 80 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth). Press material from January indicated that a top configuration would house Team Green's GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile 24 GB GPU.

An updated official product page also lists support for NVIDIA's "GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop" 12 GB GPU. ASUS will bundle in a 330 W AC adapter, according to its spec sheet. The off-black translucent enclosure weighs in at 0.952 kg, and dimensions are listed as: "20.8 x 15.5 x 2.96 cm." ITHome expects ASUS to reveal regional pricing (for China) on February 25; Western markets will be charged $2199.99 (US MSRP) for the flagship configuration, if price hikes do not go into effect at launch. The less potent variant—powered by a GB205 GPU—is priced at $1199.99.

GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards are due to hit international markets this Thursday (February 20), only in custom design form. NVIDIA will not be rolling out a Founders Edition model for this mid-to-high GPU product tier. Yesterday, an NDA-busting leak emerged online; hinting at a mixed bag of synthetic benchmark scores. When compared to new-gen and past-gen siblings, the incoming GB203 GPU-based family's "price-to-performance ratio" was greeted with plenty of online community skepticism. Considering that only a minority of AIB companies are reportedly engaged in the supply of cheaper offerings, the early outlook for overall GeForce RTX 5070 Ti launch pricing is generating further dissatisfaction. Team Green's first wave of "Blackwell" gaming GPUs launched late last month, straight into chaotic market conditions.

At CES 2025, NVIDIA set a baseline MSRP of $749. Fresh reports suggest that hardware review outlets will be delivering comprehensive verdicts tomorrow. VideoCardz believes that the lifted review embargo will be "exclusively for MSRP cards," based on information gleaned from their network of press contacts. The GPU specialist publication has kept tabs on fluctuating GeForce RTX 50-series prices for a while—several recent reports have levelled criticism at prominent Team Green board partners; namely ASUS and MSI. Plenty of venom was directed at the former, due to last month's launch of the: "GeForce RTX 5080 PRIME non-OC model at MSRP, and it was covered in the first reviews...Except, it was increased by 26% the following week. This way, ASUS has cheated the system and got both the early coverage and was still able to sell cards at a higher price." VideoCardz predicts a similar pattern for this week's release of custom GeForce RTX 5070 Ti designs, in particular ASUS PRIME and TUF Gaming SKUs. Their latest report directed additional ire toward the source of all things Blackwell: "unless NVIDIA has no problem with this, this is not how MSRP cards should be announced. It is very misleading for customers and puts reviewers in a very bad light. Their conclusions might be completely different if the card is said to cost much more."

Sparkle, a notable Intel GPU board partner, introduced its dual-fan GUARDIAN custom design late last year. The Taiwan-based manufacturer's Arc B570 GUARDIAN 10 GB model launched mid-way through January—on day one, TechPowerUp's W1zzard awarded this particular card with "Highly Recommended" and "Great Value" badges. In a December leak, Sparkle's roadmap revealed Sparkle's plans for an upcoming Arc B580 GUARDIAN 12 GB SKU. A launch window was not denoted, but the new card would seemingly arrive after the early 2025 release of Sparkle's B580 TITAN Luna OC model. VideoCardz and its network of observers have detected a new listing on the official Sparkle website; signalling the B580 GUARDIAN's arrival.

Sparkle's Arc B580 GUARDIAN graphics card seems to be available for purchase in the United Kingdom, at the time of writing. CCL Computers and AWD IT have units in-stock at their respective warehouses, ready for immediate shipping. Both e-tailers have priced their offerings at £289.99 (including VAT), AWD has kindly knocked off £10 from their original demand of £299.99. Overclockers UK has a pre-order listing, coming in at a very reasonable £274.00 (incl. VAT). The Sparkle Arc B580 GUARDIAN 12 GB model conforms to Intel reference specifications, so global costs of ownership are likely sticking close to baseline MSRP.

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?

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 AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D "Zen 5" processors are due for launch at some point next month, but Team Red's recent-ish introductory presentation did not include any details regarding prices. Given patterns demonstrated by previous generations of Team Red's popular 3D V-Cache-equipped CPUs, we can safely assume that the incoming duo will demand a premium over the already released Ryzen 7 9800X3D SKU (MSRP: $479). Late last week, momomo_us happened upon speculated price points during a sleuthing session involving a comparison shopping website.

The PCPartPicker's price aggregation engine pulled data from two Newegg listings—now scrubbed from existence—that outlined a cost of $699.99 (plus a $12.41 shipping fee) for the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X3D model, and $599.99 (plus shipping) for the 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X3D. Fortunately, VideoCardz preserved this information over the weekend. PCPartPicker has removed the aforementioned figures from its price history chart system, and Newegg has delisted the offending pages. The leaked price points align closely with MSRPs set for previous-gen (Zen 4) Ryzen 9 7000-series CPUs: $699 for the 7950X3D, and $599 for 7900X3D. The de-listed prices could be based on placeholder information—the Ryzen 7 9800X3D launched last November with a generational premium of $30 (Ryzen 7 7800X3D's original MSRP was $449). AMD has alluded to gaming performance being on a roughly even plane, so the incoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D and 9900X3D models are not expected to surpass the Ryzen 7 9800X3D as "THE best gaming processor."

The buying landscape for GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards is looking barren, just one week post-launch—global demand has far outstretched initial supply. Mid-week news points to two of NVIDIA's board partners increasing MSRPs for the top-end Blackwell GPU models, seemingly adding insult to already inflicted injuries. ASUS and MSI's North American online stores are completely devoid of stock—at the time of writing, almost all product entries are accompanied by "notify me" tags. The two hardware manufacturers have implemented comprehensive price hikes—as reported by VideoCardz. The publication pinpointed flagship models, as prime examples. The liquid-cooled ASUS ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 OC Edition 32 GB model was already a pricey prospect at launch ($3099), but the official store has tacked on another $311. A total charge of $3410 gets you one of the nicest and feature-rich card designs on the market, but you will be paying a premium of $1411—above Team Green's official GeForce RTX 5090 MSRP of $1999—for the privilege of ownership and/or bragging rights. Further down in the product stack—TechSpot noted that a Prime GeForce RTX 5080 (non-OC) 16 GB model has jumped from an original figure of $999, up to $1,264. At the time of writing, this price has been re-adjusted back down to just below $1000—thanks to a special "deal." The overclocked Prime variant is currently priced at $1320.

Looking at the MSI US store, VideoCardz reported on all GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards being priced north of original MSRPs—they highlighted a lowly not-overclocked RTX 5080 16G VENTUS 3X model having its price adjusted upwards—now $1140, instead of the original $1000 (at launch). MSI's "cheapest" RTX 5090 card is another VENTUS 3X design—this non-OC model is now $380 more expensive than last week's asking price ($2000). Overall, MSI's US webshop has raised prices in the ranges of $140 to $500 for GeForce RTX 5080 cards, and $380 to $790 for RTX 5090 offering—according to VideoCardz research. The company's RTX 5090 SUPRIM LIQUID SOC flagship design is not quite expensive as the equivalently appointed ASUS liquid-cooled model, but the newly adjusted MSRP of $2790 is difficult to digest. Press outlets have noted that listings on Newegg are up to $40 more expensive, when compared to the prices published on MSI's first-party store. As an added incentive, the MSI North American store is offering potential buyers a saving of: "$200 on MPG 322URX QD-OLED at checkout with RTX 5080/5090 series purchase."