Last week, GIGABYTE issued an official response to an initial case of "thermal conductive gel slippage," involving an ultra-expensive AORUS GeForce RTX 5080 MASTER ICE, a vertical-mounted graphics card setup, and very non-intensive MMO gaming sessions. The Taiwanese manufacturer believes that this problem is isolated within a first wave of products: "every graphics card is inspected and verified against our quality standards before leaving the factory. The thermal conductive gel is an insulating, deformable, putty-like compound. It is engineered to remain in place when applied properly, and can endure at least 150 °C before any melting or liquification could happen. In some early production batches for the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 50 Series, a slightly higher volume of gel was applied to ensure sufficient thermal coverage. The overapplication may cause the excessive gel to appear more prominent, extended, and could potentially be separated from the designated area. While the appearance of extra gel might be concerning, this cosmetic variance does not affect the card's performance, reliability, or lifespan. We had already inspected the issue, and adjusted the gel to the optimal amount in (subsequent) production runs."

Despite sending out a public assurance to a worried audience—"(we) take your concerns seriously and want to provide clear information"—GIGABYTE will not be recalling problematic products. VideoCardz reckons that the company is "downplaying" current conditions. Based on further evidence—shared by several members of the TechPowerUp forum (commenting on news coverage)—unfortunately, the first reported case (emerging from South Korea) was not an isolated incident. Given the contents of GIGABYTE's public bulletin, they seem to be aware that this special thermal material (reserved for fancier SKUs) is troubling owners of early batch "GeForce RTX 50 Series and Radeon RX 9000 Series graphics cards." TPU forumite, remekra, shared two images and the following bit of feedback (plus a warning): "I have mine mounted in Lian Li SUP01 case, so GPU is basically standing that's why it drips into the direction of ports. So far it does not overheat on memory modules. I will hold off sending it to GIGABYTE customer service, as I don't have good memories of them; so until it overheats or stops working I will use it. But if you have a vertical case or stand then be aware."

ASUS earlier this year introduced the limited edition ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab graphics card. The card sports a gilded appearance, with sapphire blue metallic accents, and ASUS ROG branding resembling calligraphy. The card was debuted in the UAE and was expected to be available in limited quantities in the region. It looks like the company wants to extend this niche brand to even the GeForce RTX 5080, and is working on the ROG Astral RTX 5080 Dhahab Core. This card is based on the air-cooled ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC, but with the same aesthetic treatment as the RTX 5090 Dhahab.

The aluminium fins in the cooler have golden appearance (not actually gold-plated); as do the alloy cooler shroud, the fan impeller hubcaps, and the copper heat pipes. In place of chrome accents, it has contrasting sapphire blue metallic tones. There are other cultural icons, such as gold calligraphy set against black. At this point we're not sure what ASUS is referring to with the "Core" branding. Perhaps Core could denote the entry level into the Dhahab brand itself, with the RTX 5080 serving as a nice entry point.

GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards—whether in Founders Edition or AIB custom form—are still in very high demand; certain buyers are even flying into nearby nations to take advantage of even the slightest favorable conditions. This was apparent during launch week—three months ago—with so-called "tourists" queuing up alongside locals in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Day one anti-scalping measures were implemented, but launch stock of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards was rapidly depleted. According to the latest reports, (mostly) Chinese buyers have been making regular visits to Japan's big electronics retail hub, in Osaka. Up until fairly recently, tax-free circumstances—for non-natives—have made the purchase of flagship NVIDIA "Blackwell" GPU-based gaming GPUs worth the trip, even with the added expense of plane tickets and other overheads.

Additionally, certain outlets actually had units readily available on shelves or behind shop counters. Eventually, stores dropped the whole tax-free thing. This measure did not cause much discouragement; tourists were still willing to pay the extra cost—still reasonable, compared to escalated (global) card prices. As disclosed in a MyDrivers news report, multiple Osaka-based retailers have bolstered their anti-tourist sales methodologies—one visitor spotted an updated placard that stated: "GeForce RTX 5090/RTX 5080 cards are only sold to customers who use it in Japan. If the purchased product is to be taken out of Japan, it will not be sold." VideoCardz believes that this newer "symbolic" countermove will be tricky to enforce; are shop workers going to be tasked with performing "Japanese citizen tests" on a regular basis? Chinese ultra high-end GPU seekers could continue to source units from abroad; the latest rumblings suggest a potential forthcoming ban of NVIDIA's region-exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D model.

Alphacool International GmbH, based in Braunschweig, has been a pioneer in PC water cooling technology for over 20 years. With one of the most comprehensive product portfolios in the industry and over 20 years of experience, Alphacool is now expanding its portfolio with the new Core GeForce RTX 5090 EPIC-X with Backplate and Core GeForce RTX 5080 EPIC-X with Backplate graphics card water coolers.

The GPU water coolers have been completely redesigned. Precise adjustments to the spacing between the cooler and the PCB, along with optimized water flow simulations and extensive practical testing, have resulted in significant improvements to the cooler base and jetplate. These enhancements ensure maximum cooling performance for the newest NVIDIA GeForce RTX generation. The GPU water coolers feature a precisely machined copper base with high-quality chrome plating for exceptional durability and a smooth surface. The design is further complemented by robust brass fittings with a nylon cover, ensuring maximum safety and reliability.

Mere months after the launch of GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB and RTX 5070 12 GB graphics cards, industry rumors are already swirling about a potential "SUPER" semi-successor. Sections of NVIDIA's previous-gen "Ada Lovelace" GeForce RTX 40-series family received mid-generation refresh treatment around early 2024. It is not clear whether it will take a year+ for the speculated arrival of upgraded "Blackwell" desktop gaming solutions, but members of the Chiphell forum have been openly discussing alleged "in-progress" GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER 24 GB and RTX 5070 SUPER 18 GB card designs. Past weekend theorizations were highlighted by ITHome and VideoCardz—in particular, one Chiphell participant posited the two follow-ups will not be deployed with noticeably "faster" performance.

Larger pools of onboard GDDR7 VRAM could pave the way for improvements in AI productivity, although greater capacities could lead to beneficial conditions in gaming scenarios—e.g. extra provisions for large textures and complex assets. The speculated GeForce RTX 5080 SUPER card could borrow aspects from Team Green's GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile 24 GB model; namely the latter's usage of 3 GB GDDR7 memory modules. Press interpretations—of fresh Chiphell leaks—point to company engineers enabling existing PCB designs with 8×3 GB (24 GB) and 6×3 GB (18 GB) parts; thus preventing a major overhaul of board layouts. Global PC gaming hardware communities have often expressed a dislike of NVIDIA's repeated deployment of 8 GB and 12 GB capacity products. A theoretical GeForce RTX 5070 SUPER 18 GB option could receive a warmer welcome. Very early speculation proposes an introduction—of SUPER "Blackwell" models—just before or during CES 2026.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced its partnership with Bethesda and id Software on the highly anticipated title DOOM: The Dark Ages. The collaboration is part of ongoing celebrations for the 30-year anniversary of ASUS graphics cards, and honors DOOM, an iconic franchise with a long-standing and legendary tenure in PC gaming.

The collaboration is headlined by a limited-edition ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card based on the DOOM Slayer character. It will be sold exclusively on the Bethesda Gear Store, bundled with an exclusive T-shirt, mouse mat, yellow key card, ROG-exclusive DOOM Slayer Legionary in-game skin, and optionally, the Premium Edition of the game.

COLORFUL introduced its premium iGame GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC 16 GB SKU earlier this year; complete with a mounted angle-adjustable 5th generation iGame Smart LCD screen. As of this week, the already launched standard black model is accompanied by a pale sibling—the manufacturer describes this new entry as sporting "snow-white armor." This spin-off is advertised as redefining the "visual language of high-end graphics cards." Unlike recently revealed lower end custom "Blackwell" gaming graphics cards, the quad-fan Vulcan W model gets special PR treatment—as demonstrated by COLORFUL's slick photo shoot and high-minded marketing blurb.

The Chinese AIB announced a retail launch—as of yesterday, their iGame GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan W design headed to retail. Their own webstore and other regional platforms (JD, Tmall, Douyin, etc.) have started selling this SKU—the official starter price is 12,999 yuan (~$1784 USD). TechPowerUp's W1zzard reviewed a related (black) GeForce RTX 5080 Vulcan OC model; this triple-fan card was awarded with a "but expensive" badge—thanks to a potential $1300+ price point. COLORFUL's freshly introduced "pure white" flagship seemingly borrows cooling solution design inspiration from a key rival; the ASUS ROG Astral. A fourth 107 mm "sickle blade" fan is mounted on the Vulcan W's backplate.

An unlucky owner of a GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 5080 MASTER ICE 16 GB graphics card has reported a baffling instance of thermal gel leakage. A forum post—titled: "5080 oh my god thermal problem"—on the Quasar Zone BBS alerted the wider world to this bizarre fault. The South Korean MMORPG enthusiast described circumstances up until the point of critical liquefaction: "it's been exactly a month since I bought it. I use it for (Blizzard's) World of Warcraft. Two hours of use per day. I set up the card with a riser kit. Thermal (material) is crawling out?!" Early 2025 press coverage has largely focused on other types of unwanted high temperature events involving GeForce RTX 50-series cards, but the seeping out of "server-grade thermal conductive gel" compound is something new. As reported by several PC hardware news outlets, GIGABYTE has utilized fancy thermal conductive gel within flagship SKUs—instead of traditional/conventional thermal pads. This gel was placed over the card's VRAM and MOSFET sections; following fairly light usage (as described above) some of this material started to head down—getting ever closer to the unit's PCIe interface.

Assisted by the AORUS RTX 5080 MASTER ICE's vertical orientation, the (apparently) highly deformable, but non-fluid thermal gel was susceptible to the effects of gravity. JC Hyun System Co., Ltd.—GIGABYTE's official domestic importer (for South Korea)—weighed in with a separate bulletin: "we are aware of the thermal gel issue with the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 50 series, which was first posted on Quasar Zone—(we) are currently discussing the thermal gel issue with GIGABYTE HQ and future customer service regulations. In addition, we sincerely apologize for the confusion caused to many customers who love and use GIGABYTE products due to inaccurate guidance provided to customers who received the products due to unclear customer service regulations regarding the issue that occurred this time. Lastly, when the manufacturer's customer service policy regarding this thermal gel issue is finalized, we will also forward the service policy to CS Innovation so that it can be processed smoothly in accordance with the service policy. We will also provide information through a separate post so that more customers can be aware of the information." As mentioned by Notebookcheck, GIGABYTE uses this special thermal gel solution on other highly expensive custom: "RTX 50-series cards like the GeForce RTX 5090 XTREME WATERFORCE 32G, RTX 5090 MASTER ICE, RTX 5070 Ti MASTER, and others."

Igor's Lab has run independent testing and thermal analysis of NVIDIA's latest GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards, including the add-in card partner design RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, and 5060 Ti, which are now attracting attention for surprising thermal "hotspots" on the back of their PCBs. These hotspots are just the areas on PCB that get hot under load, and not the "Hot Spot" sensor NVIDIA removed with RTX 50 series. Infrared tests have shown temperatures climbing above 100°C in the power delivery region, even though the GPU die stays below 80°C. This isn't a problem with the silicon but with concentrated heating in clusters of thin copper planes and via arrays. Card makers like Palit, PNY, and MSI have all seen the same issue since they closely follow NVIDIA's reference PCB layout and use similar cooler mounting. A big part of the trouble comes down to how PCB designers and cooler engineers work separately.

NVIDIA's Thermal Design Guide gives AIC partners detailed power-loss budgets, listing worst-case dissipation for the GPU, memory, NVVDD and FBVDDQ rails, inductors, MOSFETs, and other components, and it recommends ideal thermal interface materials and mounting pressures. The guide assumes that even heat is spreading and that there is perfect airflow in a wind tunnel, but actual consumer PCs don't match those conditions. Multi-layer PCBs force high currents through 35 to 70 µm copper layers, which join at tight via clusters under the VRMs. Without dedicated thermal bridges or reinforced vias, these areas become bottlenecks where heat builds up, and the standard backplate plus heat-pipe layout can't pull it away fast enough.

NVIDIA's latest GeForce 576.02 WHQL driver, released on April 16, which brought support for the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, appears to deliver unexpected performance gains for several "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 50 series GPUS in UL's 3DMark Steel Nomad benchmark. ComputerBase community users with RTX 5070, 5070 Ti, and 5080 GPUs reported three to eight percent score uplifts after upgrading, prompting ComputerBase to verify these claims under controlled conditions. Their independent testing confirms that the RTX 5080 jumps from 8,094 to 8,550 points (a 5.6 percent boost), the RTX 5070 Ti climbs from 6,463 to 6,932 points (7.3 percent), and the RTX 5070 improves from 4,838 to 5,242 points (8.4 percent).

By contrast, the flagship RTX 5090 sees only a marginal lift from 14,032 to 14,117 points, which is well within standard test variance, while the RTX 5060 Ti remains essentially unchanged at roughly 3,530 points, likely because it launched with an up-to-date driver. When evaluating other popular UL benchmarks, namely Speed Way and Time Spy, ComputerBase observed no measurable uplift from driver version 576.02. In fact, some Time Spy runs dipped slightly, underlining that the anomaly appears confined to Steel Nomad's specific workload. It's important to note that synthetic benchmarks do not always translate directly to in-game performance. Historical data from ComputerBase's GPU suite suggests Blackwell cards sometimes outperform their synthetic gains in actual titles, but results vary by engine and title. Besides RTX 5060 Ti support and a strange performance increase, the 576.02 WHQL fixes a host of game‑specific crashes, stutters, aliasing, and stability issues across titles like Fortnite, Overwatch 2, Hellblade II, Control, and more.

ZOTAC started teasing a refresh of its Apocalypse product line earlier in the year. Two months later, fairly concrete details of the (still) upcoming GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB variant emerged via the NVIDIA board partner's Weibo blog. Unfortunately, ZOTAC's ultra premium 3.5-slot thick/ARGB-lit behemoth design is expected to remain exclusive to the Chinese PC hardware market. Western hardcore gaming enthusiasts are best served by the manufacturer's alternative flagship triple-slotter: GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme INFINITY ULTRA. ZOTAC's mainland China and Hong Kong offices have declared the arrival of brand-new Apocalypse SKUs at retail; utilizing NVIDIA's "Blackwell" GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs.

Yesterday's Weibo bulletin commenced with: "when mecha aesthetics collide with technology, and gaming passion merges with extreme performance, the ZOTAC GeForce RTX 50 Apocalypse series graphics cards are born! After (our) continuous R&D, improvement, testing and adjustment—today, newly upgraded flagship graphics cards are officially launched!" The brand has advertised the return of an apparently much-missed product line mascot: "Apocalypse Princess is back with a new look, starting a game/AI exploration journey with you." Promotional imagery and box art feature a prominent illustration of ZOTAC's flagship series heroine—this "mecha artwork" demonstrates a serious sci-fi aesthetic, albeit with a cute female protagonist leading the way. A rival AIB specializes in this type of "marketing"—Yeston's similar-ish presentation language concentrates on enchanting fantasy characters.

Over the past couple of months, Yeston has attracted plenty of media attention—in particular, with its recently launched Sakura Atlantis card design. The Chinese manufacturer produces custom AMD and NVIDIA gaming graphics cards—for its native market—but their unique Radeon RX 9070 Series offerings have made the most noise around the globe. Yeston did unveil GeForce RTX 50 Series Sakura and Game Ace designs around mid-January, but this announcement did not describe the exact nature of upcoming SKUs. As reported by VideoCardz earlier today, the company has distributed "new" GeForce RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070 models in China—e-tail listings have appeared on JD.com. Their rollout of rather sober looking affairs will disappoint many "waifu" illustration and bright color palette enthusiasts.

Yeston's Deluxe lineup was swiftly identified as a somewhat lazy rebadging of Gainward's GeForce RTX 50 Series Phoenix design. TechPowerUp's W1zzard reviewed the latter's GeForce RTX 5080 Phoenix GS model, just over two months ago. VideoCardz noted that Yeston has a short history of rebranding Gainward products; going back to an almost identical strategy with GeForce RTX 40 "Ada Lovelace" options (Phoenix => Deluxe). Three fan stickers differentiate the board partner brands—everything else is identical; including prominent "Phoenix" text on backplates and on top-mounted ARGB lighting zones. Yeston started to tease its new-gen Deluxe lineup around mid-February; as seen on their Weibo channel. At the time, this official account asked: "is this the card you've been waiting for?" We suspect that the majority of potential customers are preparing credit cards for the purchase of more elaborate options, in the near future.

NVIDIA has confirmed that its Verified Priority Access (VPA) program for the GeForce RTX 50 Series remains active following its initial announcement two months ago. The program allows a limited number of US-based GeForce account holders to purchase RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 Founders Edition cards directly from the NVIDIA Marketplace. The VPA scheme was introduced three weeks after the RTX 50 Series launch to address supply shortages and high reseller prices. Initially, two months ago, users with NVIDIA Accounts created on or before January 30, 2025, at 6 AM Pacific Time, could register their interest through an online form. Invitations would have been emailed to qualifying account holders, with the first notifications scheduled for next week.

This pilot program applies only to US GeForce users and is limited to the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Founders Edition cards. The recently released RTX 5070 Ti is not included and must be purchased through AIB partner custom designs. NVIDIA has not disclosed how many priority access slots are available or whether the program will expand internationally. All we know is that an NVIDIA representative on Reddit posted, "VPA for the GeForce RTX 50 series Founders Edition graphics cards has not ended," responding to an alleged VPA program rumor that it has ended. If the US pilot is successful, the company may consider adding more markets and product lines. Eligible users should watch their inboxes for an invitation to buy at the original MSRP.

TechPowerUp's W1zzard did not honor the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Edition graphics card model with any awards—as disclosed in his late January evaluation, a major negative point was highlighted: "no additional power limit increases allowed." The premium-tier ASUS offering managed to top TPU's "Maximum Overclock Comparison" GeForce RTX 5080-class table; comfortably leading the pack with an out-of-the-box (default) 400 W power setting. Reviewers and well-heeled owners—of this $1500+ special quad-fan package—have lamented the apparent lack of extra headroom. Sitting in fifth place was GIGABYTE's RTX 5080 GAMING OC SKU; a card that can support up to 450 W. As reported by VideoCardz earlier today, ASUS has taken onboard aforementioned feedback.

Resultant under-the-hood tinkerings were implemented mid-way through last month. The "ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB GDDR7 OC Edition" support page has welcomed a new downloadable file—authored on March 14—this BIOS update is advertised as being capable of: "increasing the (model's) maximum TGP to 450 W." Additional bragging rights will be granted with this patch; owners can boast about their expensive bits of kit being further enhanced—NVIDIA's reference specification TGP/TDP is 360 W. Thumbs up go to Team ASUS once again—mid-February Astral series updates tweaked noise profiles; not too long after an absorption of launch day criticism.

It seems as though the high pricing and shortages surrounding NVIDIA's latest GeForce RTX 5000 series GPUs has resulted in gamers turning to previous GPU generations for salvation. According to the latest Newegg GPU bestseller charts, the $459.98 MSI Ventus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB graphics card is currently the best-selling GPU. Curiously, the Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT OC 16 GB is close on its heels, with the Gigabyte AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT on its heels in third place. The first NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5000 series GPU on the Newegg bestseller list is the ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 5070 OC, which is in eighth place, behind several AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT, RX 9070 XT, and RX 6600 models. It's unclear whether this is due to high pricing or simply a lack of stock to sell, although the RTX 5070 OC is currently available on Newegg for $739.99. Curiously, this is also the only in-stock RTX 5000 series card amongst the top 20 best-selling GPUs on Newegg. Granted, this is only one vendor, but the majority of the GPUs on the list are either AMD Radeon RX 7000 series or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4000 series GPUs.

The most recent Steam Hardware & Software Survey, updated for March 2025, however, tells a more confusing story. While adoption rates for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5000 series GPUs is certainly slow, with the RTX 5080 being the only 5000 series GPU to even feature on the chart, with 0.19% growth over the last month, gamers seem to be moving away from the RTX 4000 series even faster. The GPU that showed the most growth during the last Steam Survey is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which is already six years old. It's also interesting to note that most of the AMD GPUs in the Steam Survey results also saw minor upticks in adoption. Recent reports out of Japan show that AMD has garnered massive interest since the launch of the RX 9070 series GPUs, with claims of 45% market share coming as a surprise after NVIDIA reached 90% GPU market share in December last year. While NVIDIA's supply issues are likely at least partially to blame for AMD's increased popularity, there is also a growing sentiment amongst gamers, backed by some of our own testing, that NVIDIA is more interested in AI and simply isn't equipping its gaming graphics cards with enough VRAM for high-resolution and high-refresh rate gaming.

Cooler Master (CM) showcased custom GeForce RTX 50-series graphics card designs at CES 2025, but advertised these compelling parts as included in high-end pre-built gaming rigs. Months later, finalized CM GeForce RTX 5080 stock has just rolled out in China—as demonstrated by 51972's blog post on Bilibili. A generous selection of uploaded photos were accompanied by the content creator's observations when tinkering with his sample unit's modular air cooling solution: "someone commented on the post this morning and suggested replacing it with a MasterFan or Mobius. I tried it too. I thought it could only support 12025 (slim) fans. When I disassembled it, I found that Cooler Master's designers/engineers had reserved screw limit holes at different heights."

Their description continued as follows: "I tried it and found that the (Phanteks) T30 could really be installed, but the thickness of the whole card reached a terrifying 9 cm. Outrageous." Cooler Master's innovative enclosure—when configured with the thickest third-party options—manages to "outgrow" nearby competition. 51972 compared CM's plucky new entrant to an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 card; a very familiar premium-tier quad-slotter—albeit with a relatively "svelte" 7.6 cm profile. MSI's upper crust GeForce RTX 5080 SUPRIM cards arrived earlier this year, sporting the same shroud height dimension as equivalent Astral SKUs.

NVIDIA and its laptop manufacturing partners managed to squeeze out higher end models at the start of the week (March 31); qualifying just in time as a Q1 2025 launch. As predicted by PC gaming hardware watchdogs, conditions on day one—for the general public—were far from perfect. Media and influencer outlets received pre-launch evaluation units—Monday's embargo lift did not open up floodgates to a massive number of published/uploaded reviews. Independent benchmarking of Team Green's flagship—GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile—produced somewhat underwhelming results. To summarize, several outlets—including Notebookcheck—observed NVIDIA's topmost laptop-oriented GPU trailing way behind its desktop equivalent in lab tests. Notebookcheck commented on these findings: "laptop gamers will want to keep their expectations in check as the mobile GeForce RTX 5090 can be 50 percent slower than the desktop counterpart as shown by our benchmarks. The enormous gap between the mobile RTX 5090 and desktop RTX 5090 and the somewhat disappointing leap over the outgoing mobile RTX 4080 can be mostly attributed to TGP."

The German online publication was more impressed with NVIDIA's sub-flagship model—two Ryzen 9 9955HX-powered Schenker XMG Neo 16 test units—sporting almost identical specifications—were pitched against each other, a resultant mini-review of benched figures was made available earlier today. Notebookcheck's Allen Ngo provided some context: "3DMark benchmarks...show that the (Schenker Neo's) GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile unit is roughly 10 to 15 percent slower than its pricier sibling. This deficit translates fairly well when running actual games like Baldur's Gate 3, Final Fantasy XV, Alan Wake 2, or Assassin's Creed Shadows. As usual, the deficit is widest when running at 4K resolutions on demanding games and smallest when running at lower resolutions where graphics become less GPU bound. A notable observation is that the performance gap between the mobile RTX 5080 and mobile RTX 5090 would remain the same, whether or not DLSS is enabled. When running Assassin's Creed Shadows with DLSS on, for example, the mobile RTX 5090 would maintain its 15 percent lead over the mobile RTX 5080. The relatively small performance drop between the two enthusiast GPUs means it may be worth configuring laptops with the RTX 5080 instead of the RTX 5090 to save on hundreds of dollars or for better performance-per-dollar." As demonstrated by Bestware.com's system configurator, the XMG NEO 16 (A25) SKU with a GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile GPU demands a €855 (~$928 USD) upcharge over an RTX 5080-based build.

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."

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) and Team Vitality are delighted to announce the extension of their partnership. As of today, Team Vitality's Counter-Strike 2 and VALORANT teams will also benefit from a full range of ROG laptops, desktops and handheld consoles, providing them with even better hardware on their road toward excellence.

Thanks to this new phase of collaboration, Team Vitality players will benefit from cutting-edge gaming equipment, adapted to the demands of the highest competitive level. These computers will offer unrivalled processing power, ultra-high refresh rates and minimal latency, guaranteeing maximum precision and responsiveness in both training and competition. This partnership with Team Vitality marks a further step in ROG's drive to innovate and offer professional and amateur gamers alike an increasingly immersive and high-performance gaming experience.

Tom's Hardware just published an intensive data collection of online prices of the latest GPUs from AMD and NVIDIA, suggesting that real-world prices are nowhere near MSRP. With an investigation into the 30-day eBay average price based on listings, the data shows that a lot of GPU SKUs are retailing for well-above-average price premiums. The data tracker also looked for the best-priced listing of a specific SKU. For instance, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 is seen retailing at around $700—a 27% increase over its official MSRP of $550—while the RTX 5080 pushes these premiums even further by selling at over 50% above its suggested price. The flagship RTX 5090 tops the chart with a staggering $4,222 on secondary markets compared to its $2,000 MSRP, an increase of roughly 111%.

In contrast, earlier models like the RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti show relatively minor inflation, with increases of only about 3% and 5%, respectively, according to recent eBay averages. Still, selling years-old GPUs at MSRP today proves that there is demand. On the AMD side, the Radeon RX 9070 series is no less dramatic. The base RX 9070, with a $550 MSRP, averages around $817 in real-world sales—a nearly 48% premium—while its high-end sibling, the RX 9070 XT, jumps to approximately $1,001 from a $600 MSRP, marking an increase of roughly 66%. Early figures even suggest that first-week sales for the RX 9070 series were ten times higher than those of previous AMD models, justifying the price surge. AMD is working on addressing this supply, which should improve in April, and NVIDIA is working with AIB partners, too, to deliver more Blackwell GPUs.

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.

MSI made at least two typos and corrections spaced apart from each other that hint at the possibility of a 24 GB variant of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The first instance was on the side of the retail box of an RTX 5080 Vanguard OC Launch Edition, which had "24 GB GDDR7" printed on top of the RTX 5080 label. The second instance was in the VGA Support list in the product page of the MAG X870 Tomahawk motherboard, where the memory size is displayed as 24,576 MB (24 GB). There are two possible interpretations of this.

One possibility is that NVIDIA originally planned the RTX 5080 to feature 24 GB of memory, using 3 GB (24 Gbit) GDDR7 memory chips across the 256-bit wide memory bus of the "GB203" silicon, and initially communicated this to its board partners, but revised the specs in the months leading up to the launch, with the card ending up with 16 GB (8x 16 Gbit). The other possibility is that there is actually a 24 GB variant in the works, which NVIDIA could end up calling the "RTX 5080 24 GB." The RTX 5080 in the market already maxes out the "GB203" silicon it's based on, so the variant could just offer a 50% increase in memory size at the same or similar memory bandwidth. The additional memory could come in handy with 4K Ultra HD + ray tracing + DLSS 4 MFG scenarios where a gamer is looking to turn their roughly 60 FPS framerates to match the 120 Hz refresh rates of their displays.

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.