an RTX 5080 now costs more than an RTX 5090 did at launch. no, that's not a typo

Nvidia just hiked GPU prices for the third time this year, and for the first time it hit everything — not just the flagship.

Aliteq
Ravi Malhotra · Hardware Editor

The numbers, fast

ASUS's ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC launched at $1,499.99 in January 2025. Best Buy now lists it at $2,099.99 — a 40% increase.

The numbers, fast

Nvidia's RTX 5090 launched at $1,999 MSRP. The ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC is now selling for more than $4,300 on Amazon.

The numbers, fast

This is Nvidia's third GeForce price increase of 2026 — and the first to hit the entire lineup, not just the high end.

The numbers, fast

The trigger isn't Nvidia's margins. It's Samsung, which has raised DRAM and GDDR pricing roughly 90% in Q1, 50–60% in Q2, and another 20% in Q3 2026.

Buy now or wait?

If you can hold off, hold off — I don't expect relief this year, though that's my read of the pattern, not a guarantee anyone's making. If you genuinely need a GPU this month, buy exactly the card…

My take

I don't think Nvidia is gouging people just because it can. Jensen Huang doesn't need GeForce margin — the AI datacenter business dwarfs gaming revenue on Nvidia's own earnings calls. This is…

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an RTX 5080 now costs more than an RTX 5090 did at launch. no, that's not a typo

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