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A hot potato: Do you think that the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 are expensive? Unfortunately, those looking to buy a model from OEMs MSI or Asus should be prepared to pay even more. The companies have increased the prices of their Blackwell offerings, in some cases by as much as almost $400.
Like most retailers, MSI currently has no RTX 5000-series in stock. However, people noticed that the prices suddenly increased on Wednesday.
You can see on this archive of its website that MSI had only one RTX 5080 at its $999 MSRP earlier this week – the GeForce RTX 5080 16G VENTUS 3X. Now, that same card is $1,139, a 14% increase.
It’s the same story with the RTX 5090. The only card that had been priced at its $1,999 MSRP, also a Ventus 3X, is now $2,379, up 19%.
Other products have also experienced price hikes. The OC Plus variant of the RTX 5080 Ventus 3X went from $1,139 to $1,269, while the RTX 5090 Vanguard SOC launch edition went from $2,379 to $2,689. The most expensive model MSI has listed is the Geforce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM LIQUID SOC for $2,789, while the RTX 5080 version is $1,499.
Many of these same MSI cards are on Newegg, where they’re even more expensive – up to $40 more.
MSI isn’t alone in ramping up the prices. Asus’ Blackwell cards have also increased. Its Astral RTX 5090 went from $2,799 to $3,079 on Newegg, while the Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB jumped from $999 to $1,264.
The situation brings to mind the height of the pandemic, when a confluence of factors resulted in an extremely limited supply of graphics cards, leading opportunistic companies to raise GPU prices far above their MSRPs.
Extra tariffs on Chinese goods are likely contributing to the price hikes, as most graphics cards are assembled and tested in China. There are also plans to impose tariffs on semiconductors from Taiwan, which could see TSMC raise the price of its semiconductor wafers by up to 15 percent this year – an increase that could ultimately be passed on to consumers.
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