With the RTX Blackwell series launch last week, led by the new GeForce RTX 5080 and GeForce RTX 5090, one of the biggest stories from the event has been the lack of adequate stock to match the demand for NVIDIA’s latest generation of desktop graphics cards. There have been several stories surrounding retailers getting very few cards for day one, with some claiming single-digit GeForce RTX 5090 inventory for an entire country.
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This has led to many online investigations and reports calling the GeForce RTX 50 Series debut a “paper launch.” And the situation, at least in the UK, is worsening. Retailer Overclockers UK has confirmed that the GeForce RTX 5080 and GeForce RTX 5090 are sold out and that, based on “high demand and limited stock,” it will no longer accept pre-orders.
With that, it’s currently working through a large list of pre-orders for both the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090. When it comes to NVIDIA’s latest flagship, Overclockers UK notes that the current ETA for orders to be fulfilled is anywhere between 3 to 16 weeks – yeah, up to four months.
The ETA for more GeForce RTX 5080 stock is a little better, with Overclockers UK indicating a wait time of 2 to 6 weeks. However, it’s worth noting that this is for stock to fulfill all of its current orders – and not for when customers and PC gamers in the region can expect to go online or walk into a store and find one.
“We have no plans to take pre-orders for any 50 Series cards until we have greater clarity on availability and have fulfilled the pre-orders we have taken,” the retailer writes on its site. It doesn’t sound too happy with the situation, with the response indicating that neither NVIDIA nor its GPU partners are providing clear information on when GeForce RTX 50 Series stock will hit shelves.
With stories of people camping out in freezing weather, signing up for lotteries, and spending thousands to get a GPU from scalpers, the GeForce RTX 50 Series launch has been frustrating for gamers. NVIDIA said there would be stock run-outs ahead of the launch; however, it has yet to release a statement on the current supply and demand.
Based on the information we’re seeing from Overclockers UK, we could see GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 stock hit retail before gamers can realistically pick up an RTX 5080 or RTX 5090. In fact, with recent rumors pointing to a March launch for the GeForce RTX 5060, NVIDIA’s mainstream RTX Blackwell card could arrive before more GeForce RTX 5090s.