Speculation has been swirling around Nvidia unveiling its next-generation RTX 50-series graphics cards during CES in January. As the event approaches, inadvertent leaks from Nvidia’s partners and PC manufacturers have begun shedding light on what’s in store.
Recent leaks from Zotac and Acer suggest that Nvidia is preparing to announce four new high-end GPUs next month: the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070. VideoCardz spotted these models briefly listed on Zotac’s website.
Additionally, an RTX 5090D variant appears to be in the works for the Chinese market, potentially featuring modified specifications to comply with current U.S. export restrictions on high-performance GPUs.
Although the Zotac website leak did not reveal extensive specifications, it did indicate that the RTX 5090 will include 32GB of GDDR7 memory, a significant upgrade from the 24GB of GDDR6X found in the RTX 4090.
Acer’s spec sheet for its new Predator Orion desktops corroborates this, listing 32GB of GDDR7 for the RTX 5090 and 16GB of GDDR7 for the RTX 5080—the same memory capacity seen in the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super.
The RTX 5090’s impending launch is particularly noteworthy, given that no GPU released since October 2022 has surpassed the RTX 4090’s performance. Nvidia’s early 2024 refresh of its 40-series cards did not include a 4090 Super variant, and AMD’s flagship RX 7900 XTX has primarily competed with the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super.
While the RTX 5090 may not be aimed at the average consumer, it represents the first substantial high-end performance upgrade in the GPU market in over two years, catering to those seeking peak performance.
However, the RTX 5090 is expected to come with a price increase over the RTX 4090’s $1,599 MSRP. The GB202 GPU die powering the RTX 5090 is rumored to be physically larger than the AD102 GPU die used in the RTX 4090, despite employing a more advanced TSMC manufacturing process.
Nvidia and its partners have already faced challenges keeping the RTX 4090 in stock at its MSRP, and with no direct competition from AMD or Intel in this performance tier, a price hike seems likely.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s statements further bolster the expectation of higher prices. Huang has remarked that the era of chips becoming more affordable over time is “a story of the past,” although, as an interested party, his perspective may be somewhat biased.
Details about the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 remain sparse, but other leaks suggest these cards will feature 16GB and 12GB of GDDR7 memory, respectively. This aligns with the memory configurations of the current RTX 4070 Ti Super and 4070 Super models.
Notably absent from the leaks are any RTX 5060-series cards, which would cater to midrange gaming PCs. Nvidia’s usual strategy involves launching its flagship models first and following up with midrange options later. It is reasonable to expect a midrange refresh from Nvidia by the spring or summer of 2025.
