Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti are at risk of shortages due to a lack of GDDR7 memory.
The shortage of GDDR7 memory and rising component prices are making Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs harder to obtain, forcing retailers to limit orders.
The high-end graphics card market is facing a new wave of shortages as Nvidia's RTX 50-series (Blackwell) encounters component supply difficulties. The latest reports indicate that the production and distribution of top-of-the-line GPUs like the RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti are being severely impacted by a shortage of next-generation video memory (VRAM).
The distribution system began to tighten supply.
In the European market, signs of scarcity have begun to appear clearly. A major distributor in Germany has had to impose strict limits on orders for the RTX 5070 Ti model. Meanwhile, the top-of-the-line RTX 5090 graphics card, which is expensive, is also becoming increasingly difficult to find on store shelves.
Notably, some retailers may soon cease selling the Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs entirely if the supply situation does not improve. The inability to secure a stable supply makes it difficult for retailers to sustain their business with this new product line.
The bottleneck from GDDR7 memory technology
The root cause of this situation has been identified as a shortage of GDDR7 VRAM. This is a high-speed memory type used by Nvidia in the Blackwell architecture to deliver superior graphics and AI processing performance. However, GDDR7 production is currently facing many challenges, leading to low output and high costs.
The combination of inflated component prices and limited GDDR7 supply has created a major barrier to graphics card production. This has affected not only the highest-end cards but has also extended to mid-range segments like the RTX 5070 Ti.
Impact on end users
Given the current situation, users planning to upgrade to the RTX 50-series may face two scenarios: retail prices being pushed higher than the suggested retail price, or long waiting times due to retailers running out of stock. The fact that distributors in Germany have started imposing order limits is often a harbinger of a similar situation occurring globally in the near future.
