Nvidia issues RTX 50 series supply update
Nvidia has shipped 2x as many RTX 50 series GPUs as RTX 40 series GPUs in the same timeframe
As part of a pre-GDC update, Nvidia gave us a supply update for their RTX 50 series GPUs. Nvidia revealed they had shipped two times as many RTX 50 series GPUs in the first five weeks of launch as they had RTX 40 series GPUs within the same timeframe. Even with this increase in shipments, Nvidia has been unable to release enough RTX 50 series GPUs to meet demand.
While Nvidia’s GPU shipments are higher than last-gen, it is worth noting that Nvidia has released more GPU SKUs during this 5-week timeframe. Note that the first five weeks of Nvidia’s RTX 40 series launch only included Nvidia’s RTX 4090 and RTX 4080, and Nvidia’s RTX 4080 released at the end of those five weeks.
Four graphics cards, the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070, were released in the first five weeks of Nvidia’s RTX 50 series launch. If we include Nvidia’s China-only RTX 5090D, that’s five graphics card models in total. If we consider Nvidia’s GPU shipments on a per-SKU basis, the company’s GPU shipments aren’t as impressive as they first sound.
While Nvidia has pushed more RTX 50 supply into the market than they had at the same time in the RTX 40 series’ life cycle, it is worth noting that their last GPU release cycle was totally different. With its RTX 40 series, Nvidia only released higher-end GPU models. This time, Nvidia have released high-end and more mainstream (high volume) GPU models. Nvidia has compressed its RTX 50 series release cycle, meaning they needed to ship more GPUs within this timeframe.
Nvidia should have launched with more RTX 50 series GPU supply
Ask any PC enthusiast, and they will tell you that Nvidia should have had more RTX 50 series GPUs in stock on day 1. Nvidia’s first five weeks of after their RTX 50 series launch had more product releases (2 times as many as the RTX 40 series). Furthermore, these releases covered a much broader market. As such, Nvidia’s GPU shipment report is not as impressive as it first sounds.
In other Nvidia news, the company has confirmed that DLSS 4 is now available in over 100 games.
You can join the discussion on Nvidia’s RTX 50 series desktop GPU shipments on the OC3D Forums.
