The RTX 5090 MSRP Is Officially A Myth As The Great GPU Blackout Continues
We have officially hit the one-year anniversary of the 50 series launch, and if you were hoping for a celebratory price drop, the universe has other plans.
I have spent the last twelve months watching the RTX 5090 behave like a cryptid: people claim it exists, but nobody has actually seen one at MSRP in Europe since January 2025. It is a cynical anniversary to celebrate, especially when the latest news from the hardware trenches suggests we are moving backward. Just when we thought a year of "market stabilization" would let us finally build a rig without taking out a second mortgage, a leaked supplier email has confirmed that the high-end GPU market is effectively closing its doors to everyone but the ultra-wealthy.
A Year Of Ghosting The Consumer
It has been an entire year since the 50 series first hit the shelves, and for gamers in Europe, the "suggested retail price" has been nothing more than a cruel joke. I have been refreshing store pages since last January, and seeing the 5090 stay stubbornly out of reach while scalpers thrive has been a slow-motion car crash for the community. Now, a European supplier has decided to start 2026 by nuking existing orders for the 5070 Ti, 5080, and 5090 models.
This isn't just a "limited stock" issue anymore. The email clearly states that they are currently unable to sell any cards for these models, affecting both old orders and any new ones placed after December 30th. They are only managing to cough up a few 5070s, and even those are capped at five units per customer. If you were waiting for the one-year mark to finally score a deal, I have some bad news: the goalposts didn't just move, they were set on fire and thrown into a lake.
The 5090 MSRP Pipe Dream
Let's be real about the 5090. If you haven't found one at MSRP by now, you probably never will. The leaked data shows that even major sellers are having their allocations gutted, leaving only a tiny trickle of mid-range cards to satisfy a starving market. When the "budget" option is a restricted 5070 and the high-end cards are being cancelled in bulk, the dream of a powerful, fairly-priced PC is officially dead for 2026.
Corsair and the RAM Shakedown
As if the GPU situation wasn't depressing enough, Corsair has decided to join the "make gaming impossible" club by pulling some truly questionable moves with their memory kits. I've seen reports from the r/pcmasterrace crowd that 48GB RAM orders are being cancelled only to reappear on the site with a $500 price tag.
It is a double-team effort from the hardware industry to ensure your bank account stays empty. You can't get the GPU you want, and the RAM you need to feed it is being held for ransom. I am tired of seeing companies hide behind "market situations" to justify what looks like blatant price gouging. If you agreed to sell a kit at a certain price, cancelling that order to up-charge the same person a day later is a fast way to make sure I never recommend your brand again.
The New Normal Is Total Garbage
The industry isn't just “specializing” anymore, it is actively hostile toward its own fanbase. We are entering the second year of the 50 series era, and the barrier to entry has never been higher. Between the unpatchable security nightmares over at Sony and the artificial scarcity of PC components, it feels like the big players are in a race to see who can alienate us first.
I’ll be keeping an eye on the used market, because at this rate, buying a second-hand 40 series is the only way to stay in the game without a corporate leash around your neck. If this is what the "future" of gaming looks like, I might just go back to my backlog and stay there until the suits realize that a market without customers isn't much of a market at all.
I will keep digging into these supplier emails to see if any other brands are actually planning to ship cards at MSRP this quarter, but don't hold your breath.
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