Nvidia store quietly pulls the RTX 5080 following RTX 5090 removal — street prices climb to 2.2X over MSRP

After the Blackwell flagship RTX 5090 disappeared from Nvidia's marketplace, the GeForce RTX 5080 has now followed suit. The sub-flagship graphics card has seen its market price explode to more than 2.2 times its original $999 MSRP, with the Blackwell-powered card gradually going out of stock at various U.S. retailers.

The complete removal of both high-end models breaks Nvidia's established pattern, as other Blackwell SKUs like the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and GeForce RTX 5070 remain listed on the marketplace, albeit marked as "Out of Stock." This selective removal fuels speculation about Nvidia's production strategy for its premium gaming graphics cards.

Production Shift Rumors

Industry rumors suggest Nvidia has allegedly stopped producing the RTX 5090 to repurpose the valuable GB202 silicon into its RTX Pro Blackwell lineup, which offers higher profit margins. This aligns with perceptions that Nvidia has increasingly shifted focus from gaming hardware to AI solutions in recent years.

Instead of simply discontinuing the RTX 5090, Nvidia purportedly plans to introduce a GeForce RTX 5080 24GB as the new flagship gaming graphics card. A 24GB variant would address one of the biggest consumer complaints about the current model: insufficient memory capacity.

Many agree that Nvidia stopped being a gaming hardware vendor long ago and has transformed into an AI provider.

Market Impact

The most affordable model currently in stock, the PNY GeForce RTX 5080 ARGB Epic-X RGB OC, retails for $2,199.99. As remaining units sell out, prices are expected to climb further.

With availability dwindling, the RTX 5080 is unlikely to be in stock by Black Friday. Consumers seeking the card may have little choice but to purchase at today's elevated prices or wait for the rumored RTX 5080 24GB, which would almost certainly debut at a substantial premium over the original model.