Video Cards & GPUs - Page 8

With the current GeForce RTX 50 Series stock shortages and difficulty finding cards at close to retail prices, ASUS is starting a new ROG Elite Rewards loyalty program that will give its members the opportunity to purchase a GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU at retail price directly from the source.

ASUS started this program in response to scalpers and bots driving up graphics card prices in recent weeks. The goal is to ensure that PC gamers and creators have the chance - and priority access - to obtain a powerful GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU. With the limited availability of GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, this is a fantastic move from ASUS.

"No scalping, no inflated prices, just a fair shot at cutting-edge performance," ASUS tells us. ROG Elite Rewards members, a free program you can sign up for, will enter a drawing, and those selected will be given the option to buy a GeForce RTX 50 Series card directly from ASUS.

NVIDIA is reportedly engaging in "scarcity marketing" of its new GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, which is why the new Blackwell gaming cards are hard to find worldwide... sigh.

In a new post from industry insider @Jukanlosreve on X we're learning that the real reason that NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs are hard to find and pretty much out of stock worldwide is because the company is engaging in "scaracity marketing".

GPU inventory is "completely sufficient" but NVIDIA is reportedly controlling the supply and not releasing GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs -- right now the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti have been released -- which is "thereby creating the impression of shortage". However, we're to expect that by April or May that GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs will be released in "large quantities".

We've just been treated to another hint that the incoming RX 9070 XT from AMD is going to be a seriously powerful graphics card.

This new leak comes from VideoCardz, which used its sources to get hold of what are purportedly some official benchmarks from an AMD press briefing.

The eyebrow-raising takeaway here is that if they're genuine, the leaked benchmarks - which are real-world gaming tests, thankfully - show the 9070 XT is some 42% faster than the RX 7900 GRE at 4K (Ultra) resolution.

NVIDIA has given us an update on the issue with black screens that has been plaguing a number of folks who've purchased a new Blackwell GPU.

These black screen bug check crashes have been happening on RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards since the launch of these GPUs a while back.

NVIDIA said it was going to investigate this bug when reports of problems first emerged earlier this month, and an admin over at NVIDIA's GeForce forums has just provided an update, stating:

If you're a GeForce RTX 50 Series early adopter and have a GeForce RTX 5090 or GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, there's a slight chance that it might not be performing as it should. After some users reported slightly slower-than-expected performance and discrepancies in their GPU specs versus the official specs, NVIDIA has confirmed that an issue affects the first run of RTX Blackwell cards.

In an official statement, NVIDIA has confirmed that 0.5% or 1 in 200 GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5090D, and RTX 5070 Ti are shipping with fewer ROPs than specified. "The average graphical performance impact is 4%, with no impact on AI and Compute workloads," NVIDIA's statement reads. "Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement," it continues, adding that the "production anomaly" has been fixed.

NVIDIA didn't mention the GeForce RTX 5080 in its statement; however, a new case over the weekend on Reddit points to the ROPs issue potentially affecting RTX 5080 cards, too. With this in mind, let's break down how to check the ROP count on your GeForce RTX 50 Series GPU and the correct values you should see.

NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 Series launch has been plagued by issues, from availability to pricing to the return of melting power cables and connectors when trying to game on the new GeForce RTX 5090 flagship. The past few days have seen the RTX 50 Series make headlines for another issue: GPUs being shipped with missing ROPs.

Raster Operators (ROPs) are a key part of the render pipeline and are dedicated bits of hardware that make up the specs of a modern GeForce RTX graphics card. The new flagship GeForce RTX 5090 ($1999) ships with 176 ROPs; however, some early adopters noticed that their cards only reported 168 ROPs - and that performance was not where it should be.

NVIDIA released a statement to confirm that this issue has been corrected and that those affected can contact their board manufacturers for a replacement. According to Team Green, 0.5% or 1 in 200 GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5090 D, and RTX 5070 Ti cards are affected. The company didn't mention the GeForce RTX 5080 in its statement, but over the weekend, Redditor "gingeraffe90" reported that GPU-Z was listing their RTX 5080 as having 104 ROPs instead of 112.

A new report from financial analyst and reporter Dan Nystedt and Taiwanese news outlet Commercial Times suggests that NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 Series GPUs are experiencing production delays.

Although the GeForce RTX 5060 has yet to be formally announced, the GeForce RTX 5070 is still on track for a March 5, 2025, release with a starting price of $549 USD. With full production for the GeForce RTX 5070 pushed back until mid-March, this could lead to another GeForce RTX 50 Series launch (like the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti) with limited stock and availability.

The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, which launched last week, is currently sold out on Newegg, with all models listed as "Out of Stock. "According to this report, NVIDIA discovered "performance issues in the chips" for the GeForce RTX 5060 and RTX 5070, which required a fix.

Thailand's DIY market is totally exhausted of NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, with a retailer telling customers that they'll be waiting until at least July for new Blackwell GPUs.

In a post on Weibo, "UX_thoughtful" said that the DIY section of a retailer in Thailand says that there no NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs whatsoever in the country, reporting that "come to Thailand to see the market, there is no 50 series graphics cards. In the DIY area, and the clerk said to wait until July".

NVIDIA launched its new GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 a few weeks ago now, with the RTX 5070 Ti launching days ago... we're not even into March yet, but Thailand has zero stock of the new RTX 50 series GPUs and it'll be a few more months to wait at the very least. Saddening day for PC gamers in Thailand.

AMD is just weeks away from unleashing its next-gen Radeon RX 9070 series "RDNA 4" graphics cards, with news breaking that we'll see NO reference model, leaving the future of RDNA 4 in the hands of AIB partners and custom Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards.

In new rumors, we're learning that we won't see a "Made-By-AMD" (MBA) variant of the new RDNA 4-powered Radeon RX 9070 series GPUs, which means it'll be the first time in Radeon history that AMD won't have a reference model. There have been renders of the reference model so far, and now we know why official shots of the Radeon RX 9070 series reference cards haven't been released.

We are learning this news from a new share on X from AMD, where there is a render of the Radeon RX 9070 series GPU but the company states in the bottom left: "Artistic Render. Not Available for Purchase". Damn... would've been nice to see a new (possibly even more curvier) Radeon RX 9070 series GPU... but it appears we won't.

NVIDIA has confirmed issues of GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5090D, and RTX 5070 Ti graphics cards shipping with missing ROPs, which reduce gaming performance.

The company has issued a statement, explaining that less than 0.5% of its cards are affected, and that consumers can contact their AIB board partners to get replacements sent out. Recently, TechPowerUp reported that they found missing ROPs on their GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card sample, with 188 ROPs found versus 176 ROPs on the RTX 5090.

NVIDIA explains: "We have identified a rare issue affecting less than 0.5% (half a percent) of GeForce RTX 5090 / 5090D and 5070 Ti GPUs which have fewer ROPs than specified. The average graphical performance impact is 4%, with no impact on AI and Compute workloads. Affected consumers can contact the board manufacturer for a replacement. The production anamoly has been corrected".