Nvidia reportedly plans RTX 5090 hike

Nvidia has reportedly increased the cost it charges board partners for its GeForce RTX 5090 and China-specific RTX 5090D V2 graphics cards, according to reports published this week by TechPowerUp, VideoCardz and Sportskeeda. The reports, which cite Chinese supply-chain outlet Board Channels and social-media leaks, said the increase is about $300, or roughly 2,000 yuan, per card. Nvidia’s official U.S. product page for the RTX 5090 still showed a starting price of $1,999 on May 16. Nvidia did not immediately respond to the reports in the material reviewed. ### How much of an increase are the reports describing? TechPowerUp reported on May 14 that Nvidia was preparing a $300 increase for add-in-card partners that buy RTX 5090 and RTX 5090D V2 GPU kits from the company. VideoCardz reported a similar figure on May 16, also citing Board Channels, and said the higher charge applied to partner costs rather than a formal change in Nvidia’s suggested retail price. Sportskeeda reported on May 16 that the revised pricing had been in effect since about May 13, citing a post by hardware leaker @Pirat_Nation on X. That report said the increase affected custom-card manufacturers building RTX 5090 models and the RTX 5090D V2 sold in China. (techpowerup.com) ### What is being blamed for the higher partner cost? TechPowerUp said the reported increase followed a jump in GDDR7 memory prices and described Nvidia as passing through higher memory costs to partners after previously absorbing them. The report said supply had tightened and lead times had stretched into weeks. (tech.sportskeeda.com) VideoCardz also said the increase was tied to GDDR7 memory pricing rather than the GPU itself. Its report said no similar notice had been issued, at least so far, for other GeForce RTX 50-series models that also use GDDR7 memory. (techpowerup.com) ### Which cards are named in the reports? VideoCardz said the reported increase applied to the standard GeForce RTX 5090 and the RTX 5090D V2, which it described as a China-specific model with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 384-bit bus. Nvidia’s U.S. product page says the standard RTX 5090 carries 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. (videocardz.com) Nvidia’s official RTX 5090 page describes the card as part of the Blackwell generation and lists the model as starting at $1,999. The page reviewed on May 16 did not indicate any official MSRP revision. ### Does this mean store prices go up right away? VideoCardz said the reported increase was at the partner-cost level, which means any retail effect would come later as updated costs move through distributors and retailers. (videocardz.com) TechPowerUp said higher consumer prices could become visible in the coming days or weeks if partners pass the increase through. (nvidia.com) Sportskeeda reported that custom RTX 5090 models were already selling at far above Nvidia’s official starting price, and TechPowerUp said some Western retail listings had regularly exceeded $4,000. Those figures were cited in third-party reports and were not presented by Nvidia as official pricing. (videocardz.com) ### What is still unconfirmed? Board Channels, not Nvidia, is the primary source cited across the reports reviewed. TechPowerUp, VideoCardz and Sportskeeda each framed the move as reported rather than announced, and none of the material reviewed included a public Nvidia statement confirming the change. (tech.sportskeeda.com) May 16 is the key date for checking what changes next. Nvidia’s RTX 5090 product page still listed a $1,999 starting price on that date, while the reports said any higher street pricing would show up through board partners, distributors and retailers rather than through an immediate MSRP update. (nvidia.com) (techpowerup.com)