Around mid-April, an unusual custom GeForce RTX 5090D design received international news coverage. Under normal circumstances, NVIDIA's board partners have not equipped modern gaming graphics cards with blower-style cooling solutions—typically, this type of treatment is reserved for workstation-grade products (operating at lower TDPs). Team Green's GB202 "Blackwell" GPU is in high demand, due to its AI-crunching prowess—even in slightly nerfed form. Smaller Chinese AI firms and well-heeled hobbyists seemed to be snapping up sanction-adjusted flagship gaming GPUs that are/were coupled with very unofficial blower-type coolers. A month and a half later, Olrak29 has placed a spotlight on a curious batch of bootleg-esque "RTX 5090 32G D7 Turbo" models. As implied by this identifier, these offerings seem to leverage the unpasteurized GeForce RTX 5090 (non-D) GPU.

Photo evidence was scraped from Goofish; a second-hand trading platform owned and operated by Alibaba. As of last month, industry whispers suggested another downgrade of the Chinese market-exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D design—following the complete cutoff of GB202 die shipments into the region. Given current global tensions and export restrictions, NVIDIA and Leadtek's Blackwell PRO W card series faces an uncertain future in China. The Goofish photo uploads indicate an impressive volume of unbranded "RTX 5090 32G D7 Turbo" stock. Stacks of boxes in the background are labelled with "NVIDIA RTX 4090 24G AIB BLOWER" or "NVIDIA RTX 4070 12G AIB BLOWER" stickers—perhaps as diversion tactics. According to VideoCardz and Tom's Hardware, Team Green is not expected to play detective—the North American corporation will probably not provide in-depth comments about elaborate "GPU smuggling" channels.

A fair few partner-produced items—exhibited at last week's Computex 2025 trade event—were blessed with Jensen Huang's signature. Not long after concluding his keynote presentation, the ever intrepid NVIDIA boss spent time on the showroom floor. The TechPowerUp crew stumbled upon an autographed example at the Palit booth: Pandora NXNano mini AI PC. Due to mitigating circumstances, we did not capture any shots of a nearby special prototype flagship graphics card. The Taiwanese manufacturer proudly showcased a "GeForce RTX 5090 Tornado" dual-fan/dual-slot design; its all-metal housing aesthetic recalls an older vintage of Team Green's Founder Edition line.

Several media outlets have examined this compelling prospect; at least from a safe distance. Palit did not allow any hands-on experiences. A first party-developed "double flow-through cooling solution" serves as a main inspiration for the Tornado engineering team. The GeForce board partner's implementation of an angled 12v-2x6 power connector is another borrowed element. According to VideoCardz's expert opinion, NVIDIA has supplied a reference PCB. Palit is best known for making budget-friendly (mostly plastic) options, so their Tornado card concept represents a compelling breakaway from normal patterns. Despite gaining an important official endorsement; several rival products were similarly decorated with Huang's autograph.

What if NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 GPU had access to not one but four 16-pin power connectors? Not only would it draw much less power per connector, thus avoiding overheating of the connector in some cases, but the power coming into the GB202 could theoretically scale to 2,400 Watts. This is precisely what NVIDIA tested with its latest leaked GeForce RTX 5090 GPU engineering sample. Pictured below is a PCB that was destroyed after testing. Around the edges of the card, you can spot several USB headers, pin test points, and diagnostic connectors. These features are standard on development samples but are removed from retail models. On the I/O bracket, there are five display outputs, which are more than what you usually find on a gaming card. This suggests NVIDIA was testing output strength and signal quality under different loads. Since we can't see the back side of the board, it's unclear if the chip itself is from the GeForce RTX 5090 series or the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell variant. However, it is most likely a super early sample of RTX 5090 before volume production began.

Around late April, Chinese industry insiders started whispering about a possible halting of NVIDIA GB202 "Blackwell" GPU shipments into the region. Team Green's local board partners released custom "market exclusive" GeForce RTX 5090D 32 GB cards; featuring slightly downgraded flagship silicon. Since launch, Chinese hardcore gaming enthusiasts and DIY AI firms have observed impressive performance credentials, despite the presence of factory limited specifications. On May 6, reports suggested a complete halt of GeForce RTX 5090D sales in China. Fresher rumors indicate NVIDIA's engineering team return to the drawing board; with their alleged preparation of an even weaker GeForce RTX 5090D design.

A group of Baidu tipsters have discussed a key area of (further) compromise: VRAM capacity. The original GeForce RTX 5090D configuration was armed with 32 GB of GDDR7 VRAM; mid-May speculation envisioned a 24 GB variant. Earlier today, harukaze5719 highlighted an intriguing Weibo post. A Manli webshop representative has "confirmed" that revised GeForce RTX 5090D cards will become available around July. Up until recent events, this Chinese brand was selling flagship GPU-based Gallardo (black) and Stellar (white) models. A web chat session was captured and shared on Weibo—in addition, the sales agent disclosed their belief that (NVIDIA's) supply of GeForce RTX 5090D GPUs has been "insufficient since launch" time. On a semi-positive note, customers will not be greeted by price hikes. Manli anticipates "unchanged" price tags; albeit associated with lesser specifications.

In advance of and coinciding with today's launch of ID Software's DOOM: The Dark Ages, an impressive number of partner companies have revealed licensed hardware and accessories. Surprisingly, NVIDIA has joined in on the fun—with a fan favorite franchise-themed flagship Founders Edition (FE) card. This lone contribution is only available through an online competition; as outlined by the firm's GeForce social media account. This afternoon's announcement stated: "Stand and Fight for a chance to win. We're giving away a DOOM: The Dark Ages custom wrapped NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (FE) to celebrate its official release with native ray tracing, NVIDIA DLSS 4 + Reflex." Hopeful entrants are tasked with contributing "thumbs ups," and writing in with comments.

Team Green's ($1999 MSRP) extremely special DOOM-themed card is decorated with highly expensive custom livery. According to official estimates, this level of custom wrapping adds about $600 to the flagship "Blackwell" card's base price. Despite this giveaway being open to worldwide participants, (small print) terms and conditions seem to excluded. As reported by Wccftech, these territories include: "Australia, the Province of Quebec, and a few more. The Middle East region and some Asian countries are also" shut out. Paying customers can consider alternative "step down" options from ASUS and (maybe Asia-only) COLORFUL. The Republic of Gamers (ROG) Astral RTX 5080 DOOM OC Edition is limited to a devilishly low number of units: 666. The Bethesda webshop is running short with available stock, but they offer all manner of extra bundled-in digital and physical tchotchkes (on top of a $1999.99 baseline).

Earlier this month, the global ASUS website was updated with a slew of new graphics card product pages. The most striking examples—TUF Gaming and PRIME White Editions—appeared online with little PR fanfare. Fast-forward to the start of this week; with the ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) France social media account teasing already revealed models, alongside a surprise pale spin-off of a hot topic flagship. The manufacturer's air-cooled Astral GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 models were debuted during CES 2025. Since then, various special edition variants have attracted additional press and community attention—most notably, a spectacularly expensive Gold-plated MENA region-exclusive.

The French ASUS office's (May 12) message implied that company leadership had paid close attention to PC hardware community feedback. As a result of these requests, a new marketing campaign—bearing a "Stay Frosty, Play Flawlessly" slogan—is pushing alternate designs. As interpreted by the usual media outlets, the brand seems to be teasing an imminent launch: "you asked for it. We delivered. ASUS GeForce RTX 50 Series White Edition graphics cards are coming soon." Given the current lay of the land, next week's Computex trade event will serve as an ideal platform for White Edition showcasing—as hinted by an appropriate hashtag. ASUS is expected to unveil its (already leaked) portfolio of custom Radeon RX 9060 XT cards, but any in advance hype would break signed NDAs.

Late last week, Gigabyte introduced brand-new AORUS Stealth ICE X870 and B850 motherboards—utilizing reverse-connector layouts. The manufacturer's "Project STEALTH" seems to be gaining a larger presence; extending to a proprietary enclosure design. Industry observers noticed the inclusion of a semi-mysterious GeForce RTX 5090 custom card (briefly mentioned in official PR material); a promo render showcased an AORUS RTX 5090 MASTER ICE-esque unit. By reading in-between the lines and analyzing marketing imagery, VideoCardz reckons that this special card will sport a hidden power connector system—likely existing under the "Project STEALTH" banner.

Going back to 2023, a second iteration of the GeForce RTX 4090 WINDFORCE model was configured with a curious non-traditional power input placement (see example below). In recent times, Sapphire's Radeon RX 9070 XT and non-XT Nitro+ flagship cards have attracted plenty of praise—courtesy of a well-regarded hidden compartment. Gigabyte could be teasing an upcoming full reveal of its "AORUS RTX 5090 MASTER STEALTH ICE" graphics card; perhaps lined up for next week's Computex showcase. Hopefully, a forthcoming unveiling will demonstrate an innovative solution.

Not long after the launch of its "standard" Astral GeForce RTX 5090 (air-cooled) flagship card, ASUS ROG unveiled a gaudy golden alternative. According to a past weekend VideoCardz news report, the brand's extremely special "Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC Edition" has finally settled on retail shelves in the Middle East. During preview events, ASUS did not let slip any pre-release pricing details—industry watchdogs theorized numbers well above the regular "OC" version's (then) $3000+ tag. A Jensen Huang-signed specimen was auctioned off—for charity—during NVIDIA's GTC 2025 conference week. The latest investigations have unearthed varying costs of ownership; VideoCardz found listings across MENA (Middle-East and North Africa) territories.

The cheapest example was priced at $6700, while a "jaw-dropping" entry was discovered going for ~$10,600. The online publication's detective work concluded that price variations were dependent on differing conditions within each country. An ASUS-authored "Certificate of Authenticity" demonstrates the use of a key premium material; 6.5 grams of "999 Gold Fineness." Official grading indicates the very best purity of this precious metal—largely reserved (and prized) by prime Middle Eastern markets. ASUS is reportedly working on a (presumably) less expensive GeForce RTX 5080 variant—enabled via the selection of lesser silicon, rather than a downgraded level of decoration. Special edition ASUS ROG Astral enthusiasts—outside of MENA—could be eyeing up a DOOM prequel-themed option.

Even after NVIDIA tuned its GB202 SKU for Chinese gamers, it looks like the GeForce RTX 5090D will be banned from selling in China altogether. Back in April, NVIDIA warned its AIC partners about a potential supply cutoff for the GeForce RTX 5090D GPU, more specifically, the restriction of selling the GB202 dies to Chinese AIC customers. Today, we have another report from the Chinese "Channel Gate Vision Convergence," stating that no new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090D GPUs will be sold in China in Q2. All new orders being placed for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090D kits, which are essentially a GPU die and GDDR7 memory for AICs to add on their PCBs, have been temporarily cancelled, which is an action equivalent to a full-scale sales ban.

The machine-translated post states the following: "NVIDIA RTX5090D series models are basically confirmed that there will be no GPU available in Q2, which means that RTX5090D cannot be sold to the Chinese market, and graphics card brands will not be able to receive GPU orders. NV has basically confirmed that RTX5090D series GPUs will not be able to receive orders in Q2. All orders for 5090D chips that have been placed and undelivered POs have been temporarily canceled, which is equivalent to the RTX5090D being officially banned from sale." As a reminder, NVIDIA optimized the RTX 5090D to comply with export regulations. Despite having 21,760 CUDA cores and 32 GB of memory, the card was intentionally restricted in its AI performance through firmware limitations. This strategy enabled NVIDIA to sell the card in China, a country listed under US export regulations, while the standard RTX 5090 was banned.

Despite featuring the biggest GB202 configuration—24,064 CUDA cores distributed across 188 streaming multiprocessors running at up to 2,617 MHz, paired with 96 GB of GDDR7 ECC memory—the RTX PRO 6000 'Blackwell' GPU from NVIDIA is yet to have an official launch date or pricing disclosed. Early European retailer listings show the card starting at €8,982, including 21 percent VAT. Some vendors are already asking for more than €10,900. However, business customers evaluating net costs can anticipate a significant saving, with a rough estimate of €7,430 before tax, subject to local tax regulations and import fees. NVIDIA is expected to offer the RTX PRO 6000 in several variants, including Workstation, Server, and Max‑Q editions that tailor power envelopes and cooling designs to different professional environments.

In Japan, pre‑release listings place the RTX PRO 6000 at ¥1,630,600 (around $11,326), reflecting a similar premium level. The appearance of these price tags suggests that initial shipments have quietly reached distributors well before any formal announcement. One Redditor even got his hands on it early, preparing for a trial run. Of course, before NVIDIA releases RTX PRO-optimized drivers, the performance will lag behind the gaming GeForce RTX 5090 SKU. Geared toward enterprise workstations and professional workloads that demand high memory capacity and massive compute performance, this pricing profile distinguishes the RTX PRO 6000 from gaming-grade SKUs. Still, it is below the server-grade GB200-based Blackwell GPUs aimed at AI and HPC workloads.

Today, we are looking at the latest benchmark results for NVIDIA's upcoming RTX PRO 6000 "Blackwell" workstation-class GPU. Based on the new GB202 GPU, this professional visualization card features an impressive 24,064 CUDA cores distributed across 188 streaming multiprocessors, with boost clocks up to 2,617 MHz. It also introduces 96 GB of GDDR7 memory with full error‑correcting code, a capacity made possible by dual‑sided 3 GB modules. In Geekbench 6.4.0 OpenCL trials, the PRO 6000 Blackwell registered a total score of 368,219. That result trails the gaming‑oriented GeForce RTX 5090, which posted 376,858 points despite having fewer cores (21,760 vs. 24,064 of RTX PRO) and a lower peak clock of 2,410 MHz versus the 2617 MHz of RTX PRO.

A breakdown of subtests reveals that the workstation card falls behind in background blur (263.9 versus 310.7 images per second) and face detection (196.7 versus 241.5 images per second), yet it leads modestly in horizon detection and Gaussian blur. These mixed outcomes are attributed to pre‑release drivers, a temporary cap on visible memory (currently limited to 23.8 GB), and power‑limit settings. If the card ran on release drivers, software (especially OpenCL) could greatly benefit from more cores and higher max frequency. One significant distinction within the RTX PRO 6000 family concerns power consumption. The Max‑Q Workstation Edition is engineered for a 300 W thermal design point, making it suitable for compact chassis and environments where quiet operation is essential. It retains all 24,064 cores and the full 96 GB of memory, but clocks and voltages are adjusted to fit the 300 W budget. By contrast, the standard Workstation and Server models allow a thermal budget of up to 600 W, enabling higher sustained frequencies and heavier compute workloads in full‑size desktop towers and rack‑mounted systems.

GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards—whether in Founders Edition or AIB custom form—are still in very high demand; certain buyers are even flying into nearby nations to take advantage of even the slightest favorable conditions. This was apparent during launch week—three months ago—with so-called "tourists" queuing up alongside locals in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. Day one anti-scalping measures were implemented, but launch stock of GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards was rapidly depleted. According to the latest reports, (mostly) Chinese buyers have been making regular visits to Japan's big electronics retail hub, in Osaka. Up until fairly recently, tax-free circumstances—for non-natives—have made the purchase of flagship NVIDIA "Blackwell" GPU-based gaming GPUs worth the trip, even with the added expense of plane tickets and other overheads.

Additionally, certain outlets actually had units readily available on shelves or behind shop counters. Eventually, stores dropped the whole tax-free thing. This measure did not cause much discouragement; tourists were still willing to pay the extra cost—still reasonable, compared to escalated (global) card prices. As disclosed in a MyDrivers news report, multiple Osaka-based retailers have bolstered their anti-tourist sales methodologies—one visitor spotted an updated placard that stated: "GeForce RTX 5090/RTX 5080 cards are only sold to customers who use it in Japan. If the purchased product is to be taken out of Japan, it will not be sold." VideoCardz believes that this newer "symbolic" countermove will be tricky to enforce; are shop workers going to be tasked with performing "Japanese citizen tests" on a regular basis? Chinese ultra high-end GPU seekers could continue to source units from abroad; the latest rumblings suggest a potential forthcoming ban of NVIDIA's region-exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D model.

Earlier in the year, MSI started to showcase a simple yet innovative safety measure—involving the heavily debated 12V-2x6 connection standard. In a completely serious April 1 social media post, the brand's gaming division refreshed its audience's collective mind: "did you know? MSI graphics cards come with a special dual-color 16-pin PCIe cable! If you see yellow, your connection isn't secure. Make sure to connect it properly, and game on with confidence! Note: this dual-color design applies only to the 1-to-3 and 1-to-4 dongles." TechPowerUp's news section has covered multiple instances of 12V-2x6 cables—and an especially fault-prone predecessor: 12WHPWR—being subject to unfortunate high temperature accidents. Yesterday, an unlucky owner shared details and images of their personal experience—involving their eye-wateringly expensive MSI GeForce RTX 5090 SUPRIM SOC model, the card's bundled cable, and a Super Flower 1300 W ATX 3.1-complaint power supply unit.

This incident was documented via a Quasar Zone BBS thread—circumstances were described as follows: "it's bitter. (My computer) kept turning off with a blue screen, so I checked and found out that the connector was burned. It's a shame... I played a game (Black Desert) that uses about 400 W for about two hours, and it happened yesterday...I need to file an AS complaint." Despite being firmly inserted—i.e. no yellow sections being visible—MSI's "foolproof" design did not prevent the melting and burning of this particular cable's graphics card-bound end connector. Fortunately, the SUPRIM SOC card's power input appears to be unaffected—the owner and several commenters surmised that a defective cable was shipped with this ultra-premium product. As pointed out by Tom's Hardware, the yellow-tipped safety measure is merely a "visual aid"—so underlying faults could still occur. ZOTAC's engineering team explored a more in-depth solution; their "12WHPWR Safety Light" feature debuted during CES 2025.

GALAX has deliberated over the fine-tuning of its pedigree custom GeForce RTX 5090D design throughout early 2025—mid-way through April we heard about an imminent retail release of the Chinese manufacturer's finalized Hall of Fame (HOF) Extreme Overclock (XOC) Limited Edition card. According to the latest reports, the brand has announced the availability of its ultra-premium option; featuring the very best pre-binned GB202 GPU dies and GDDR7 memory modules. Apparently reserved for upper echelon buyers; with a 29,999 RMB (~$4117 USD) launch price tag.

In parallel, GALAX seems to be launching two "lesser" variants—as reported by VideoCardz, the "OC LAB Plus-X" (~$3595 USD) and "OC LAB" (~$3582 USD) SKUs make do with single 12V-2×6 power connectors. Despite this handicap, the Plus-X model is still a record breaker. Naturally, its XOC LE sibling—enabled with twin 12V-2×6 power inputs—sits atop global benchmark tables. GALAX currently boasts about this design achieving nine overclocking world records. Given the limited edition nature of GALAX's top 29,999 RMB offering, stock counts could be small—VideoCardz did not pick up on any local information about launch numbers or involved retail outlets/platforms. There are mutterings about a potential closing off of GB202 "Blackwell" GPU die shipments into China—in effect this could lead to the end of GeForce RTX 5090D 32 GB custom card production.

Mid-way through April, we heard about sanctions affecting shipments of NVIDIA's H20 AI chips into China. Despite (rumored) best efforts made by Jensen Huang and colleagues, the US government has banned the export of Team Green's formerly sanction-conformant design. Similarly, NVIDIA prepared a slightly less potent GPU for gaming applications—exclusively for the Chinese market. Despite sporting a restricted GB202 "Blackwell" GPU die, the GeForce RTX 5090D 32 GB is still a monstrous prospect. According to Chinese PC hardware news sources, Team Green representatives have sent alerts to "all" of its Chinese add-in-card partners (AICs)—early warning signs have indicated a possible cut-off of GB202 GPUs in the near future. A member of the Chiphell forum disclosed some insider knowledge and dismissed unfounded speculation about RTX 5090D cards being replaced by "full fat" RTX 5090 options.

sthuasheng commented on Team Green's alleged bulletin—distributed at some point last week: "the notice only said that the supply of RTX 5090D was suspended, ...this did not mean any sales or transportation ban; it urged everyone not to make any speculations or judgments unless there was an official notice issued at a later date. After this notice was issued, each AIC began to notify agents to suspend sales, because the inventory of 5090D has always been very small, so it is necessary to keep these stocks to observe the subsequent situation and deal with the subsequent after-sales. At the same time, we might as well speculate that each AIC and dealer may also have the intention to stockpile 5090D units and then sell them at an elevated price." BenchLife.info decided to reach out to industry moles, following an absorption of various Chiphell whispers.

GALAX did not expedite the development of a flagship GeForce RTX 5090D custom design; as evidenced by the absence of a top-flight Hall of Fame (HOF) option during launch week. "Cheaper" options—in the form of General and 1-Click models—were made available to the Chinese public on January 30. GALAX's fanciest new-gen "Blackwell" HOF model debuted with less potent hardware onboard: GeForce RTX 5080 OC LAB Plus-X Edition. Throughout early 2025, GALAX seeded early samples—of HOF GeForce RTX 5090D hardware—with tenured extreme overclocking organizations. Last month, almost finalized board designs became record breakers—achieved via liquid nitrogen cooled methodologies. Earlier prototypes sported a single 16-pin power connector, but newer Extreme Overclock (XOC) iterations were distributed with a second power delivery channel.

Yesterday, GALAX's social media channel teased the imminent launch of their air-cooled retail variant: "5090D HOF XOC Edition (Limited). Seems like it will be on China market soon…" Up until very recently, overclocking champions have shared photos of bare GALAX GeForce 5090D HOF cards—industry watchdogs reckoned that company engineers were still realizing a next-gen cooling solution. The Chinese manufacturer's promo material advertises the (presumably) very expensive forthcoming SKU as an option "only for better performance." Product renders showcase a familiar (optional) crown-adorned shroud, but it is not clear whether GALAX has revised its backplate design for this generation's XOC flagship.

NVIDIA's stellar quality control with the $2,000 GeForce RTX 5090 saw quite a few customers end up with cards that had fewer ROPs than they should—168 as opposed to its original spec of 176. The 8 fewer ROPs results in a roughly 5% drop in performance. When you're ponying up over two grand, this is the last thing you want. But what if we told you there are cards out there were more ROPs than they should have? We have with us an ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 LC graphics card that we detected 192 ROPs on. That's right, the card has all the 192 ROPs active that are present in the "GB202" silicon, or two ROP partitions (16 ROPs) more than it should have. We received our ROG Astral RTX 5090 LC sample just a few weeks ago, and haven't had time to thoroughly test it yet, because we're in the middle of a full retest with new games and new drivers.

The ASUS ROG Astral LC is a factory overclocked card, with ASUS giving the card a generous OC to benefit from the liquid cooling solution (2580 MHz boost vs. 2407 MHz reference or +7.1%). To account for that, we tried our best to clock the card back down to reference specs, which is presented as the orange bar. This still isn't the same card as the RTX 5090 Founders Edition, because the superior cooling solution and power limits mean that the GPU enjoys better boost frequency residency, but this is as close as we can get to simulating reference spec. We ran the card through a battery of game tests, which show an average of 8% performance gains over the RTX 5090 Founders Edition.

ASUS and MSI's price hiking of GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards is already a well explored subject matter (news-wise), but GPU market watchdogs have spent time investigating circumstances further down from the perch of NVIDIA's most visible board partner players. Citing evidence presented on the official Team Green subreddit, VideoCardz has levelled criticism in ZOTAC's direction. Apparently, the brand's North American store has—quite recently—jacked up asking prices for its custom GeForce RTX 5090 designs. The Hong Kong-based manufacturer only offers a choice of two models via its US webstore: SOLID OC and AMP Extreme INFINITY. At the time of writing, ZOTAC's webshop is undergoing "construction work"—fortunately, screenshots and crucial points of info were preserved by Redditors and media outlets. The flagship AMP Extreme INFINITY SKU has hit an unprecedented $2999.99 price point, although not reaching the heights of ASUS Astral ($3359.99!). A mid-March Wayback Machine save state reveals a previous RTX 5090 AMP Extreme INFINITY listing at $2599.99, but its initial launch price was $2499.99. Naturally, a flagship design—comprised of a robust cooling solution, fancy features/accessories and ARGB lighting—demands a premium upcharge, but ZOTAC's top-tier SKU is priced $1001 above Team Green's $1999 MSRP baseline.

ZOTAC's GeForce RTX 5090 SOLID (non-OC) SKU was supposed to act as the "barebones" baseline MSRP-conformant model, but price watchers noted that ZOTAC USA had removed this entry from the official webstore. Tom's Hardware reckons that the last recorded cost of ownership was $2199.99. ZOTAC's next best option is the brand's factory-overclocked variant—GeForce RTX 5090 SOLID OC—now adjusted up to $2699.99. Launch pricing was somewhere just above $2200, but that figure has changed over time. It was $2369.99, prior to this week—according to a Wayback Machine archived state. As reported last month, ZOTAC rolled out a "Priority Access Campaign" via Discord—this anti-scalping strategy received praise upon initiation, but VideoCardz's watchful eye has kept track of very few successful transactions. According to their latest investigative piece, a "top secret" ZOTAC Discord group was formed—this separate elite member-focused channel offers even "easier access" to coveted cutting-edge gaming graphics card.

During GTC 2025, NVIDIA unveiled the professional (PRO) side of its "Blackwell" GPU line—headlined by a monstrous GDDR7 96 GB option, that unleashes the full potential of their GB202 die. Industry watchdogs anticipated sky-high pricing, as befits such a potent specification sheet/feature set. As reported by VideoCardz over the past weekend, a North American enterprise PC hardware store—Connection—has populated its webshop with several of Team Green's brand-new RTX PRO Blackwell Series SKUs. The publication received tip-offs from a portion of its readership; including some well-heeled individuals who have already claimed pre-orders. Starting off, the investigation highlighted upper crust offerings: "the flagship model, called the RTX PRO 6000 with 96 GB of VRAM, will launch at $8435 (bulk) to $8565 (box), and this price seemingly applies to both models: the Workstation Edition and a sub-variant called Max-Q. Both are equipped with the same specs, but the latter is capped at 300 W TDP while retaining 88% of the Al performance, claimed NVIDIA."

Connection has removed its RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q product pages, but the rest of Team Green's professional stack is still visible (see relevant screenshot below). The RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell 48 GB card is priced at $4569.24 (or $4439.50 for bulk). The cheapest offering is a $696.54 RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell 8 GB model. Officially, NVIDIA and its main professional series board partner—PNY—only revealed 4500, 5000 and 6000 product tiers. VideoCardz put a spotlight on some of these unannounced options, including: "the RTX 4000 non-SFF version, while this retailer has six listings for such SKUs (two SFF and two non-SFF, both in bulk and box variants). Presumably, this would suggest that NVIDIA may launch a non-SFF version later. However, the company didn't put 'SFF' in the official card's name, so perhaps this information is no longer valid, and there's only one model." According to a GDM/Hermitage AkiHabara Japan press release, a local reseller—Elsa—is preparing NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q Workstation Edition stock for scheduled release "in May 2025, while the other models are scheduled for release around summer." Additionally, another retailer (ASK Co., Ltd.): "has stated that the price and release date are subject to inquiry."

The "standard" ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC Edition is already a really an "astronomically expensive" prospect (if you can find available stock); launch MSRP was $2800, but retailers pushed that figure beyond the $3000 mark. An even fancier golden variant exists—as a reminder; news outlets picked up on the existence of a "Dhahab" model early last month. This luxuriously decorated collector piece was likely introduced as a regional exclusive, for MENA (Middle-East and North Africa). This week, ASUS managed to sneak one gold encrusted sample out to San Francisco, California.

Ernest Cheng—Director of Marketing at the firm's North American branch—shared a photo (via LinkedIn) of the very unique ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC Edition model; freshly scribbled on by Jensen Huang during GTC 2025. The ASUS exec commented on this blessing: "graphics card is one of a kind when it's been anointed. But it says a lot more when it's a Golden ROG RTX 5090 Astral." Press outlets reckon that this extremely special item will be auctioned off for charity; the presence of Team Green CEO's autograph and slogan ("RTX ON!") will boost its value severalfold. A Jensen Huang-signed ROG MATRIX RTX 4090 PLATINUM card attracted a top bid of $16,000; Der8auer (aka Roman Hartung) was officially congratulated as the winner back in late 2023.

Update 18:02 UTC: ASUS has confirmed that it will be supporting a local charity: "we are extremely honored to have this special edition ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC graphics card, signed by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang. This card will be officially auctioned to support relief efforts for the California wildfires in Los Angeles."

Yesterday evening, the NVIDIA AI Developer social media account sent out a red alert regarding a time limited sale of flagship-tier Blackwell gaming hardware: "GeForce RTX 5090s are available at the Gear Store in the park right now at GTC 2025. 90 units are available for the next 30 minutes, with more coming tomorrow. Come say hi!" PC hardware news outlets have picked up on Team Green's latest stock bulletin, with Tom's Hardware disclosing some extra details. Under normal circumstances, NVIDIA's Gear Store Mobile Truck would be selling fairly standard merchandise—e.g. T-shirts, sweaters, hats, etc. According to the latest reports, the company's mobile pop-up store is taking orders for add-in-boards (AIB) GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 models. An information placard advertises old school/launch day guide prices of $1999 and $999 (respectively).

Tom's Hardware noted several caveats: "the graphics cards must be purchased from NVIDIA's van from 7 AM to 12 PM on Thursday or Friday and then picked up at South Hall main entrance the same day. The graphics boards are available to conference pass ($1145 for one day, or $2295 for five days) and exhibit pass holders only; with a limit of one card per person." According to folks on the ground, Team Green and its board partners have stockpiled a thousand of each highly-desirable GPU model at the San Jose Convention Center. The first waves of time-limited batches were made available yesterday (March 19). Demand for flagship and top-end GeForce RTX 50 series cards has far exceeded supply, starting back in late January. Following an absorption of plentiful feedback, NVIDIA revived its "Verified Priority Access" scheme a couple of weeks ago. This anti-scalping initiative was advertised as offering: "a limited number of verified GeForce gamers and creators in the United States the opportunity to purchase one GeForce RTX 5090 or RTX 5080 Founders Edition graphics card from the NVIDIA Marketplace."

Graphics card price watchers have highlighted refreshing downward motion in Europe, apparently affecting three out of the four GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. VideoCardz received a couple of email tip-offs from its pan-European audience, prompting the publication of a short investigative piece. NVIDIA's slight adjustment of official pricing for GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 models is the result of a strengthened Euro. The US dollar's value has dropped by roughly 3.9 %; according to recent detective work, focusing on German trends. Team Green's "generous" reductions have arrived roughly two weeks after a stabilization of the USD-EUR exchange rate.

Curiously, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is an outlier here—NVIDIA did not reduce its German guide price (€879 + VAT) for this upper-mid-range offer. A Founders Edition does not exist at this GPU level, so Team Green has tasked its board partners with the creation of so-called "MSRP conformant" alternatives. One of VideoCardz's tipsters has observed various GeForce RTX 50 series models simply "rotting on shelves," due to potential buyers balking at unreasonable retailer-implemented price hikes. NVIDIA's minor changes (4.3 to 4.6 %) are unlikely to make a noticeable impact across the Euro zone.

NVIDIA today launched the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell series of professional graphics cards. These cards are based on the latest GeForce "Blackwell" graphics architecture, and the three chips the company already launched on it. Leading the pack, is the RTX PRO 6000, a card that completely maxes out the massive "GB202" silicon, featuring more shaders than even the GeForce RTX 5090, albeit at lower clock speeds. The idea behind this product is to give pro-vis users more shader power, driving a large amount of GDDR7 ECC memory. Specifically, the card comes with 24,064 CUDA cores across all 192 SM physically present on the silicon, besides 768 Tensor cores, 192 RT cores, 768 TMUs, and 192 ROPs. The card gets a humungous 96 GB of ECC GDDR7 memory across the chip's 512-bit wide memory interface, probably using 48 Gbit density memory chips. The card has a TGP of 600 W, making out the 12V2x6 power input. It comes with a board design resembling the RTX 5090.

Next up, is the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q. This card has essentially the same core-configuration as the RTX PRO 6000, but with a reduced TGP, and a simpler 2-slot board design that uses a lateral-blower. This card is meant for machines with multiple such cards installed, though something that isn't quite a rendering server. Lastly, there's the RTX PRO 6000 Server Edition. This card, again, has identical core-config to the others in the lineup, but with a board design optimized for rackmount servers and large rendering farms. The cooler relies on the rack's airflow for cooling.

"Second wave" ASUS price hikes were documented online over the past weekend; affecting air-cooled premium ROG Astral and mid-tier TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 models. Looking at the company's North American webshop, visitors noticed a freshly adjusted price for the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB OC Edition—going from a previous level of $3079.99 up to $3359.99. Curiously, the asking price of a liquid-cooled sibling was not adjusted—remaining at a "first wave" point of $3409.99. The "cheapest" model—TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5090 (non-OC)—experienced a $460 (representing 20%) price hike, bringing total cost of ownership up to $2759.99. As a reminder, NVIDIA's baseline MSRP guideline was $1999—as announced at CES 2025—but ROG Astral and TUF Gaming designs demand a premium or two for fancier feature sets. VideoCardz has fervently explored worrying market trends in the recent past; several of NVIDIA's big board partner players have jacked up asking prices for GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. Availability of stock is still a major sore point for potential buyers, who were not able to secure launch day wares. Despite a driving up of costs, the ASUS US webstore has absolutely zero stock of GeForce RTX 5090 SKUs—at the time of writing.

In addition, VideoCardz and other PC hardware media outlets noted price hikes affecting the manufacturer's stable of recently launched AMD Radeon RX 9070 Series TUF Gaming and PRIME models. In the absence of AMD-built (MBA) reference card designs, board partners were tasked with the providing of baseline "MSRP" conformant custom cards. The ASUS PRIME Radeon RX 9070 XT OC and RX 9070 OC Editions were readied as $599 and $549 options (respectively). Weekend sleuthing work put the spotlight on newly adjusted price points of $719.99 and $659.99 (respectively)—representing further cases of plain 20% elevations over baseline. AMD's debut batch of RDNA 4 cards was met with unprecedented demand earlier on in March, but secondary/tertiary stock shipments face unclear market conditions—Team Red GPU enthusiasts have (similarly) voiced their collective displeasure about elevated prices at retail. Mid-way through last week, the PC hardware community heard about ASUS leadership considering a new pricing strategy. The company is reportedly accelerating its manufacturing exodus from China.

As reported last month, GALAX had distributed prototypes of its upcoming flagship "Hall of Fame" (HOF) card—based on NVIDIA's Chinese market exclusive GeForce RTX 5090D GPU—to prominent figures within the PC hardware overclocking community. Earlier examples sported single 12V-2×6 power connectors, although GALAX's exposed white PCB design showed extra space for an additional unit. Evaluators conducted experiments involving liquid nitrogen-based cooling methods. The most vocal of online critics questioned the overclocking capability of initial GeForce RTX 5090D HOF samples, due to limitations presented by a lone avenue of power delivery. A definitive answer has arrived in the form of the manufacturer's elite team-devised GeForce RTX 5090D HOF Extreme Overclock (XOC) Lab Limited Edition candidate; a newer variant that makes use of dual 12V-2×6 power connectors. Several overclocking experts have entered into a GALAX-hosted competition—Micka:)Shu, a Chinese participant, posted photos of their test rig setup (see below).

Micka's early access sample managed to achieve top placement GPU on UL Benchmarks' 3DMark Speed Way Hall of Fame, with a final score of 17169 points. A screenshotted GPU-Z session shows the card's core frequency reaching 3277 MHz. Around late January, ASUS China's general manager (Tony Yu) documented his overclocking of a ROG Astral RTX 5090 D GAMING OC specimen up to 3.4 GHz; under liquid nitrogen cooled conditions. GALAX has similarly outfitted its flagship model with selectively binned components and an "over-engineered" design. The company's "bog-standard" HOF model is no slouch, despite the limitation imposed by a single power connector. The GALAX OC Facebook account sent out some appreciation to another noted competitor (and collaborator): "thanks to Overclocked Gaming Systems—OGS Rauf for help with the overclock of GeForce RTX 5090D HOF, and all of (our) GALAX products." The OGS member set world records with said "normal" HOF card—achieving scores of 59,072 points in 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme project, and 25,040 points in Unigine Superposition (8K-optimized).