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| Nvidia GPU with out of stock symbol is shown |
A severe tightening in the graphics card supply chain is sending shockwaves through the PC hardware market, with retailers and distributors sounding the alarm. The culprit, as feared, is a critical shortage of memory, and the fallout is now directly impacting the availability of Nvidia’s next-generation GPUs.
The latest warning comes from a computer parts seller in Europe, who has shared distressing updates from their distributor. According to a detailed post on the PCMasterRace subreddit, the retailer can no longer purchase many Nvidia GPUs at all. The supplier’s email, which was shared publicly, cites "difficult market conditions" and has enforced strict limits, allowing the seller to order only five units of the upcoming RTX 5070 at a time.
More critically, the entire upper echelon of the Blackwell lineup appears to be off the table for this retailer. They have been told to find another source for the RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, and the flagship RTX 5090, as their current distributor cannot supply them. To underscore the severity, the distributor has cancelled existing orders, leaving only a €20,000 outlay for the few RTX 5070s as secure.
This isn't an isolated incident. Amazon Business is also reported to be struggling to provide a steady stream of Blackwell cards to its partner shops. The situation is global, with buyers noting that retailers in countries like Japan are already imposing purchase restrictions on the unreleased RTX 50 series.
The Root Cause: AI Data Centers Are Gobbling Up Memory
The heart of the problem is a massive supply crunch for DRAM, specifically the high-bandwidth GDDR7 memory destined for next-gen graphics cards. AI data center buildouts are consuming vast quantities of memory modules, and manufacturers like SK Hynix are prioritizing these lucrative, large-scale contracts over consumer-grade products.
This creates a perfect storm for gamers. Cards with 16GB of GDDR7—a likely target for popular mid-range and high-end models—are said to be "especially at risk." As supply dwindles, prices skyrocket. A recent rumor from Videocardz suggests that some premium RTX 5090 models could reach a staggering $5,000 in the U.S. market. Even if other sellers find stock, they will be paying considerably higher prices, a cost inevitably passed on to the consumer.
I’m a computer part seller in Europe. This is what my supplier sent me today
byu/Gb2753 inpcmasterrace
Nvidia’ Shifting Focus Away from Gamers
Compounding the supply issue is a strategic shift at Nvidia itself. The company’s focus has overwhelmingly pivoted toward its data center and AI chips, which offer exponentially higher profit margins than gaming GPUs. A recent report indicated that Nvidia could reduce Blackwell graphics card production for the consumer market by up to 40% in early 2026.
There are also troubling whispers within the industry that Nvidia may have begun shipping GPU dies to its board partners without any VRAM attached—a unprecedented move that would force partners to source their own memory in this hyper-inflated market, further driving up costs and complexity.
For PC builders, the outlook is increasingly bleak. What began with frustration over high DDR5 RAM prices has now expanded into a full-scale crisis encompassing storage and, most critically, graphics cards. The GPU, once the crown jewel of a new build, is becoming a prohibitive luxury.
The post from the European retailer offers a grim, on-the-ground perspective of what this supply chain collapse looks like. As one of the first tangible signals of the coming storm, it suggests that the GPU shortage of 2020-2021 might not have been an anomaly, but a prelude to a new, more structurally challenged reality for PC gamers. If more distributors cut off supplies, the scramble for the next generation of graphics cards will be more desperate and expensive than ever before.