RTX 5000 & RX 9000 Launch Called the Worst in NVIDIA and AMD History

The launch of the new generation of graphics cards, NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5000 and AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series, has become one of the most problematic in the last twenty years, according to both experts and users. The situation was characterized by extreme confusion over MSRPs, supply shortages, and technical complications, triggering a wave of criticism from consumers and specialized media.

The sales start for AMD's RDNA 4 architecture-based cards proved particularly difficult. For the first time, the company did not provide reference models, leading to complete uncertainty over the pricing of partner versions. Just a day before the official sales began, press representatives were getting completely different information on pricing from AMD, retailers, and board partners. For instance, the XFX Mercury RX 9070 XT, initially announced in the $599 category, was in reality sold in stores for months at prices exceeding $900.

The presentation of NVIDIA's cards was no less troubled. Despite the presence of the company's own Founders Edition models, the launch was plagued by unstable drivers, power delivery issues, and high demand for limited batches. Many noted that a portion of the claimed performance gain was delivered through software technologies like Multi-Frame Generation, rather than solely from the new architecture.

AMD had a chance to seize the initiative by offering competitive performance at a more attractive price point. However, a lack of clear control over the supply chain and logistics led to a Radeon RX 9000 series shortage, which triggered a sharp price hike. Manufacturers and retail networks, remembering the pandemic-era frenzy, aimed to maximize profits, which ultimately placed an additional financial burden on end customers.

The market situation only began to stabilize by the end of 2025, with prices finally approaching those originally stated by the manufacturers. But then a new problem emerged with a memory crisis, which soon threatens to drive prices up again. The launch of the two key GPU generations in 2025 will be remembered as a period of pricing chaos and uncertainty.