Tomorrow marks the official launch of NVIDIA’s new GPU, but those holding out for the Founders Edition will have to sit tight a little longer, as it won’t hit shelves until later this month.
In recent developments, NVIDIA has pushed back the retail release of its GeForce RTX 5070 FE GPU. This information, while not directly from NVIDIA, was shared by Andreas Schilling, who received an email from the company regarding this delay. The reviews embargo was lifted mere hours ago, setting the stage for what was meant to be tomorrow’s big retail debut.
Schilling, editor at Hardware Luxx, mentioned that NVIDIA informed him about the delay just before the reviews went live. So, if you were eyeing the Founders Edition of the GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, you’ll need to adjust your plans. It’s unclear if this delay will also impact the launch of AIB editions, though given recent chatter about the GPU’s availability, it seems scarce supply could be a theme.
In a tweet, Schilling stated, “You think you can buy a GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition tomorrow? No, NVIDIA told us 2 1/2 hours before review drop: ‘The RTX 5070 Founders Edition will be available later in March.'”
There’s speculation that we might see another “paper launch,” similar to what happened with the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti. Reviews are out, showing the GeForce RTX 5070 performing on par with the RTX 4070 Super. Although it hasn’t delivered significant generational advancements, its price point of $549 makes it a reasonable value.
However, if you’re unable to snag one at the MSRP, consider waiting for the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 GPUs. Launching on March 6th, with reviews dropping a day prior, these cards are priced at $599 and $549 respectively, positioning the RX 9070 as a direct competitor to the RTX 5070.
As for the delay, specifics are scarce. Rumors suggest performance-limiting bugs and supply chain hiccups with the chips, though NVIDIA has not confirmed these issues.
Despite the setback, AIB custom editions may still make their way to various regions without delay. Yesterday, listings appeared on retailers like B&H Photo Video, putting the GPU’s MSRP at $549 for both the base and OC models. Should the AIB models surpass the $600 mark, it might be worth skipping them unless comparable options are unavailable locally.
