NVIDIA may retire the RTX 5090 as the 24GB RTX 5080 takes its place

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards continue to face mounting supply pressure, with prices climbing and availability reportedly worsening across the market. The situation could force Nvidia to make further changes to its consumer GPU lineup, including a potential shift away from the flagship RTX 5090 in favor of a higher-specification RTX 5080.

According to a report from Wccftech, Nvidia may significantly reduce RTX 5090 production or discontinue the card altogether. If that happens, the GB202 GPU powering the flagship could be reserved exclusively for professional workstation products, including the RTX PRO 6000 with 96GB of memory and the RTX PRO 5000, which reportedly comes in 72GB and 48GB configurations. The RTX PRO 5500 is also mentioned in connection with the planned lineup.

In the consumer market, Nvidia could instead introduce a GeForce RTX 5080 with 24GB of GDDR7 memory. The rumored configuration would use the GB203-450 GPU alongside higher clock speeds and faster memory. Specifically, memory speeds would reportedly increase from 30Gbps to 32Gbps, raising bandwidth from 960GB/s to 1,024GB/s.

Those upgrades would come with a higher power requirement. The proposed RTX 5080 24GB is said to have a 415W TDP, compared with 360W for the existing 16GB model. More memory and increased bandwidth could make the revised card considerably more capable in demanding games, particularly those that benefit from larger VRAM capacities, while potentially widening the gap between it and the RTX 5070 Ti.

The rumored upgrade also bears a resemblance to the previously discussed RTX 5080 SUPER. With memory supply remaining a concern and game requirements continuing to grow, a 24GB model could offer Nvidia a way to deliver a more capable high-end gaming GPU without relying on an entirely new graphics processor. Reports have also suggested that Nvidia is preparing a revised RTX 5070 using the GB203 chip instead of the GB205 found in the current model.

However, the broader RTX 50 SUPER lineup is itself facing rumored production challenges, and none of these potential product changes should be treated as confirmed announcements.

If Nvidia does retire the RTX 5090, enthusiasts could be left without a conventional GeForce flagship for an extended period. Current rumors place the next-generation Rubin-based RTX 60 series no earlier than late 2027 or 2028. Until then, a 24GB RTX 5080 could become Nvidia's top consumer gaming graphics card, assuming the reported plans materialize.

As always, for the latest news on Nvidia graphics cards, GPU supply shortages, AI-powered rendering, and developments across the PC gaming hardware industry, be sure to follow our dedicated hardware coverage.