Nvidia Reportedly Halts GeForce RTX 5090 Production in Favor of AI and Professional GPUs

Production Halt Reported

Nvidia has reportedly ceased shipments of its GB202 graphics processors for consumer GeForce RTX 5090 series add-in cards, including the D variants intended for the Chinese market. The claim comes from a leaked factory notice shared by leaker @hongxing2020, who is known for insights into the graphics card market, and was later confirmed by another prominent leaker, @Zed__Wang.

According to the notice, Nvidia will no longer manufacture any RTX 5090 models, including the D variants. The RTX 5080 24GB would become the highest-end GeForce graphics card, while the RTX 5080 16GB version would be discontinued. The report remains unverified, and Nvidia has not issued an official comment, which is typical for the company when addressing rumors.

Shift Toward Professional and AI Products

The alleged move would align with Nvidia's business priorities, as GB202 silicon can be sold on data center and professional graphics cards that command much higher prices than the GeForce RTX 5090. For comparison, the recently introduced RTX Pro 5500 carries the same 21,760 CUDA cores as the GeForce RTX 5090 but ships with 84GB of GDDR7 memory instead of 32GB and targets professional visualization and AI applications. The fully equipped RTX 6000 Pro, with 24,064 CUDA cores and 96GB of memory, can easily sell for $15,000.

By discontinuing GB202-based GeForce products, Nvidia could prevent its relatively inexpensive consumer cards from competing with its own professional accelerators in the lucrative AI sector. The company appears to be redirecting its limited semiconductor manufacturing capacity toward higher-margin products without giving up its position in gaming, as neither the RTX 5080 nor the RTX 5090 face direct rivals.

Availability, Prices and Future Flagships

Even if the reports are accurate, RTX 5090 cards are unlikely to vanish from shelves overnight, as Nvidia's add-in-board partners, distributors, and retailers likely hold inventories of GPUs and finished graphics cards. However, once GB202 supplies for GeForce products dry up, availability will inevitably decline, which is expected to push prices upward.

Nvidia may also be preparing to refresh its GeForce RTX 50-series lineup. The company has long been rumored to be working on RTX 50 Super cards, including an RTX 5080 Super with 24GB of GDDR7 memory, though their launch has reportedly been postponed due to memory supply constraints. The rumored RTX 5080 24GB could represent a revival of those plans, and without the RTX 5090 32GB on the market it would enjoy better memory supply.

Meanwhile, Nvidia's next-generation Rubin-based GeForce RTX 60-series GPUs are not expected until late 2027 or even 2028. If the discontinuation reports hold, the enthusiast gaming market could go without a GB202-class flagship for a considerable period, which may make now the time to buy for those seeking the absolute best graphics card.

Sources: Tomshardware