NVIDIA RTX 5080 availability and new 24GB model rumors

NVIDIA high-end graphics cards, specifically the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, have reportedly disappeared from the company’s official US online marketplace. While NVIDIA has denied discontinuing the RTX 5090, the lack of availability has led to significant price surges in the third-party market, with some RTX 5080 units listed near $2,000.

Reports suggest the scarcity is driven by a shortage of GDDR7 memory and the redirection of GB202 chips toward enterprise AI accelerators, which offer higher profit margins. Amidst these supply issues, rumors indicate NVIDIA is preparing an RTX 5080 model with 24GB of VRAM to replace the current 16GB version. This new model is intended to better support local AI workloads and high-resolution gaming, though its launch may be delayed beyond January 2027 due to delays in partners receiving design kits.

In a separate development, an open-source tool named nv-uefi-unlocker has gained traction. The tool allows users to bypass NVIDIA’s Tensor Core speed limits on RTX 20, 30, and 40 series cards via a UEFI boot process. This can increase AI computing performance by up to 65% to 75% without requiring a VBIOS flash, though it requires disabling Secure Boot and must be reapplied after every cold boot.