More power, at what cost?
Nvidia is expected to finally announce its next-generation PC desktop graphics cards at its Monday night CES 2025 keynote. The much-rumored RTX 5000 series will no doubt pack cutting-edge gaming horsepower and AI-powered features. However, PC gamers will also be bracing for potential price increases and even higher power requirements.
Let’s break down what to expect from tonight’s event, which will feature Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talking up the company’s vision for gaming graphics.
Nvidia is holding its event at the Mandalay Bay’s sports arena. Those not in Las Vegas can watch the livestream on YouTube or Nvidia’s website. The keynote begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.
The company will most likely announce the first generation of RTX 5000 graphics cards, the successor to the 2022 RTX 4000 lineup. Gamers will pay close attention to the product’s higher GPU cores and video memory, which are a must for processing high-resolution textures for today’s PC games.
For now, leaks show the company is preparing a flagship GPU in the RTX 5090, which has been tipped to feature a whopping 32GB of GDDR7 memory — a sizable increase from the 24GB of GDDR6X on the older RTX 4090. But in some bad news, RTX 5080 might only come with 16GB of video memory, which is no change from the RTX 4080 and 4080 Super.
Rumors also recommend that Nvidia will launch a new generation of DLSS, the company’s AI-powered feature that increases frame rates while sacrificing graphics quality.
It’s no secret that Nvidia GPUs have become more expensive over the years. So don’t be surprised if the RTX 5000 series lands with some eye-popping costs. A leak from one Chinese vendor suggests the RTX 5090 will be priced at $2,600 and the RTX 5080 at $1,350. Others say the RTX 5090 will arrive closer to $1,899 and $1,999; 2022’s RTX 4090 launched for $1,599.
Another potential challenge is that the RTX 5000 series will likely require higher strength requirements. If true, this could also force PC developers to purchase higher-capacity materials to upgrade to GPUs, which would increase costs.
In the past, Nvidia has launched its latest PC graphics cards in the fall. But for the RTX 5000 series, the company decided to push things back to an apparent January event. As a result, expect Nvidia’s event for this year’s CES to be longer than usual. In a tweet, Nvidia says the presentation will also talk about AI, virtual worlds, and autonomous vehicles, three areas that have become major business markets for the GPU vendor.
The latest rumors imply that Nvidia’s RTX 5080 will go on sale on Tuesday, January 21, while the RTX 50nine0 and 5070 Ti will arrive later. If you make the decision to purchase, expect graphics cards to sell out quickly. Die-hard enthusiasts and resellers rush to purchase all materials on launch day, with sales regularly starting around nine a. m. m. ET/6 a. m. m. PT at online retailers.
I have worked as a journalist for more than 15 years. As a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City, I joined PCMag in 2017.
I have been a journalist for more than 15 years. I worked as a reporter in schools and towns in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.
I’ve been following SpaceX’s Starlink network for several years, writing 500 articles about feature availability and launches, but also about regulatory battles over expanding satellite constellations, fights between rival providers, and efforts to expand into cellular satellite service. I also cover emerging online cyber threats, the rise of generative AI, the ever-changing landscape of today’s social media, and the PC graphics card market (which led me to camp out in front of Best Buy to buy an RTX 3000). I’m open to more information, so feel free to ask me, give me feedback, and send me advice.