More power, at what cost?
After all, Nvidia is expected to announce its next-generation desktop graphics cards for PCs during its keynote at CES 2025 on Monday night. The much-talked-about RTX 5000 series will undoubtedly offer next-generation gaming power and AI-powered features. However, PC gamers can also prepare for possible 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 RTX 4000 line from 2022. Gamers will pay close attention to the product’s higher GPU cores and video memory, which are a must-have for render high-resolution textures for today’s PC games.
For now, leaks show that the company is preparing a flagship GPU in the RTX 5090, which is expected to include 32GB of GDDR7 memory, a big increase over the previous RTX 4090’s 24GB of GDDR6X. But in a bad way. News: The RTX 5080 may only come with 16GB of video memory, which does not replace the RTX 4080 and 4080 Great.
Rumors also suggest that Nvidia will debut a new generation of DLSS, the company’s AI-powered feature that boosts frame rates without 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 arrives with surprising loads. A leak from a Chinese supplier suggests that the RTX 5090 will cost $2,600 and the RTX 5080 will cost $1,350. Others say the RTX 5090 will cost closer to $1,899 and $1,999; The 2022 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 released its newest PC graphics cards in the fall. But for the RTX 5000 series, the company will delay things until an obvious January event. As a result, expect Nvidia’s CES event this year to be longer than usual. In a tweet, Nvidia says the presentation will also talk about AI, virtual worlds and autonomous vehicles, three spaces that have become major commercial markets for the GPU supplier.
The latest rumors say Nvidia’s RTX 5080 will go on sale Tuesday, Jan. 21, while the RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti will arrive later. If you decide to buy, expect the graphics cards to sell out fast. Hardcore fans and scalpers often scramble to buy up all the supplies on launch day, with the sales usually starting at around 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT at online retailers.
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 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 more than 500 articles on feature availability and launches, but also on regulatory battles over expanding satellite constellations, fights between competing providers, and efforts to expand satellite cellular service. I also cover emerging online cyber threats, the rise of generative AI, today’s ever-changing social media landscape, and the PC graphics card market (which led me to camp out in front of Best Buy to purchase an RTX 3000 ). ). I am open to more information, so please share your comments and send me suggestions.