Nvidia GeForce RTX 50 Super GPUs Launch Reportedly Delayed

Nvidia's anticipated GeForce RTX 50 Super graphics cards are reportedly on hold, primarily due to soaring prices of 3GB GDDR7 memory chips. The situation is reminiscent of Schrödinger’s cat, where news fluctuates between the series being alive and its cancellation.

Tech publication Videocardz has disclosed that at least one of Nvidia's add-in board partners has received stock of the RTX 50 Super GPUs. Despite this, Nvidia has now confirmed that the release of these products has been paused.

The RTX 50 Super series has been subject to speculation for some time. Various reports have alternated between asserting its impending launch and suggesting its possible cancellation. However, the latest update indicates that although the hardware is ready, the introduction of the products is being delayed due to ongoing memory shortages.

The GeForce RTX 50 Super series is expected to feature a significant increase in memory capacity—approximately 50% more than standard models. The rumoured line-up includes three models: RTX 5070 Super with 18GB, RTX 5070 Ti Super with 24GB, and RTX 5080 Super also with 24GB. Each of these models is set to use 3GB GDDR7 memory chips instead of the traditional 2GB chips, which would allow for increased capacity without altering the bus width.

The main challenge lies in the escalating costs of these 3GB GDDR7 chips, which are reportedly priced between $60 and $70. This marks a considerable increase compared to the $20 typical cost of the existing 2GB modules. Consequently, the price for the memory alone in the RTX 5080 Super could reach up to $560, a stark contrast to the $120 for the RTX 5080’s non-Super equivalent.

The specifications are critical to note, as the RTX 5070 Ti Super and RTX 5080 Super are not expected to have any improvements in their GPU specifications. The RTX 5070 Super may see a modest increase of 4% in its CUDA cores.

In addition to the Super series, the RTX 5050 model has also faced delays due to the same memory chip price inflation. This model is expected to utilise three 3GB GDDR7 chips compared to the four 2GB GDDR7 chips used in the original RTX 5050, which came with 8GB of memory.

Despite these setbacks, the report suggests that development on the Super series has progressed to the prototyping stage, which indicates that an outright cancellation is unlikely. However, Videocardz notes that Nvidia has not provided its partners with a revised release date.