Nvidia's much-anticipated RTX 50-series graphics cards could hit the market sooner than expected. Previously, rumours pointed to a 2025 release date, but the latest leak suggests that the new GPUs might launch this September, shaking up earlier predictions.
Early speculation of a 2025 release
Nvidia's RTX 50-series graphics cards have been a hot topic for a while now. At first, insiders predicted a late 2024 release, but over time, most industry experts agreed that the launch would likely happen in early 2025. Given Nvidia's pattern of launching its past few generations of graphics cards, such as the RTX 20-series, 30-series, and 40-series, every two years in the final quarter, this release window made sense.
However, the latest reports might change all that. According to a Benchlife leak, we could see the new RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards this month. If true, this would be a huge shift from previous predictions and could indicate that Nvidia is speeding up its timeline for the new generation of graphics cards.
A possible September launch?
The Benchlife report claims that the RTX 5090D and RTX 5080D, built on Nvidia's new Blackwell architecture, are set for an official release in September. However, the “D” versions are reportedly destined for the Chinese market. Despite this, it's hard to imagine Nvidia launching its next-generation GPUs in just one region. It seems more likely that if the RTX 50-series is ready for release, it will launch globally around the same time.
The leak details are still quite vague, and Benchlife hasn't shared much more information. This makes it difficult to tell whether we're looking at a solid leak or just more speculation. Even if an announcement is made in September, it doesn't necessarily mean the cards will hit the shelves immediately. Nvidia has been known to reveal new products a bit in advance, with the actual release following a month or two later. So, we might be looking at an October or November release rather than September.
Still, the timing would be a departure from Nvidia's previous launches. Typically, the company hasn't released its cards more than a few months after an announcement, making a September reveal and a January release unlikely. Only time will tell whether this leak holds any weight, but it adds to the excitement surrounding the RTX 50-series.
What to expect from the RTX 50-series
The upcoming RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 cards are expected to deliver a significant performance boost over the current RTX 40-series, but it's not all about more power. According to recent reports, these new GPUs could come with increased power consumption. The RTX 5090 is rumoured to require up to 600 watts, while the RTX 5080 might need around 400 watts. This represents a jump from the power requirements of the current generation, and it could mean that users will need to upgrade their power supplies to run these beasts efficiently.
Whether the cards launch this month, Nvidia's next-gen GPUs are expected to set benchmarks for new gaming and professional applications. With AMD's RDNA 4 and Intel's Battlemage GPUs not expected to arrive until 2025, Nvidia doesn't have much competition right now, which might explain why they're pushing ahead with the RTX 50-series.
Currently, there's no clear answer on when exactly the RTX 50-series will arrive, but if the leaks are true, you could see these cards in stores sooner than you think.
