Tomorrow marks the official debut of the new GPU, but you’ll have to wait until late March to get your hands on the Founders Edition.
In a recent development, NVIDIA has shifted the retail launch date of the GeForce RTX 5070 FE GPU by a few weeks, postponing it to later this month. This information, though not directly from NVIDIA, was reported by Andreas Schilling, who shared that he received an email from NVIDIA about the delay. The review embargo on the RTX 5070 was lifted just a few hours ago, coinciding with what was supposed to be the retail release date.
Andreas Schilling, editor at Hardware Luxx, mentioned that NVIDIA informed him of this change shortly before the reviews were made public. So if you were planning on snagging a Founders Edition GeForce RTX 5070 GPU tomorrow, you’ll likely be out of luck. It’s uncertain whether this postponement will also impact the retail availability of the AIB editions, but judging by recent chatter about the GPU’s accessibility, don’t count on it being readily available.
You might remember the previous paper launches of GPUs like the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti. Well, the scenario might repeat with this one. The RTX 5070 reviews are out, comparing its performance to the RTX 4070 Super. It’s not delivering any earth-shattering improvements over previous generations, but at $549, it holds its ground as a reasonably priced option.
If you’re unable to secure one at the suggested retail price, consider waiting for AMD’s Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 GPUs, launching on March 6. Reviews for these will drop a day earlier, on March 5. Priced at $599 for the XT and $549 for the non-XT version, the RX 9070 is positioned as a rival to the RTX 5070.
The delay in the availability of the GeForce RTX 5070 can be attributed to undisclosed issues. There have been whispers about a performance bug and supply chain difficulties, though NVIDIA hasn’t confirmed these rumors.
While the Founders Edition faces a setback, AIB custom editions might still hit the shelves across the globe. Just yesterday, retailers like B&H Photo Video listed the GPU with an MSRP of $549 for both the base and OC models. Be cautious, though; if AIB versions exceed $600, it might be wise to hold off unless there’s no other comparable GPU accessible in your area.
