Tag: price gouging

  • Asus Unveils $500K RTX 5090 ROG Astral GPU Made with 5kg Gold

    Asus Unveils $500K RTX 5090 ROG Astral GPU Made with 5kg Gold

    Key Takeaways

    1. Asus revealed the RTX 5090 ROG Astral Gold Edition priced at an estimated $500,000, significantly higher than typical GPUs.
    2. This model contains approximately $500,000 worth of 24-karat gold, making it three times heavier than standard RTX 5090 GPUs.
    3. The previous gold-themed RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition was priced at around $6,800 and contained only $700 worth of gold.
    4. The actual market price for standard RTX 5090 GPUs ranges from $3,000 to $4,000 due to supply issues, contrasting sharply with the gold edition’s price.
    5. Core specifications of the RTX 5090 ROG Astral Gold Edition include 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 21,760 CUDA cores, similar to the standard model.

    For those who might not be familiar with the ongoing issues of price gouging and scaling affecting the RTX 5090, it might seem like Asus’s recent hardware reveal is just a bad joke made for April Fool’s Day.

    Unfortunately, for those keeping up with the news, the RTX 5090 is now being sold at a staggering price that should ensure you stand out from the crowd. At the Bilibili World 2025 event in China, the company showcased what could be called the most costly Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. The RTX 5090 ROG Astral Gold Edition can be yours for an estimated $500,000 if your credit card can handle it.

    A New Gold Standard

    In contrast to Asus’s earlier gold-themed model, the RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, which had a layer of 6.5 grams of 24-karat gold and was priced at around 25,000 AED (~$6800), this new release goes all out with gold. For context, the Dhahab version contained just about $700 worth of gold, whereas the latest ‘exclusive’ RTX 5090 includes roughly $500,000 worth of gold, with each kilogram fetching a hefty $100,000.

    The GPU shroud is crafted from 5 kg or 11 pounds of pure 24-karat gold, increasing the total weight of the GPU to 7.2 kg or 15.9 pounds. To give you an idea, most RTX 5090 GPUs weigh between 2.5 to 3.0 kg, making Asus’s latest model three times heavier.

    Pricing and Specs

    Despite Nvidia’s suggested retail price for the RTX 5090 being set at $1,999, the actual market prices for the GPU are around $3,000 to $4,000 due to ongoing supply issues. Even with this context, the ROG Astral Gold Edition is valued at approximately 125 to 250 times more than a standard RTX 5090, assuming the estimated price tag of $500,000 sticks.

    Asus’s GPU, which seems to be made more for publicity than practicality, has core specifications that include 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, 21,760 CUDA cores, and a quad-fan design that largely resembles the regular ROG Astral RTX 5090. And yes, if you’re still curious, it is capable of playing games like flagship GPUs used to do in the not-so-distant past.

    Source:
    Link

    Tags: , ,
  • RTX 5090 Price Gouging: Gaming PC Maker Shocked by $3,000+ GPU

    RTX 5090 Price Gouging: Gaming PC Maker Shocked by $3,000+ GPU

    Key Takeaways

    1. The RTX 5090 is the top-performing GPU in the RTX 50 series, but it has very low availability, making it hard to find at a fair price even 1.5 months post-launch.
    2. Price gouging is a major issue, with distributors quoting prices between $3,050 and $3,100 for basic RTX 5090 cards, affecting system builders like PowerGPU.
    3. There is significantly more availability of RDNA 4 RX 9000 GPUs compared to the RTX 50 series, highlighting a disparity in stock levels.
    4. The struggles of companies like PowerGPU to obtain RTX 5090s at reasonable prices raise concerns about scalping and price inflation for consumers.
    5. Nvidia needs to take action to address the availability and pricing issues surrounding the RTX 5090.

    Much has been discussed regarding the poor debut of the RTX 50 series. Interestingly, the top-performing GPU in this series, the RTX 5090, has the least availability. Even after 1.5 months since it was released, finding the RTX 5090 at a fair price is nearly impossible.

    Price Gouging Issues

    The situation is so bad that even system builders are affected by RTX 5090 price hikes. A recent video from PowerGPU’s CEO on X highlights the challenges in obtaining RTX 5090s from distributors post-launch. More troubling is that a company like PowerGPU is unable to acquire these GPUs at a reasonable cost. The CEO mentioned that distributors are quoting prices between $3,050 and $3,100 for even the most basic RTX 5090 AIB cards. He conveyed that the PowerGPU team feels “gross” and “disgusted” about this whole scenario.

    Comparison with RX 9000 GPUs

    The founder of PowerGPU also claims there is significantly more availability of the RDNA 4 RX 9000 GPUs compared to the RTX 50 series. Previously, we covered how PowerGPU highlighted a striking contrast in stock between the RX 9070 XT and the RTX 5090.

    This predicament for PowerGPU sheds light on the extent of scalping and price inflation. If businesses that have contracts and connections with distributors are struggling to obtain RTX 5090s without facing outrageous prices, it raises questions about what ordinary consumers can do. We can only wish for Nvidia to take quick actions to rectify this situation.

    Source:
    Link

    Tags: , ,