Alright, let’s talk about the absolute insanity that is NVIDIA’s RTX 50 series pricing, because at this point, they’re not even pretending to care about gamers anymore. It’s all about AI, and we’re just here getting price-gouged while they focus on enterprise customers. The Prices Are a Complete Joke Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how absurdly overpriced these GPUs are: RTX 5090 – $4,039 AUD


RTX 5080 – $2,019 AUD


RTX 5070 Ti – $1,509 AUD


RTX 5070 – $1,109 AUD FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for a single GPU? That’s not a gaming card. That’s a high-end workstation meant for AI and data centers, yet NVIDIA is still pretending it’s a consumer product. Even the so-called “mid-range” cards, which used to be affordable back in the day, now cost as much as an entire high-end gaming PC from a few years ago. NVIDIA Doesn’t Care About Gamers Anymore Once upon a time, NVIDIA was all about gaming—now? They’re fully invested in AI, machine learning, and data centers. Their investor calls barely mention gaming anymore because it’s just a side hustle at this point. If you think these insane price hikes are about next-level gaming performance, think again. This is NVIDIA shifting its business model, focusing on AI while still milking gamers for everything they can. They know businesses will pay insane amounts for AI compute, so they’re pricing their GPUs accordingly. And the worst part? Gamers aren’t even the target audience anymore. NVIDIA doesn’t care if you can afford it or not—because their focus is now AI companies, research institutions, and cloud providers. Great Frames? You Need DLSS 4.0—Because Native Performance Isn't Enough Here’s the kicker: even if you drop thousands on one of these GPUs, you’re still not getting great frame rates natively. NVIDIA has stopped focusing on raw power and instead forces you to rely on their AI-powered DLSS 4.0 upscaling just to get high frame rates. Let that sink in. You’re spending thousands of dollars, and you still have to use AI tricks to get good performance. Native rasterization performance? Not as impressive as you’d expect. Instead, NVIDIA pushes their fake frames technology (Frame Generation) to inflate FPS numbers. So, if you thought you could just buy a 5090 and brute-force your way to native 4K 120 FPS—think again. You’re forced to use DLSS, which means: You're not getting "true" frames. A huge chunk of your FPS is generated by AI, meaning it’s not actual rendered frames.


DLSS can introduce artifacts. Sure, it looks fine most of the time, but in fast-paced games, ghosting and motion blur can still be noticeable.


Not every game supports it. If a game doesn’t have DLSS, you’re stuck with the card’s raw performance, which might not be as impressive as you’d expect for the price. So why are we paying thousands for a GPU that doesn’t deliver native high FPS without software trickery? NVIDIA is Creating the Problem They Profit From And let’s not forget artificial scarcity. NVIDIA could easily make more GPUs, but instead, they limit supply so that prices stay inflated. Then, they release AI-focused GPUs, knowing full well that those will sell out first, driving gamers to pay more than they should just to get their hands on something decent. Final Thoughts: Gamers Are Being Milked PC gaming was supposed to be a place where you could build a powerful system for a fair price. Now, thanks to NVIDIA’s greed, it’s a luxury hobby. They’re prioritizing AI, enterprise, and cloud computing, leaving gamers behind while still charging them insane prices. If you’re thinking about upgrading, consider AMD or Intel, because at this point, NVIDIA doesn’t deserve your money anymore. Alright, let’s talk about the absolute insanity that is NVIDIA’s RTX 50 series pricing, because at this point, they’re not even pretending to care about gamers anymore. It’s all about AI , and we’re just here getting price-gouged while they focus on enterprise customers. insanity all about AI The Prices Are a Complete Joke The Prices Are a Complete Joke Let’s just take a moment to appreciate how absurdly overpriced these GPUs are: absurdly overpriced RTX 5090 – $4,039 AUD RTX 5080 – $2,019 AUD RTX 5070 Ti – $1,509 AUD RTX 5070 – $1,109 AUD RTX 5090 – $4,039 AUD RTX 5090 – $4,039 AUD RTX 5090 – $4,039 AUD RTX 5080 – $2,019 AUD RTX 5080 – $2,019 AUD RTX 5080 – $2,019 AUD RTX 5070 Ti – $1,509 AUD RTX 5070 Ti – $1,509 AUD RTX 5070 Ti – $1,509 AUD RTX 5070 – $1,109 AUD RTX 5070 – $1,109 AUD RTX 5070 – $1,109 AUD FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for a single GPU? That’s not a gaming card. That’s a high-end workstation meant for AI and data centers, yet NVIDIA is still pretending it’s a consumer product. Even the so-called “mid-range” cards, which used to be affordable back in the day, now cost as much as an entire high-end gaming PC from a few years ago. FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS not high-end workstation affordable high-end gaming PC NVIDIA Doesn’t Care About Gamers Anymore NVIDIA Doesn’t Care About Gamers Anymore Once upon a time, NVIDIA was all about gaming—now? They’re fully invested in AI, machine learning, and data centers . Their investor calls barely mention gaming anymore because it’s just a side hustle at this point. data centers side hustle If you think these insane price hikes are about next-level gaming performance , think again. This is NVIDIA shifting its business model , focusing on AI while still milking gamers for everything they can. They know businesses will pay insane amounts for AI compute, so they’re pricing their GPUs accordingly. next-level gaming performance shifting its business model insane amounts And the worst part? Gamers aren’t even the target audience anymore. NVIDIA doesn’t care if you can afford it or not—because their focus is now AI companies, research institutions, and cloud providers. target audience doesn’t care Great Frames? You Need DLSS 4.0—Because Native Performance Isn't Enough Great Frames? You Need DLSS 4.0—Because Native Performance Isn't Enough Here’s the kicker: even if you drop thousands on one of these GPUs, you’re still not getting great frame rates natively . NVIDIA has stopped focusing on raw power and instead forces you to rely on their AI-powered DLSS 4.0 upscaling just to get high frame rates. even if you drop thousands on one of these GPUs, you’re still not getting great frame rates natively raw power DLSS 4.0 upscaling Let that sink in. You’re spending thousands of dollars , and you still have to use AI tricks to get good performance . Native rasterization performance? Not as impressive as you’d expect. Instead, NVIDIA pushes their fake frames technology (Frame Generation) to inflate FPS numbers. thousands of dollars you still have to use AI tricks to get good performance fake frames technology So, if you thought you could just buy a 5090 and brute-force your way to native 4K 120 FPS— think again. You’re forced to use DLSS , which means: native think again. forced to use DLSS You're not getting "true" frames. A huge chunk of your FPS is generated by AI, meaning it’s not actual rendered frames. DLSS can introduce artifacts. Sure, it looks fine most of the time, but in fast-paced games, ghosting and motion blur can still be noticeable. Not every game supports it. If a game doesn’t have DLSS, you’re stuck with the card’s raw performance, which might not be as impressive as you’d expect for the price. You're not getting "true" frames. A huge chunk of your FPS is generated by AI, meaning it’s not actual rendered frames. You're not getting "true" frames. A huge chunk of your FPS is generated by AI, meaning it’s not actual rendered frames. You're not getting "true" frames. DLSS can introduce artifacts. Sure, it looks fine most of the time, but in fast-paced games, ghosting and motion blur can still be noticeable. DLSS can introduce artifacts. Sure, it looks fine most of the time, but in fast-paced games, ghosting and motion blur can still be noticeable. DLSS can introduce artifacts. ghosting and motion blur Not every game supports it. If a game doesn’t have DLSS, you’re stuck with the card’s raw performance, which might not be as impressive as you’d expect for the price. Not every game supports it. If a game doesn’t have DLSS, you’re stuck with the card’s raw performance, which might not be as impressive as you’d expect for the price. Not every game supports it. So why are we paying thousands for a GPU that doesn’t deliver native high FPS without software trickery? why are we paying thousands doesn’t deliver native high FPS NVIDIA is Creating the Problem They Profit From NVIDIA is Creating the Problem They Profit From And let’s not forget artificial scarcity . NVIDIA could easily make more GPUs, but instead, they limit supply so that prices stay inflated. Then, they release AI-focused GPUs , knowing full well that those will sell out first, driving gamers to pay more than they should just to get their hands on something decent. artificial scarcity limit supply AI-focused GPUs pay more than they should Final Thoughts: Gamers Are Being Milked Final Thoughts: Gamers Are Being Milked PC gaming was supposed to be a place where you could build a powerful system for a fair price. Now, thanks to NVIDIA’s greed, it’s a luxury hobby . They’re prioritizing AI, enterprise, and cloud computing , leaving gamers behind while still charging them insane prices . powerful system luxury hobby prioritizing AI, enterprise, and cloud computing insane prices If you’re thinking about upgrading, consider AMD or Intel , because at this point, NVIDIA doesn’t deserve your money anymore. consider AMD or Intel NVIDIA doesn’t deserve your money anymore.

The is an opinion piece based on the author’s POV and does not necessarily reflect the views of HackerNoon.

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