On February 18th, information about the NVIDIA RTX 5090 graphics card leaked, attracting the attention of gamers. The price of the previous generation RTX 4090, which became popular due to scarcity, has just fallen, and now new products are coming. However, many gamers have expressed that they may be cautious and not follow the trend to make purchases this time. There are also market voices speculating whether Nvidia will once again use "precision cutting" on the RTX 5000 series graphics cards, improving performance while also reducing some configurations. In the view of industry experts, Nvidia's move is still driven by commercial interests.
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According to a technology blogger, the RTX 5090 graphics card is equipped with 192 streaming multiprocessors, surpassing the Lovelace flagship in architecture. In addition, the GB102 has a 60% improvement in rasterization performance compared to the AD102. It is understood that in terms of ray tracing, the performance goal of Nvidia RTX 5090 is to increase by 2.5 times, computing power will increase by 2 times, and power consumption can reach up to 520W.
Every time Nvidia releases a new graphics card, it can earn a lot of popularity, and it is even more common for products to encounter panic buying. The RTX 5090 may also be in high demand like the previous generation RTX 4090. Due to the relevant ban in the United States, the RTX 4090, which was originally sold in China, was taken down. However, precisely because scarcity is more expensive, this product is even more sought after. The official suggested retail price of the RTX 4090 is starting at $1599, which is also considered expensive among Nvidia's many products, However, in the electronic markets in Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and many other places, the price even soared by as much as 60% due to frantic buying.
Behind this is the hype of scalpers. After purchasing the RTX 4090 in the aforementioned regions, scalpers resell it to China for huge profits. Therefore, many retailers no longer sell the RTX 4090 alone, but some scalpers even buy the entire console, dismantle the RTX 4090 and resell it separately.
Nvidia is also trying to circumvent the US ban by selling a "reduced spec" version of the graphics card RTX 4090D in China. In terms of gaming performance, according to the NVIDIA official website chart, the RTX 4090D has lost about 5% compared to the RTX 4090, which has no significant impact. However, for gaming enthusiasts, the appeal of this graphics card is greatly reduced, and many people still prefer to purchase the RTX 4090 from overseas.
If nothing unexpected happens, the RTX 5090 may also face the same fate as the previous generation, with a resurgence of price gouging. However, in an interview, some gamers told Beijing Business Daily reporters that they no longer plan to follow the trend. As a loyal fan of the 3A masterpiece, Mr. Zhang entrusted a friend to purchase the ROG Raptor 4090 OC version from Singapore last year. At that time, the price of the graphics card had been hyped up to nearly 30000 yuan. Mr. Zhang regretfully stated that he had stepped on a high price, and now the reporter sees that the price of the product has recovered to around 14000-16000 yuan.
Behind the Precision Knife Technique
In addition to price hype that discourages some users from using it outdoors, Nvidia's precise knife technique is also a reason for many people to wait and hesitate. In gaming graphics cards, Nvidia is not "pushing the waves behind the Yangtze River", but different generations of products have their own strengths. While some performance enhancements are made, some configurations are also weakened. This behavior is often mocked as "opening a door for users while closing a window.".
Taking NVIDIA's recently launched RTX 4080 Super graphics card as an example, there has been a slight increase in specifications compared to the RTX 4080 released in 2022. However, the Founders Edition version of this series has reduced power supply compared to the previous RTX 4080 FE. According to foreign media testing, through analysis of the PCB, the NVIDIA FE version RTX 4080 Super adopts an "11 phase core+2 phase memory" power supply design, which reduces 2 and 1 phases respectively compared to the original 14+3 phases of the RTX 4080 FE.
From a favorable perspective, the precision knife technique avoids the self trampling of products from different generations, leaving enough space for graphics cards with different configurations of high, medium, and low. However, from a disadvantageous perspective, it also makes Nvidia lack a truly cost-effective gaming graphics card. Some players told reporters that even if they play 3A games, they can still carry the RTX 4060, which is currently around 2000 yuan. The advantage of RTX 4090 is mainly reflected in its 4K resolution. Taking the popular game Cyberpunk 2077 as an example, the average RTX 4090 frame rate at 4K resolution is 90.18 frames, while the previous generation product RTX 3090 frame rate is about 48 frames.
However, in the eyes of industry experts, Nvidia's move has its own business logic. Industry observer Hong Shibin analyzed to Beijing Business Daily reporters that after decades of fierce competition with competitors, Nvidia is currently almost the dominant player in the graphics card field, especially in gaming graphics cards. With a superior market position, no matter how Nvidia's graphics cards are segmented, they can find the corresponding audience.
Experts point out that although Nvidia's product strategy has led to its high-end graphics cards gradually becoming niche, overall, precision cutting can allow Nvidia to reap high premiums on high-end products, and its affordable products can also dominate the market for a long time, thereby maximizing profits. After all, high cost-effective flagship products are often products of brand competition, and Nvidia currently clearly does not have urgent competitive pressure.