RTX 5090 Briefly Appears at Walmart for $4,299, Sells Out Instantly
Walmart's GeForce Week promotion listed MSI's RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC at $4,299.99, roughly 115% above NVIDIA's $1,999 MSRP, and it sold out after appearing in about 10,000 online carts. The card's scarcity is partly attributed to AI firms buying bulk stock before retail. The listing is now out of stock, with secondary-market prices reportedly reaching $9,000–$10,000.
The MSI Gaming Trio OC variant carries 21,760 CUDA cores, 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, and a 575-watt power draw, making it one of the fastest consumer cards currently available. NVIDIA has not announced a successor to the RTX 5090, leaving it as the top option for enthusiasts chasing maximum performance.
The scarcity stems partly from AI firms reportedly purchasing RTX 5090 stock in bulk before it reaches gaming-focused retail channels. Related coverage notes median RTX 50-series prices jumped up to 41% in August, and some secondary-market listings have reached $9,000–$10,000, making Walmart's $4,299 price appear comparatively reasonable despite the 115% markup over NVIDIA's MSRP.
The RTX 5090's extreme pricing and scarcity could widen the gap between serious gamers and those with deeper pockets, as flagship hardware becomes effectively a luxury item. AI firms buying consumer GPUs in bulk may further squeeze supply, potentially pushing hobbyists toward older or lower-tier cards. Power connector reliability issues reported in related coverage could also raise safety concerns for buyers paying premium prices, though the long-term market impact remains uncertain.