As the RAM crisis has played out in 2026, graphics cards have been hit particularly hard, due to the high-performance memory that’s stapled onto the things. And now it seems like the RTX 5080 may have been discontinued.
After the RTX 5090 appeared to have been discontinued, the RTX 5080 has also disappeared from Nvidia’s GeForce Marketplace, but there might be a replacement on the way. It’s possible Nvidia is getting ready to replace the 16GB RTX 5080 with a 24GB model, though.
Most recently, a post on ChannelGate , which tracks the tech supply chain in China, suggested that Nvidia is going to discontinue the original 5080, and replace it with a 24GB version as early as december. But while that would help the supply issue, with the price of memory right now, a 24GB graphics card is going to be even pricier
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen rumors of mid-generation graphics cards from Nvidia, though. Rumors for the RTX 50 Super series started spinning up late last year, only to supposedly be discontinued due to the RAM shortage all the way back in February.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 – Photos
For now, the most powerful consumer GPU you can buy from Nvidia’s marketplace is the RTX 5070 Ti, which is a step down from the 5080. But, because prices are what they are right now, the 5070 Ti, which launched for $749 in 2025, will set you back at least $1,299 at the time of writing – which is more than the RTX 5080 launched for.
Even the RTX 5070 will set you back at least $849 on Nvidia’s storefront right now, which is a huge increase over its $549 launch price.
If you do want to get your hands on the RTX 5080 right now, it is still possible, but I’m not sure how well stock is going to hold out. The cheapest 5080 I can find on Newegg is a Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 edition from MSI, which will set you back $1,899 – nearly twice the 5080’s $999 launch price. Over on Micro Center, every RTX 5080 is listed as “store pickup only,” with the cheapest model being a Gigabyte Windforce card for $1,979. And, that particular card is out of stock in every location in New York, at least.
Even though you can still buy a 5080 if you have an astronomical budget, it sure seems like the high-end graphics card is on the cusp of being discontinued, or at least becoming so scarce that it might as well be. I’ve reached out to Nvidia for comment, and I’ll update this story if and when I hear back, but we might be entering a period where the two most powerful gaming cards are essentially unobtainable.
It is possible that the 24GB RTX 5080 is real, and maybe we really will see it in December or even at CES 2027. But Samsung, which manufactures most of Nvidia’s graphics memory, just claimed in its latest earnings call that the RAM shortage is only going to get worse in 2027, so I can only imagine how expensive this newfangled 24GB 5080 is going to be.
Jackie Thomas is the Senior Tech Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. She’s been covering gaming hardware for more than a decade for IGN, TechRadar, Gizmodo, PC Gamer and more. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
