Nvidia’s RTX 50 Series: Is It Just Another Paper Launch?
Nvidia’s RTX 50 series has stirred up a storm, but not for the reasons you might expect. Many have dubbed it a “paper launch,” meaning the GPUs are nearly impossible for the average person to get their hands on. Disappointingly, this isn’t a new trend—it’s been happening across the tech industry for over 20 years. And it seems like things are only going downhill.
Why Are “Paper Launches” Still a Thing?
The concept of a “paper launch” boils down to supply issues. Producing high-end GPUs is no easy feat. Nvidia’s RTX 5000 series is built using a custom version of TSMC’s 5nm process, known as 4NP—not to be confused with N4P. In silicon manufacturing, the success rate of usable chips is called the “yield.” Even chips that don’t make the cut sometimes get repurposed for lower-tier products.
While TSMC’s 5nm process typically has strong yields, it seems the RTX 50 series is still facing serious stock shortages. According to Moore’s Law is Dead, even Nvidia employees are frustrated.
One Nvidia engineer reportedly said:
“Not sure how widespread the dissatisfaction is, but I can at least tell you anecdotally that I, and every coworker I’ve spoken with on the matter, am outraged with how this launch has been handled. The employee storefront states that ‘due to shortages’ no RTX 50 Series supply will be available until ‘widespread stabilization.’ This hasn’t happened before; everyone is confused, and there’s a lot of people asking questions even inside Nvidia as to why we’re screwing over gamers so bad this time around…”
The exact cause of these shortages isn’t entirely clear. However, Nvidia has been transitioning into more of an AI-focused company than a gaming one. Advanced technology is harder to produce, and it’s possible their custom TSMC node is struggling to meet demand.
It’s worth noting that “paper launches” aren’t new for Nvidia. Back in 2004, Ars Technica published an article titled “The Paper Launch: NVIDIA and ATI’s release circus,” which highlighted similar issues. Here’s an excerpt:
“More recently, we’ve seen this in the video card business. ATI and NVIDIA have been trading punches for quite a while now, but their last round of product updates has left a sour taste in the mouths of many. The Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition debuted in the beginning of May, but good luck finding one. Why release it early when, nearly two months later, most companies are still reporting a two-week waiting time (some say they will ship Aug 1, but many of these also said they would ship in June, too)?
NVIDIA launched its new GeForce 6800 Ultra in early April. The X800 XT PE was simply a marketing trump on NVIDIA, who itself released its new flagship card too early, likely to steal thunder from ATI. The 6800 Ultra is also practically impossible to come by in the retail chain unless you buy it with a complete system from the likes of Alienware. There’s a few places that claim to have cards, but they also want twice the MSRP for them.”
Sound familiar? Nearly 20 years later, the same criticisms remain relevant today.
Challenges Will Only Escalate
Technology is advancing rapidly, and with it comes more challenges. Companies are racing to beat their competitors, leading to rushed product launches and supply chain strains. Nvidia, for instance, now generates most of its revenue from AI, meaning GPU sales to gamers aren’t quite as critical. Their high-end RTX 5090, for example, uses the same silicon as the coveted H100 GPUs, which sell for around $25,000 a pop.
As demand grows for high-end GPUs, the competition for silicon intensifies. This isn’t just a GPU problem—it affects the entire tech industry. We’ve already seen global chip shortages caused by COVID-19, Taiwan droughts, cryptocurrency mining, and the US-China trade war. These events have made it harder for consumers to get everything from smartphones to GPUs, all while driving up prices.
Without major investments in production capacity, these issues are unlikely to go away. We’ve already seen products like AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D fail to meet consumer demand, and it’s unlikely to be an isolated case.
The tech industry might need to rethink how it handles launches, or we’ll be stuck in a cycle of “paper launches” with no easy way out.
