Nvidia has allegedly delayed the launch of its mainstream RTX 5070 GPU to March 5 to counter the arrival of AMD’s RX 9070 and 9070 XT GPUs, which are scheduled to become available the day after Team Green has put the 5070 on store shelves. But despite its launch date still a few days away, Best Buy has already put up a listing for the cheapest (so far) Nvidia 50-series GPU. The Asus RTX 5070 Prime 12GB (h/t momomo_us) is live on Best Buy, although it’s still marked as coming soon.
This listing is good news for users planning to upgrade to the latest 50-series GPU but who don't have the budget for more expensive options like the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080. Both GPUs had very limited stock upon launch, with those available often selling for way above the MSRP. However, while seeing a listing for the 5070 at MSRP gives us hope that budget builders will finally be able to get a graphics card without paying hundreds of dollars more than what Nvidia said on stage, history tells us that these MSRP prices probably won't last long.
We also wish that the RTX 5070 is readily available, meaning we can get one without needing to sign up for a lottery or lineup for days outside Micro Center — but we will figure that out soon enough on March 5. Given the recent trends, we also expect shortages to cripple this launch, just as we saw with the last few releases.
The AMD Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT GPUs also launched yesterday. These GPUs are designed to directly compete with RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, and while the launch price of RX 9070 is almost the same as the RTX 5070 at MSRP, the higher tier RX 9070 XT is substantially more affordable than the RTX 5070 Ti at just $599 (versus $749 for the Nvidia GPU). This $150 price difference could drive mainstream gamers to Team Red, provided that there’s ample availability come March 6.
AMD had several weeks to stock these GPUs, especially since the company suddenly dropped them from its CES 2025 announcement despite its board partners already showing them off. So, we believe that there should be at least some stock to satisfy the pent-up demand of gamers looking to get their hands on next-generation GPUs. Only time will tell if the supply lasts more than a few minutes, hours, or days, though.
But before you go off buying a GPU either from AMD or Nvidia when they drop on store shelves, we recommend checking out feedback from trusted reviewers first, to ensure that you’re getting your money’s worth.
