NVIDIA sells RTX 50 at MSRP at PAX West event
NVIDIA is once again selling GeForce RTX 50 Series Founders Edition graphics cards at their original Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), but only to attendees of a specific gaming event. The company is offering the RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 at launch prices during PAX West 2026, a move that highlights the current gap between official pricing and actual market availability.
The sale is being conducted through NVIDIA's Verified Priority Access (VPA) IRL program. Jacob Freeman, a representative for NVIDIA, confirmed that attendees can purchase the cards while stock lasts. He posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be available at the Skybridge on Saturday from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM, wearing a bright green shirt to make him easy to find.
The pricing for the three models remains consistent with their initial launch costs. The GeForce RTX 5090 is available for $1,999, the GeForce RTX 5080 for $999, and the GeForce RTX 5070 for $549. It is worth noting that NVIDIA does not produce a Founders Edition version of the RTX 5070 Ti, so that model is not part of this specific event offer.
This is not the first time NVIDIA has used this strategy. The company previously brought the VPA IRL program to QuakeCon 2026 in August, where the same three models were available at MSRP. Before that, Founders Edition cards were offered at PAX East in March. By repeatedly tying MSRP availability to physical event attendance, NVIDIA effectively turns its official pricing into a limited-time attraction rather than a standard retail baseline.
The situation underscores a broader issue in the current GPU market. When a manufacturer must host special events to sell its own products at the suggested price, it suggests that the MSRP is difficult to find through regular retail channels. For consumers, this means that the "official" price is often only accessible to those who can physically attend these specific gatherings, further complicating the purchase of high-end graphics cards.
Гика
