In the first quarter of 2026, the availability of NVIDIA’s new GeForce RTX 50 GPUs will be heavily concentrated on just a few models. According to a new report from Board Channels, three graphics cards — RTX 5060 8 GB, RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB, and RTX 5070 12 GB — will account for around 75% of NVIDIA’s total GPU shipments during this period.
This strategy is mainly tied to the rising cost of VRAM, which has pushed NVIDIA to prioritize models with 8 GB of memory, considered more sustainable from a production standpoint. In recent months, versions with 16 GB of VRAM have already shown more availability issues and higher prices, and this trend now appears to be confirmed.
Production Will Focus on 8 GB Models
The RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti in their 8 GB versions are not expected to face the same production limits as their higher-memory counterparts. The situation around the RTX 5070 was initially more uncertain, but the report states that NVIDIA plans to maintain a solid supply of the RTX 5070 12 GB as well.
The picture becomes more complicated due to the limited availability of the RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB, which is already hard to find in several regions. At the same time, the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB has seen its price nearly double compared to its original launch MSRP. In this context, the RTX 5070 12 GB plays a key role, also serving as a direct response to AMD’s mid-range and upper-mid-range offerings.
The remaining 25% of NVIDIA’s GPU shipments will include the more powerful and expensive models: RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB, RTX 5080 16 GB, and RTX 5090. This suggests that, despite having a broader lineup than AMD, NVIDIA may struggle to meet demand across all segments — especially among users looking for high-end GPUs.
AMD, on the other hand, appears to be taking the opposite approach, focusing more heavily on RX 9060 XT 16 GB and RX 9070 XT, which are seen as more attractive options for consumers. Overall, Q1 2026 is shaping up to be a challenging period for the GPU market.
