People Are Already Camping Out for an Nvidia RTX 5090, Despite Retailer Warning About the January Cold

The highly anticipated launch of Nvidia's RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 graphics cards on January 30th has ignited a frenzy among gamers. Our RTX 5090 review hailed it as the fastest consumer graphics card available, fueling immense excitement. Despite the hefty price tags—$2,000 for the RTX 5090 and $1,000 for the RTX 5080—demand is exceptionally high. Reports suggest extremely limited stock, with one UK retailer claiming to have only single-digit quantities of the RTX 5090.

This scarcity has led to an unusual sight: campers outside a Micro Center in Tustin, California, days before the launch. Images circulating on Reddit and the Unofficial Micro Center Discord channel show tents erected, sparking speculation about potential scalpers. However, at least one camper has publicly stated their intention to purchase the card for personal use. The number of campers has reportedly grown to approximately 24 people across ten tents.

Micro Center, in a YouTube video, discouraged this camping, advising against braving the cold January weather. Their launch strategy involves a first-come, first-served voucher system, offering no choice of specific GPU model and limiting purchases to one card per customer. While discouraging camping, Micro Center still recommends early arrival to secure a purchase.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 – Photos

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This isn't the first time people have camped for new graphics cards at Micro Center; YouTuber Austin Evans documented a similar scene at the same Tustin location during the RTX 3070 launch in 2020.