- Edward Snowden is not fond of Nvidia’s current pricing strategy.
- He believes the RTX 50 series is VRAM-starved altogether.
- The former NSA contractor states that the RTX 5070 and RTX 5080 should come with 16GB and 24GB of memory, respectively.
The RTX 50 series has not been one of Nvidia’s best generations so far. Between a disappointing RTX 5080, a ridiculously expensive RTX 5090, and a growing focus on AI, the Blackwell generation has failed to live up to expectations.
Consumers and reviewers have been quick to voice their opinions on the series, criticizing Nvidia for its pricing and poor value proposition this generation. Even Edward Snowden has joined the fray, dubbing the RTX 50 lineup “F-tier value for S-tier prices.”
Why it matters: While receiving criticism has become all too common for Nvidia, Edward Snowden’s opinion holds more weight than the opinion of the average tech enthusiast or reviewer.
For context, Edward Snowden was a former NSA intelligence contractor best known for making public the existence of global surveillance programs. This story was also covered in Snowden, a movie from 2016 that documented his career.
Edward Snowden believes Nvidia is too focused on pleasing its shareholders with profits and numbers for the next quarter. He points to the VRAM-starved nature of Blackwell GPUs, which has been a problem of the brand since 2020’s Ampere architecture.
As per the former NSA contractor, the following would be appropriate VRAM amounts for the current lineup:
- RTX 5070 – 16GB at minimum
- RTX 5080 – 24GB & 32GB variants
- RTX 5090 – 32GB & 48GB variants or more
The only Blackwell graphics card that currently satisfies these requirements is the RTX 5090. Nvidia was kind enough to treat its customers to more VRAM with the flagship offering, bumping the 90-tier to 32GB of VRAM instead of 24GB.
Unfortunately, this came with a major price hike, raising the price of the RTX 5090 to $2000.
Releasing a $1000+ GPU in 2025 with a crippling 16GB is a monopolistic crime against the consumer.
-Edward Snowden
The former NSA contractor’s statement holds a lot of legitimacy since 16GB of memory is quickly filled up in modern titles at 4K resolution. Nvidia’s RTX 5070 will also age poorly because it comes with 12GB of VRAM, which is ideal for only 1080p gaming.
The gaming giant is expected to offer more memory with future GPUs and the rumored Super refresh for the RTX 50 lineup.
With 3GB GDDR7 chips also rumored to be on the horizon, mid-range and lower-end GPUs could benefit from custom configurations that eliminate the VRAM problem once and for all. However, Nvidia’s current offerings will remain poor in terms of value till then.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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