- AI companies are building multi-GPU servers using pallets of retail RTX 5090s.
- These GPUs have become incredibly unaffordable for gamers, topping $5000.
- The cards were meant to be used by gamers but have now become synonymous with AI workloads.
The AI boom has been the most devastating for the gaming scene, exploding the memory & GPU costs to levels no one would have thought possible just two years ago. Offerings by Nvidia and AMD have seen multiple price hikes, and things are not letting up anytime soon.
New images revealed by a media tech giant now show that AI companies are assembling their multi-GPU servers with high-end GPUs.
These cards are not the RTX Pro 6000 or those used as dedicated data center accelerators. Instead, these companies are now hogging pallets of retail GPUs like RTX 5090s that were originally meant for gamers.
Why it matters: The RTX 5090 cards are no longer within reach for most gamers, thanks to growing scarcity. AI companies are hogging all the pallets of these retail GPUs for their servers and intense workloads, with many crypto initiatives also shifting to AI after suffering losses.
Images shared by HKECP on Twitter show us where the retail GPU supply is going these days. As can be seen above, pallets of brand-new 5090s are being removed from their boxes and installed in multi-GPU servers for AI workloads in companies.
We experienced something similar during the crypto boom a few years ago, when many retail GPUs were used for crypto mining instead. Nvidia quickly took action and launched Lite Hash Rate versions of several RTX 30 cards. They sucked at crypto mining but provided the same gaming performance.
However, the company has not done anything against AI firms by launching similar gamer-friendly variants that are weaker at some AI workloads. In fact, both Nvidia and AMD are deeply involved in promoting the AI capabilities of their current-gen GPU cards.
So, it appears we are on our own as RTX 5090 prices grow to exorbitant figures on Amazon, Newegg, and other platforms.
Do you think the RTX 5090 will see a price decrease over the coming months after some miracle, or should we expect the costs to get worse? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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