NVIDIA unveils RTX 50 series GPUs ranging from US $549 to $1999

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang took the stage at CES 2025 to unveil the company’s highly anticipated Blackwell series GPUs, marking the debut of the RTX 50 family. On the same day NVIDIA briefly became the world’s most valuable company, the announcement highlighted the company’s ambitious leap in graphics technology and performance.

The RTX 50 lineup, led by the flagship RTX 5090, promises groundbreaking advancements for gamers and creators. Launching in January, the series starts at $549 for the RTX 5070 and peaks at $1,999 for the RTX 5090. In between, the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 will retail at $749 and $999, respectively. Laptop versions, featuring variants of these GPUs, are slated for release in March with starting prices of $1,299.

The RTX 5090 Founders Edition is NVIDIA’s most powerful GPU to date, boasting 32GB of GDDR7 memory and 21,760 CUDA cores. According to NVIDIA, it offers up to double the performance of its predecessor, the RTX 4090, particularly in ray-tracing (RT)-intensive titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake 2. A demonstration showcased Cyberpunk 2077 running at 242 frames per second (fps) on the 5090, compared to 109 fps on the 4090.

Central to the performance leap is NVIDIA’s new DLSS 4 technology, which introduces multi-frame generation. This feature can produce up to three additional frames for every traditionally rendered frame, significantly boosting performance in supported games. While DLSS 4 will be compatible with older RTX GPUs, the multi-frame generation feature is exclusive to the 50 series cards. Games limited to DLSS 3 will see smaller gains.

The RTX 5070, positioned as the entry-level card in the series, features 6,144 CUDA cores and 12GB of GDDR7 memory. NVIDIA claims it matches the performance of the RTX 4090 when paired with DLSS 4, although rasterization improvements are modest. The RTX 5070 Ti, meanwhile, promises to be twice as fast as the 4070 Ti.

However, the 50 series comes with substantial power demands. The RTX 5090 requires a 1,000-watt PSU due to its 575-watt total graphics power. All new Founders Edition cards feature slimmer two-slot designs, offering some consolation for enthusiasts concerned about space and airflow.

As NVIDIA sets the stage for its next generation of GPUs, the Blackwell series reaffirms the company’s leadership in graphics innovation—albeit at a premium price. With DLSS 4 pushing boundaries, the RTX 50 series could redefine gaming and content creation performance.