The inevitable announcement of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and it's fellow graphics cards is edging ever closer, but you might have to wait longer than originally expected. New leaks suggest the green team may hold off until 2025 to unveil its next-gen gaming GPU – something that’s arguably a good thing if you’ve just upgraded your PC.
If you’ve been keeping up with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 rumor mill, you’ll know that an army of new best graphics card contenders is on the way. The company’s release patterns point towards next-gen GPUs arriving late 2024, two years after the arrival of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and its underlings. Simply put, that premium component’s days on the throne are numbered, but there’s no reason to believe it’ll reign supreme for the rest of the year.
The latest leak comes from the ever-reliable Kopite7kimi, who says they “think we won't see RTX 50 until CES.” Naturally, it’s difficult to say whether this statement is based on insider information or an educated guess, but it does shed doubt on whether we’ll actually see next-generation graphics cards in 2024.
I think we won't see RTX 50 until CES.July 22, 2024
Do we need new RTX 5000 graphics cards this year?
I love checking out shiny new graphics cards as much as the next PC player, and it’s safe to assume Nvidia will be out to impress with 50-series GPUs. Does that mean I’d be disappointed if we don’t see any new announcements from the green team this year? Well no, as I don’t think raising the performance bar right now is going to benefit the majority of gamers.
Okay, hear me out before reaching for your digital pitchforks, as this opinion is more based on my concerns as someone who plays games rather than building fancy systems. I am a firm believer that, while technical enhancements can help developers create unforgettable adventures, establishing an approachable bar for all systems to reach is important. Not everyone is looking to step up to new cards like the GeForce RTX 4070 Super yet, and setting the bar ever higher risks alienating PC players when it comes to experiencing the same pretty visuals in games as premium rig owners. Plenty of you out there are bound to be still rocking an RTX 30 or 20-series GPU, and the last thing we need is those cards not meeting the mark.
Typically speaking, every new wave of graphics cards influences system requirements to demand more from players. This makes sense given that more people will theoretically be rocking newer GPUs with greater capabilities – an assumption that can lead to cards that are only a few years old not even meeting minimum specs for a game. These days, GTX 10-series GPUs are normally the bare minimum you’ll need to get a new game running, with the upcoming horror romp The Casting of Frank Stone serving as a great example.
When RTX 5000 cards do arrive, I have reason to believe we’ll start seeing RTX 20-series GPU listed as a minimum. Sure, those of you lucky enough to afford a $1,000 upgrade won’t have to worry about that, but in a way, both lower-end players and performance enthusiasts don’t have much to gain right now. Solid 4K frame rates are already completely possible if you’ve got the funds for a UHD card, and with a lack of 8K gaming monitors currently on the market, the GeForce RTX 5090 might not feel that cutting edge compared to the already monstrous RTX 4090.
In a nutshell, getting to see out the rest of 2024 using a GeForce RTX 4000 GPU is, in my humble opinion, a good thing, I’ll without a doubt welcome those new RTX 50-series beasts next year, but let’s just enjoy the incredible levels of 4K performance that are already possible for now.
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