RTX 5090 Vanishes From Stores: Resale Hits $9,500
By Reiner A.·

Gaming Hardware News: Week of September 19, 2026

The RTX 5090 isn’t just expensive anymore — it’s flat-out gone from official US retail, and what little resale stock exists is going for as much as $9,500. Nvidia’s shortage is handing AMD sales it didn’t really earn, RAM and SSD prices refuse to level off, and Valve finally put a price tag on its Steam Frame headset.

The RTX 5090 disappears from official US retail — resale hits $9,500

During the week of September 15, Amazon, Newegg, and Best Buy ran out of RTX 5090 units in their own warehouses entirely. What’s left are third-party marketplace listings ranging from about $6,400 to over $9,000, with at least one offer spotted at $9,500-9,600 (Tom’s Hardware, VideoCardz). That’s nearly five times the ~$2,000 the card was going for two editions ago, and almost double the $5,000 we reported two weeks back. The reason hasn’t changed: the 5090’s 32GB of GDDR7 makes it attractive for AI workloads, and that demand is crowding out anyone who just wants to build a gaming PC.

What this means for your next purchase: this isn’t “the 5090 is pricey” anymore, it’s “the 5090 isn’t there.” There’s no MSRP to hunt for and no restock to watch — what’s left on the market is pure scalper pricing at server-card rates. If you were still holding out hope, this is the point to cross it off the list for good, not to wait for a dip. The real high-end alternatives are covered in best value graphics cards and the full breakdown in Nvidia vs AMD: graphics cards.

AMD is outselling Nvidia… because Nvidia has nothing to sell

In the first week of September, German retailer Mindfactory — one of the few outlets that publishes its GPU sales data openly — recorded AMD at roughly 56% of units sold versus 40% for Nvidia. The best-selling card wasn’t a 5070 or a 9070: it was the RX 9070 XT at 25.6% of total sales, followed by the RX 9060 XT at 20.3%. The RTX 5090, unsurprisingly, made up just 5.3% (TechSpot).

What this means for your next purchase: don’t read this as “AMD is beating Nvidia” — analyst firm Jon Peddie Research still has Nvidia at roughly 90% of the global discrete GPU market, and Mindfactory is one retailer in one country. What’s real and does affect you directly: if you’re buying right now, the RX 9070 XT and RX 9060 XT are sitting on normal shelves at prices you can actually plan around, while Nvidia’s high end depends on finding a unit and paying whatever it takes. At a mid-to-high budget, availability matters more than the spec sheet right now. Compare both lineups in Nvidia vs AMD: graphics cards and check your price range in best GPU for your budget.

RAM and SSD prices still haven’t leveled off — and won’t anytime soon

A 32GB DDR5 kit that cost $90-191 a year ago now runs $375-420 at the best prices, and tops $400 in plenty of stores. NVMe SSDs are following the same curve: a 2TB drive that cost $120-150 twelve months ago now asks $300-480. Team Group’s general manager put it bluntly this week: the crisis “has only just started,” with DRAM and NAND prices doubling in a single month in some cases (Tom’s Hardware). The root cause is the same one pushing GPU prices up: Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are diverting manufacturing capacity to HBM for AI data centers, leaving less conventional DRAM and NAND for everyone else’s PC.

What this means for your next purchase: this isn’t a temporary spike — multiple industry sources are talking about a problem that stretches into 2028 or beyond. If you’re planning a new build, don’t wait for RAM to “go back to normal”: buy the capacity you’ll actually use, not the capacity you’d like to have just in case. For most games, 16GB is still enough; only step up to 32GB if your actual workload demands it. The guide to not overbuying is at how much RAM do you need for gaming, kit picks are at best gaming RAM, and storage options are at best gaming SSD.

Valve launches Steam Frame, its VR headset built for streaming from your PC

Valve announced on September 14 that the Steam Frame is now up for reservation: a wireless SteamOS headset built mainly for streaming from your PC, though it also runs standalone. There are two configurations — a 256GB model at $1,059 and a 1TB model at $1,299 — each bundled with Steam Frame Controllers, a Wi-Fi 6E adapter for streaming, and a copy of Half-Life: Alyx; the power supply isn’t included and has to be bought separately. Valve says over 100 games are already verified to run natively on the device at launch. Reservation signups closed on September 17, and the first purchase emails started going out on the 18th (TechPowerUp).

What this means for your next purchase: if PC gaming is your focus, the Steam Frame doesn’t replace anything we recommend here — it’s its own category, built for people who already own a capable PC and want to play cable-free around the house or from the couch, not for someone shopping for their first rig. At $1,059-1,299 on top of the PC you need to drive it, this is a niche buy, not an alternative to a handheld or a console. If what you actually want is portable gaming without depending on another machine to stream from, the options we’ve fully evaluated are in best handheld gaming PC.

Corsair launches a gaming chair that doesn’t look like a race car — for $200

Corsair put its entry-level TC80 gaming chair on sale worldwide on September 8 for $199.99 (€179.90 / £169.99). Instead of copying the F1-bucket-seat look that dominates the budget tier, it goes with a wider, flatter seat closer to an office chair, a five-star steel base, a Class 4 gas lift, and 90°-115° recline. Corsair says it put the chair through more than 30 commercial-grade durability tests before launch (Corsair Newsroom).

What this means for your next purchase: in a gaming chair market where $200 usually means soft foam and hardware that starts creaking within a year, a major brand backing up durability with actual testing is a good sign — though as with any new launch, independent reviews need to confirm it holds up in real use. If you need a chair now and your budget is tight, this one’s worth watching closely; if you can wait a month for the first reviews, that’s the safer play. The full budget-by-budget breakdown is at best gaming chair.

What to do with all this

  • If the RTX 5090 was still on your wish list: cross it off. This isn’t about a high price anymore — it barely exists in official retail. Look at AMD’s high end or the RTX 5080 instead.
  • If you’re buying a GPU this cycle: availability matters as much as performance right now. The RX 9070 XT and RX 9060 XT are on normal shelves at prices you can plan for; Nvidia’s high end isn’t.
  • If you’re building a new PC: buy the RAM and storage you’ll actually use, not more than that. The memory crisis isn’t resolving in the next few months.
  • If you’re eyeing the Steam Frame or Corsair’s new chair: both are niche or brand-new products — wait for independent reviews before spending, unless you already know exactly what you’re getting.

Sources

A note on where this comes from: the RTX 5090 resale prices, the Mindfactory sales data, and the RAM/SSD pricing are real market figures reported by specialized outlets, not projections; the Steam Frame launch and Corsair’s TC80 are official manufacturer announcements.

Missed last edition? Here’s the September 12 recap, covering the RTX 5090 at MSRP for PAX West attendees only and DLSS 4.5 reaching every RTX card.