Despite a lukewarm reception to Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition, it still earns its place as a plug-and-play graphics card designed for the casual gamer. Of course, this doesn’t matter if you can’t get your hands on one. Much like other models in the series, Nvidia has acknowledged that the latest midranger is going through an availability teething period.
Nvidia has told us that its GeForce RTX 5070 Founders Edition won’t make its originally planned March 5 release date. Instead, Team Green’s in-house design “will be available later in March” on an as yet undisclosed date.
Although this delay doesn’t affect partner cards, the situation doesn’t look any better in the aftermarket. Swedish retailer Inet.se confirmed it had no stock ahead of reviews going live, and a quick hunt across UK and US storefronts suggests the problem might be global. Even Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070 portal is missing its usual “See All Buying Options” button, which usually presents several brands to choose from.
In isolation, this doesn’t paint the best picture for Blackwell’s current entry-level. Nvidia had already delayed RTX 5070 from late February to early March, and thin supply perpetuates the brand’s reputation for paper launches. One month after release, people are still struggling to find RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 on digital shelves.
To improve transparency with its customers, OverclockersUK shared its stock ETAs on February 25. From that date, you’ll need to wait between 2-6 weeks for RTX 5070 Ti, 2-3 weeks for RTX 5080, and 3-16 weeks for the coveted RTX 5090. These lead times might differ per retailer and region, but it indicates we’re still a way off from stable supply and prices.
This time around, though, the RTX 5070-shaped hole won’t go unchecked. AMD has set a lofty ceiling for its upcoming Radeon RX 9070 Series graphics cards, claiming they’re “built for 4K gaming” while sitting in the same $549-599 MSRP as Nvidia’s solution. Even if you do happen to find an RTX 5070 floating around in the wild, it’s worth holding off until reviews for Team Red’s RDNA 4 rivals show exactly what it’s up against.
