- Asus has given us the details of its RTX 5070 launch models
- Three versions of the RTX 5070 are being launched, and one is at MSRP
- However, the other two RTX 5070 variants look steeply priced, and there are hints that stock might be scarce (on top of rumors saying the same)
Asus has revealed details of its RTX 5070 graphics cards for the launch day of this new Nvidia GPU – which is today, in case it escaped your attention – and it’s not good news. Unfortunately, it more or less confirms our fears around the potential scarcity of stock, and likelihood of inflated pricing.
VideoCardz was keen-eyed enough to notice the post from Asus on Reddit outlining the RTX 5070 launch details, and there will be three models available to buy later today (in under a couple of hours, in theory).
The positive news is that there is a model from Asus which debuts at the official MSRP set by Nvidia, which is $550 in the US. This is the entry-level Prime flavor of the RTX 5070 (and presumably it’ll be in line with Nvidia’s recommended pricing in other regions, too).
If you want the Prime OC model, though – the overclocked version of this baseline graphics card – Asus has jacked up the asking price to $700.
You’ll need a fatter wallet still to avail yourself of the Asus TUF Gaming edition of the RTX 5070, which tips the scales at $740 – which I should note is only just shy of the MSRP of $750 for the RTX 5070 Ti, a far superior graphics card.
These are the prices you’ll find on the Asus online store in the US, and at other retailers which should follow these MSRPs. Furthermore, those are the only three models launching today, which as I’ll discuss next, is another ominous sign.
Analysis: Prime mover, but Prime OC – not so much
The fact that Asus is only kicking off with three RTX 5070 models is a pretty hefty hint that stock is going to be very light, as are the suggestions dropped elsewhere in that Reddit post. There is an Asus ROG Strix version of the RTX 5070, we’re told, but it isn’t going to be on sale from the get-go.
Asus states that: “Unfortunately, the ROG Strix cards will not be available Day 1. There is currently no ETA for when these cards will be available.”
That sounds pretty gloomy, then, and Asus doesn’t seem hopeful that the top-end model will be out anytime soon. When you consider this in the cold light of all the rumors about the RTX 5070 having poor levels of supply, once again it looks like this might be an Nvidia Blackwell launch of the paper-thin kind. A field day for scalpers and bots, if you will (again).
The pricing from Asus is worrying here, too, pushing what should be a mid-range GPU into upper-mid-range territory. Okay, so this is to be expected with some top-tier custom graphics cards, but what about the difference between the Asus Prime and Prime OC here – which is $700 vs $550 for a bit of an overclock on the latter. A 27% price increase, in other words.
Granted, we don’t know how much of an overclock it is – Asus still hasn’t listed the boost speeds for these cards, they are still ‘TBD’ on the official specs pages – but still, we can look at the same Prime and Prime OC variants of the RTX 5080 to get a good idea of what to expect.
So, what should you expect? In the case of the RTX 5080, the overclocked Prime heaps on a whole 45MHz to the max clock speed (reaching 2685MHz versus 2640MHz). Okay, so you will be getting a better build quality with the board, no doubt, and maybe more overclocking headroom for enthusiasts – but a price hike of 27% with the RTX 5070’s overclocked version of the Prime feels… opportunistic at best, cynical at worst.
Because Asus knows that these graphics cards are going to fly off the shelves, and so people will probably pay a sizeable premium to secure one (and avoid paying far more of a premium from a scalper, potentially).
At least the entry-level Prime is at its MSRP, but there’s some doubt around that too, with VideoCardz being skeptical about whether a price hike might be applied in short order following today’s launch. Will this card hold at the MSRP level beyond this week? Well, maybe, to be fair, as the base Prime model of the RTX 5070 Ti is still holding at $750 (on the Asus online store, and at Newegg, for example).
But that raises the question I already touched on: why buy the Asus TUF incarnation of the RTX 5070, which remember is pitched at $740, when you could get the Prime 5070 Ti variant instead, for just ten bucks more? (If it wasn’t out of stock, that is).
The Ti spin is so much better, after all, and it absolutely wouldn’t make sense to get the TUF 5070. Unless, of course, it’s the only model actually available, and you’re desperate to get a slice of Nvidia’s Blackwell action. That said, stock of the RTX 5070 is pretty much assured to be shaky at this point, given all the rumors, and so this question will probably be entirely theoretical later today, when sales of the RTX 5070 are live for a few milliseconds – and then inventory runs dry.
We shall see, but the way Asus has lined up pricing for these RTX 5070 models doesn’t make a lot of sense (aside from the perspective of pushing profits).
