NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards are showing strong momentum, according to the Steam Hardware Survey released in June. The series now accounts for approximately 3.69% of the surveyed systems. Since its debut in May, and with the exception of the yet-to-be-released RTX 5050, the 50 series has quickly gained player recognition. The RTX 5070 leads the pack with nearly 1% market share, a significant increase since its launch. The RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 Ti follow closely with 0.57% and 0.55% respectively, while the RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5060 have also secured 0.41% and 0.34% shares. Even the flagship RTX 5090, despite its high price, appeared in the survey with 0.19% of the share, indicating a substantial audience for top-tier hardware.
Impressive Technical Specifications of the RTX 50 Series #
The technical specifications of the RTX 50 series are remarkable. The RTX 5090 features the GB100 chip, boasting 21,760 CUDA cores and 32GB of GDDR7 memory, with a memory bandwidth of 1792GB/s. It’s designed for 4K gaming and AI computing. The RTX 5080 comes with 12,288 CUDA cores and 16GB of GDDR7 memory, making it suitable for high-frame-rate 1440p and 4K gaming. The RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti offer 8,192 and 10,240 CUDA cores respectively, both paired with 16GB of memory, balancing performance and value. The RTX 5060 Ti and 5060 are aimed at 1080p and 1440p gamers, equipped with 6,144 and 4,096 CUDA cores and 16GB and 8GB of memory respectively.
The Blackwell architecture, built on TSMC’s 4N process, significantly increases transistor count; the GB100 chip in the RTX 5090 contains 104 billion transistors, an approximate 30% increase over the Hopper GH100. This architecture supports DLSS 4 technology, which uses AI-driven super resolution and multi-frame generation to optimize frame rates and image quality in high-resolution games. The fifth-generation Tensor cores also provide up to 421 TOPS of computing power, suitable for AI tasks and content creation.
Competitive Landscape: NVIDIA’s Dominance Continues #
Despite the impressive performance of the RTX 50 series, NVIDIA’s previous generation products still hold an advantage. The RTX 4060 laptop GPU leads the Steam platform with a 4.99% share. In contrast, AMD’s Radeon RX 9000 series and Intel’s Arc B series have yet to appear in the survey.
AMD’s RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, based on the RDNA 4 architecture, feature 5,376 stream processors and 16GB of GDDR6 memory, supporting FSR 4 technology. Their performance is close to the RTX 5070, though their ray tracing capabilities are slightly inferior. Intel’s Arc B580 and B570 prioritize cost-effectiveness, priced at $279 and $249 respectively, and come with 12GB and 10GB of memory. NVIDIA, with approximately 90% of the desktop GPU market share, far surpasses AMD’s 8% and Intel’s 2%, with its brand influence and supply capability being key factors.
Supply and Pricing: Key Challenges for the RTX 50 Series #
Supply and pricing remain the main challenges for the RTX 50 series. AMD and Intel’s graphics cards face similar issues, with the actual selling prices of the RX 9070 XT and Arc B580 often exceeding their official pricing. NVIDIA is gradually easing supply pressure through production optimization, and inventory for the RTX 5070 and 5060 Ti has become more stable, with some retailers beginning to offer discounts. AMD’s RX 9000 series has seen delayed market feedback due to insufficient supply, while Intel’s Arc B series is limited by driver optimization and brand recognition, making it difficult to challenge NVIDIA in the short term.
Future Outlook for the GPU Market #
Looking ahead, NVIDIA plans to release the RTX 5050 in late July 2025, featuring 2,560 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 memory, aiming to replace the RTX 3050 and compete with AMD’s possible RX 9050. AMD, for its part, will launch the RX 9060 XT at Computex 2025, priced around $299, with 8GB of GDDR6 memory, targeting the RTX 5060 Ti. Intel is also working on improving Arc drivers to enhance the competitiveness of its Battlemage architecture. As supply stabilizes and prices return to more rational levels, the 2025 GPU market will offer more choices for gamers, and the competitive landscape is expected to evolve further.