At a Glance
- Asus is ending production of the RTX 5070 Ti, the entry-level card for 4K PC gaming
- 16GB VRAM cards are being deprioritized industry-wide in favor of 8GB models
- Top-tier RTX 5080 and 5090 cards remain unaffected for now
- Why it matters: Fewer high-memory GPUs mean higher prices and longer waits for gamers who want to play at 1440p or 4K resolution
PC gamers hoping to jump into 4K resolution without breaking the bank are about to lose one of their best options. Asus has quietly placed its GeForce RTX 5070 Ti add-in cards into end-of-life status, according to a report from Hardware Unboxed that Ryan J. Thompson confirmed for News Of Fort Worth. Whatever units are on store shelves right now will be the last ones available-at least under the current production cycle.
The RTX 5070 Ti is the most affordable Nvidia GPU that ships with 16GB of VRAM, the memory buffer widely considered the minimum for comfortable 4K gaming with high-resolution textures. Once existing inventory dries up, buyers will have to step up to the pricier RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 to guarantee that much memory.
Why 16GB Cards Are Vanishing
The problem isn’t limited to one model. Industry-wide, memory manufacturers Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron have pivoted production toward high-bandwidth chips for AI data centers. That shift starves the consumer GPU market of the GDDR6 and GDDR7 modules that graphics cards rely on.
Nvidia appears to be reacting by prioritizing lower-memory variants:
- RTX 5060 Ti 16GB may be shelved in favor of the cheaper 8GB version
- RTX 5070 Ti production is already stopping at Asus
- RTX 5080 and RTX 5090, which start at 16GB, remain in active production
News Of Fort Worth contacted both Asus and Nvidia for comment; neither responded by publication time.
Retail Ripple Effects
Hardware Unboxed warned that retailers are already struggling to secure RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 5060 Ti 16GB cards in “reasonable quantities.” If the trend continues, the only mid-range GPUs widely available will carry 8GB of VRAM-fine for 1080p or light 1440p gaming, but inadequate for 4K or heavily modded titles.
Scarcity historically drives up street prices. When the GeForce RTX 3080 launched in 2020, resale values on eBay doubled within weeks. A repeat scenario would push the RTX 5070 Ti-already a $749 MSRP product-well above $1,000 on secondary markets.
AMD Tries to Capitalize
Advanced Micro Devices smells blood in the water. AMD executive David McAfee told News Of Fort Worth the company is “doing what it could” to keep its competing Radeon RX 9070 XT stocked and affordably priced. That card also ships with 16GB of memory and targets the same 1440p/4K audience.
Whether AMD can avoid the same memory-shortage trap remains uncertain. Both Radeon and GeForce cards tap the same pool of GDDR6 suppliers.
No Immediate Relief in Sight
Nvidia made no mention of an RTX 50-series “Super” refresh during CEO Jensen Huang’s CES 2026 keynote, suggesting the current lineup will soldier on longer than usual. Huang instead focused on the company’s next-gen Vera Rubin AI chips, a sign that consumer GPUs are taking a back seat to data-center profits.
Analysts do not expect the memory crunch to ease until at least late 2026, when new fabrication capacity is scheduled to come online. Until then, gamers face a stark choice:
- Buy now and pay inflated prices for 16GB cards
- Settle for 8GB models and dial back resolution or texture quality
- Wait indefinitely for supply to recover
Key Takeaways
- The RTX 5070 Ti is the first casualty of the ongoing VRAM shortage
- 16GB consumer GPUs are being deprioritized across the board
- Retailers may soon stock only 8GB mid-range cards
- Prices on remaining 16GB inventory are poised to spike
- AMD pledges to keep its rival RX 9070 XT available, but shares the same supply constraints
