The RTX 5090 is now $5,800: 4 GPUs that are complete rip-offs

The graphics card market is a fickle beast. One year, it'll be teeming with options for every price range; the next, it'll be barren during a shortage. The ongoing RAM-pocalypse is definitely pushing us toward that latter state, but there are still GPUs left to buy—for now.

The thing is, many of those GPUs just aren't worth it. Be it their performance or their price (or even a mixture of both), they're best avoided. I've been writing about GPUs for over a decade, and here are the ones I would steer clear of right now.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090

If it was ever the right time, now is not it.

Do I want an RTX 5090? Yes. Do I think you should buy one? No, not at all.

The RTX 5090 launched with a semi-controversial $1,999 price tag, but that price was a pipe dream at launch, and it's even more of a pipe dream right now.

There's no doubt that this is the world's most powerful consumer GPU right now. I won't try to convince you that you don't need one (even though chances are that your budget is better spent elsewhere ). If you want one, you want one. The problem is not the performance, but the pricing.

The pricing of Nvidia's RTX 5090 has been volatile since launch, but it settled around the $2,200 to $2,700 mark for a few months. These days, with the RAM-fueled GPU shortage picking up pace, the prices are wild.

I can't find an RTX 5090 for less than $4,400 on Amazon right now, and the most expensive model I found is the Asus ROG Astral, priced at a whopping $5,899. Welp. That's a whole high-end PC.

I can't recommend the last-gen RTX 4090 either, as it's priced in the $3,000-$4,000 range. If you need a high-end GPU, you'll probably need to wait until late this year or even 2027 when the RTX 60-series will appear on the shelves—the RTX 50 Super refresh may have been scrapped.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050

This is your reminder that this GPU even exists.

Nvidia's desktop RTX 5050 is difficult to recommend, and that's putting it mildly. The desktop version may feel cheap when compared to the other GPUs on this list, but it's still somehow not worth its price.

For starters, you're getting 8GB of VRAM—not ideal, but common in budget builds. But that VRAM is of the slower GDDR6 generation, one which Nvidia moved away from in the RTX 50-series. All the other desktop cards run on faster GDDR7 memory, but the RTX 5050 doesn't.

That, in itself, may not be a massive issue. AMD and Intel both use GDDR6. But the RTX 5050 has next to nothing to offer. Performance-wise, it's just barely above the RTX 3060, and its only merit is giving you access to DLSS 4 for some current-gen frame generation.

Available at $249 and up, the RTX 5050 is easily beaten by Intel's Arc B580 (12GB GDDR6 VRAM), the RTX 5060 (8GB of GDDR7), or the RX 9060 XT. All three are just a little pricier and much more worth the money.

AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT

With one caveat.

AMD has two RX 9060 XT models out right now: one with 8GB memory and one with 16GB. Although the latter costs around $70 more, I say keep saving up and buy that one, and steer clear of the 8GB model.

We've talked at length about the matter of graphics cards with 8GB VRAM. They have their place in the market, but having some extra VRAM definitely helps. Cards with less than 12GB may start struggling with newer titles within the next couple of years (if they don't already).

In AMD's case, the raw performance gains between the RX 9060 XT 8GB and 16GB aren't big, but some games will do much better with that extra VRAM. It's a bit of future-proofing that's almost always worth investing in.

Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti 8GB is in that same boat, by the way. At this price range, it's nearly always worth it to spend a little more to get that extra 8GB of video memory.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

It was good while it lasted.

I don't have a problem with the RTX 5070 Ti, but it sits in a pricing bracket that's difficult to get right. More often than not, it gets it wrong.

The $750 MSRP no longer seems that bad, given the current circumstances. But that price is no longer attainable unless you buy second-hand , and the RTX 5070 Ti is no longer worth it outside of some specific circumstances.

The RTX 5070 Ti sits between cards like the RX 9070 XT and the RTX 5080, but it's much closer to the AMD GPU in performance. It has a bit of an edge thanks to DLSS 4, with its wider adoption than AMD's equivalent, and superior ray tracing. But when it's much pricier than the AMD card, it no longer makes sense to buy.

Right now, the RTX 5070 Ti is scarce on Amazon. On Newegg, the 5070 Ti starts at $899 (just one model, the MSI Ventus ), then jumps right up to $1,163, and hovers around that $1,200-$1,300 bracket.

Meanwhile, the RX 9070 XT, while not sold at its recommended list price, is still much cheaper. You can get it for $720 . The RTX 5080 shot up to a whole new level of expensive, with prices ranging from $1,460 to $1,650 and above.

If the RTX 5070 Ti could inch closer to the RX 9070 XT in price, I'd recommend it as an option, but right now, it's best to leave it alone and wait for price drops.

Is now a good time to buy a GPU?

I wish I had better news for you.

Just a few weeks ago, I said it was the perfect time to buy a GPU ; perhaps even the last chance to buy one before the prices shot up. My predictions were correct: we're now in GPU pricing hell, yet again.

The sad truth is that almost all GPUs are overpriced, and price drops are unlikely. CES 2026 didn't bring us any new graphics card releases, and the DRAM shortage will not entice manufacturers to launch new products right now. The whole PC gaming market might be about to enter a long period of downtime while the prices and the demand normalize.

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GPUs never exist in a vacuum. Their value is a mix of price and performance when compared to similar cards. The GPUs listed above lack in either or both categories, and they're currently not worth your money.

If you need a graphics card right now, shop wisely. Consider buying used or open-box models to save money. And if you're not desperate, it's best to wait it out, as some of these cards cost hundreds of dollars more than they did just a few months ago.