GeForce RTX 5070 Ti prices surge to $1000 — not recommended to buy in 2026

The well-known YouTube channel Hardware Unboxed conducted extensive testing of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti and delivered a harsh verdict: at current prices, these GPUs are not worth buying.

What Happened to Prices and Availability

The recommended price (MSRP) of the RTX 5070 Ti is $750, but in actual U.S. retail, models are now selling for $1,070 to $1,160. That represents a markup of 40–50%. At the same time, supply remains tight: board partners appear to be limiting the production of mid-range cards.

During their testing process, Hardware Unboxed encountered a major issue—many vendors simply refused to provide review samples. ASUS even officially stated that it was moving its entire RTX 5070 Ti lineup to “end-of-life” status (discontinued). After the video was released, NVIDIA forced the company to retract the statement. However, even two months later, it remains unclear which models have actually been discontinued and which are still in production.

As a result, instead of the planned 20 models, the team was only able to test nine.

Test Results

In terms of performance, all nine tested cards were very close—differences in games and synthetic benchmarks did not exceed 3%. The cards run relatively quietly and do not overheat. The best thermal performance was shown by:

• GIGABYTE Gaming OC
• ASUS TUF Gaming

The reviewer’s personal favorite was the MSI Ventus 3X PZ, thanks to its interesting design with a hidden power cable. However, even this model costs around $1000 or more.

The Main Problem — Demand and NVIDIA’s Policy

According to Hardware Unboxed, weak sales of the RTX 5070 Ti are linked to artificially limited supply from NVIDIA. Consumers are largely ignoring this model. In sales charts on Amazon and at major German retailer Mindfactory, the Radeon RX 9070 XT consistently outperforms its competitor—sometimes by 80–150%.

As a result, the mid-range GPU market in 2026 looks unusual: for $1000+, consumers are being offered a graphics card priced close to last year’s flagships, while delivering noticeably lower performance and lacking strong demand.

Hardware Unboxed Verdict

The reviewers concluded that none of the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti variants are worth buying at current prices.

They explicitly advise potential buyers either to wait for significant price drops or to consider AMD alternatives in the same price range.

In Brief

The GeForce RTX 5070 Ti launched with a $750 MSRP but currently sells for $1,070–$1,160. After testing nine models, Hardware Unboxed concluded that the 40–50% markup is unjustified: performance differences are minimal, demand is low, and the Radeon RX 9070 XT sells significantly better. NVIDIA is limiting supply, keeping prices artificially high. The conclusion is simple—at these prices in 2026, the RTX 5070 Ti is not recommended for purchase.