MSI and Colorful hike RTX 50-series prices up to 59% in China

MSI and Colorful have raised RTX 50-series GPU prices in China by 10% to 59% across the entire lineup, according to Tom's Hardware. The increases hit distributor pricing first, which typically precedes retail hikes by a few weeks.

The RTX 5090 saw the steepest jump at 59%, pushing it well past its already inflated launch MSRP. Mid-range cards like the RTX 5070 Ti climbed 15-20%. Even the entry-level RTX 5060 went up 10%. These aren't tariff-driven adjustments — China manufactures most of these boards locally — making the moves look like pure margin expansion.

If the pattern holds, US and EU pricing could follow within the month. MSI and Colorful are two of the largest AIB partners globally. When they move prices in unison in one region, other partners and markets tend to follow. The RTX 50-series already launched at higher MSRPs than the RTX 40-series it replaced, so another 10-20% on top would put even the RTX 5070 uncomfortably close to $700.

This is bad news if you were waiting for post-launch price drops. The window to buy at launch MSRP is closing. If you're planning an upgrade this summer, don't wait for a sale that may not come.

Run a fresh performance playbook to see if your current card still hits your targets — you may not need the upgrade yet.