Yes, someone called this $649-over-MSRP RTX 5090 a ‘deal’ — here are the Prime Day GPUs that aren’t a scam

7 hours ago 2
RTX 5070 vs RTX 5070 Ti
(Image credit: Future)

Let’s be honest: Prime Day graphics card deals in the U.S. this year have been… a journey. I’ve been refreshing tabs like it’s my full-time job, hoping for real discounts — and while the U.K. is living the dream with proper savings on RTX 50-series and AMD GPUs, over here in the States, things have gotten a little unhinged.

Case in point: people are hyping up a “$1,000 off” RTX 5090 deal… which still costs $2,649. That’s almost $700 above MSRP. I genuinely hope you weren’t mid-sip, because yeah — it’s that bad.

Let’s get something straight: a price drop down to MSRP is not a deal. Neither is shaving a few bucks off a price that’s already been scalped into another dimension.

That said, not all hope is lost. I’ve dug through the chaos to find the best Prime Day GPU deals that actually make sense — including some MSRP-level pricing on the latest cards, and actual discounts if you’re shopping in the U.K.

So, come with me. Let’s skip the overpriced nonsense and track down the graphics cards actually worth buying on Prime Day.

Oh, you REALLY want that RTX 5090?

If you've got the money for it, the RTX 5090 is the best GPU you can buy right now — no workload is safe from this tearing through it at max speed and the gaming performance is simply unmatched.

Been saving and have the flexibility to go $649 over MSRP? Don't let me stop you!

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.

My advice to U.S. PC gamers

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070

(Image credit: Future)

But enough showing off about the U.K. — let’s try and find my friends in the States a little something. Here are 3 tips for your GPU-buying mission:

  1. Be prepared to go over slightly: I’ll be real with you — it’s rare you’ll find the better GPU choices for MSRP. But that doesn’t mean you should dramatically overpay to grab one. Aim for a $50 flexibility if you’re keen to buy sooner rather than later.
  2. Look to bundles: While the GPU itself may be slightly scalped, if you get it as part of a bundle with maybe some RAM or a power supply, the discount on this bit may bring the cost more in-line.
  3. Consider a pre-build: Normally, the lowest cost approach to a gaming PC is to build it yourself, but that’s not necessarily the case anymore. When comparing pre-builds spotted on Newegg and Best Buy to the equally-specced pcpartpicker equivalent, we’ve seen the price of the pre-build actually be lower about 50% of the time.

Got all that? Good! Rather than go immediately for the first thing you see a big red sale sticker on (that's not actually a sale), go for these instead.

U.S. Graphics Cards - best prices

Live in the U.K.? No need to worry!

Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti

(Image credit: Future)

I’ve checked for GPU stock over the course of this entire year, and one thing has become abundantly clear — scalping is not really a thing in Britain.

That's not to say it doesn’t exist. There are still plenty of cards that are being sold for £30-50 more. But stocking issues don’t seem to be plaguing the U.K. as much, and because of that, retailers are selling some models at (or even below) recommended retail price (RRP).

UK Prime Day Graphics Card deals

Jason brings a decade of tech and gaming journalism experience to his role as a Managing Editor of Computing at Tom's Guide. He has previously written for Laptop Mag, Tom's Hardware, Kotaku, Stuff and BBC Science Focus. In his spare time, you'll find Jason looking for good dogs to pet or thinking about eating pizza if he isn't already.

Read Entire Article