MSI has unexpectedly jumped ahead of NVIDIA’s official plans by listing its GeForce RTX 5050 8G Shadow 2X OC for release on July 1, weeks before the expected ‘late July’ retail launch. 
Priced at $279 on Amazon, this move has stirred up confusion and speculation across the gaming and tech community.
NVIDIA officially unveiled the GeForce RTX 5050 on June 24, stating that the retail launch would happen in the second half of July. However, MSI’s early listing implies that NVIDIA may have shifted gears behind the scenes-or at least allowed board partners to move ahead faster in select markets. Previously, rumors suggested a July 1 China-only launch, but this Amazon listing points to a broader, perhaps global, shift.
The MSI GeForce RTX 5050 Shadow 2X OC comes with factory overclocking, reaching up to 2617 MHz in Extreme Performance mode, slightly above the 2570 MHz reference spec. It also includes 8GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit memory bus, along with three DisplayPort 2.1a ports and one HDMI 2.1b port. The card features a dual-slot design and a single 8-pin power connector, aiming at budget-conscious gamers seeking next-gen performance without breaking the bank.
While the $279 price tag is about $30 more than the expected MSRP, this version does offer a performance edge and cooler design. That said, other premium models from MSI and its competitors like ASUS, GIGABYTE, and ZOTAC could push the price even closer to the $300 mark-the same as the upcoming RTX 5060.
Whether this early release is a slip-up, a strategy shift, or a supply chain maneuver, one thing is clear: the RTX 5050 might hit shelves-and benchmarks-sooner than anyone expected. If MSI is ready, the rest of the board partners probably aren’t far behind.