Unfortunately, I am cursed to almost never miss an opportunity to reference the step aerobics belter that is the Cha Cha Slide. The return of Newegg's lottery system, Newegg Shuffle, not only heralds the imminent release of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti, but also fulfils the conditions of my curse—now everybody clap your hands.
Sliding right out of that reference to a school disco classic, Newegg Shuffle was last in effect during the pandemic for the similarly in-demand RTX 30-series of Nvidia cards. Well, the more things change, the more they stay the same; this time around the Newegg Shuffle still only means you're signing up for a chance to buy a full-price piece of graphics hardware.
Newegg's FAQ is very clear on this point, highlighting that in-demand products that are part of the Shuffle will feature an “Enter the Shuffle” button rather than the typical “Add To Cart.” Alas, the 'Build your PC' loophole has long since been closed.
Our Dave's RTX 5070 Ti review left me with little doubt that describing this graphics card as 'in-demand' would quickly prove a bit of an understatement come launch day on February 20. However, neither it nor the RTX 5070 dropping shortly afterwards on March 5 will make their Newegg debut via the Shuffle system. Instead, at 6 am Pacific Time on February 20, you'll instead need to train your beady little eyes on the RTX 5070 Ti listings right here and hope you're fast enough.
Draw systems are nothing new—and recently Japanese hardware chain PC Koubou demonstrated the benefits of holding these lotteries online rather than in person. However, lotteries remain an imperfect band aid on a frustrating situation.
Due to awkward timing and supposed manufacturing limitations, supply of the RTX 5090 cards released earlier this year was incredibly tight. The staggered release of the RTX 5070 and the RTX 5070 Ti could prove a smart move in that regard, but actual stock levels ultimately remain to be seen.
In the meantime, you can peruse the RTX 5070's specs here, and read why else our Dave's excited about the RTX 5070 Ti (that overclocking showdown between the RTX 5070 Ti and the RTX 5080 has to be seen to be believed.)
