Nvidia’s RTX 5090 Founders Edition is an engineering marvel
Somehow, Nvidia made their RTX 5090 Founders Edition a small form factor graphics card
Nvidia has officially revealed its RTX 50 series of graphics cards and its transformed DLSS 4 technology. What surprised me most about this launch was the size of its upcoming RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card. This GPU is tiny, at least compared to every other GPU of this performance level.
Thankfully, Nvidia has been quick to answer my questions about this new “SFF-Ready” (Small Form Factor Ready) RTX 5090 GPU. This GPU has a TGP of 575W and the form factor of a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, which consumes less than half as much power. How is this physically possible? Has Nvidia used AI to defy the laws of thermodynamics? Let’s find out.
A “Double Flow Through” design
Nvidia’s new Founders Edition GPU design measures 304mm long, 137mm high, and 2.0 PCIe slots high. The main innovation of this GPU’s heatsink is its “Dual Flow Through” design, which allows air to flow through the GPU and not slam air into a PCB or other obstruction. Using this new GPU heatsink design, Nvidia has greatly improved the cooling efficiency of their latest GPU. That said, this change alone was not enough to tame their RTX 5090.
Another innovation that Nvidia has disclosed is its use of a “Liquid Metal Thermal Interface Material.” This allows heat to move more efficiently from their RTX 5090’s GPU core to their new Founders Edition heatsink design.
Even with these changes, Nvidia’s specifications sheet for their RTX 5090 states that their Founders Edition GPU design can heat up to 90 degrees Celsius under load. Regardless, this is much cooler than anyone should expect a dual-slot 575W GPU to run.
How much will Nvidia’s RTX 5090 Founders Edition cost?
Nvidia’s RTX 5090 will be released on January 30th. Nvidia has confirmed that pricing for this GPU will start at $1,999. Typically, Nvidia’s Founders Edition GPUs are available at Nvidia’s MSRP price.
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