ASUS ROG RTX 5090 Astral Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications

Introduction

In the initial launch of RTX 5090 cards we were fortunate enough to get our hands on the liquid cooled cousin of today’s card. There was no denying that the Astral LC was a beast. The very nature of the automatic GPU Boost overclocking built into drivers these days means that cooler temperatures make for higher performance. Liquid-cooling has always meant for lower temperatures when compared to air cooled solutions. ASUS aren’t satisfied with just one type of Astral card though, which is why today we’ve got the air-cooled ASUS ROG RTX 5090 Astral for your delectation.

As you can see from the picture above, as if the ROG name alone wasn’t a giveaway, the RTX 5090 Astral is chunky. In fact it’s so thicc we’re surprised it hasn’t got a Patreon. It’s basically a four slot GPU. Naturally this means that you need to ensure you’ve got a large case to fit it, and also that your choice of mounting will suit. There aren’t many cases with enough room to let you vertically mount a four slot card after all.

But size considerations apart, it’s a Republic of Gamers card. ASUS flagship brand. It’s Nvidia’s flagship card, the RTX 5090. Combine those two things and we’re expecting excellent performance from the Astral. Let’s see how it stacks up against it’s liquid stablemate and the other RTX 5090 cards that have passed through the OC3D offices.

Technical Specifications