Gigabyte RTX 4090 Windforce 24G Review

Conclusion

Whenever a new architecture appears, be it chipset or GPU, there is always a host of partner products to check out. With Gigabyte they have models which range from the Windforce we have for you today, all the way through Aorus models, to the Aorus Waterforce with built in water cooling for those of you who demand the coolest possible gaming experience.

Such is the consistency of performance from the main three manufacturers – Nvidia, AMD and Intel – that the differences between various models is less to do with their capabilities and rely more heavily upon brand identity, extra features and aesthetics. The Gigabyte Windforce is, as the most affordable in their RTX 4090 range, the card that is aimed squarely at those who want to get themselves on of the new flagship Nvidia cards, but don’t want to spend another £200 just because there is a tiny bit of RGB lighting or a 50 MHz factory overclock. It’s a mindset with which we can very much get on board.

The thing that strikes you most is the sheer size of the card. Whilst the Nvidia Founders Edition is equally large, the shroud somewhat lessens that. With the Windforce having a simple shroud around the three huge fans the heatsink, and those glorious copper heat pipes, are exposed for all to see. If, like us, you are a fan of designs which express their utility rather than trying to hide it all away, it’s a treat. It’s a card that says boldly, “yes I have a massive cooler, what of it?”, rather than attempt to hide it all away behind modesty panels. It’s a card that’s proud to be what it is, and the results show that it has every right to be proud too.

Performance throughout our testing was very good. The robust cooling allowed the average and peak boost clock of the Ada Lovelace GPU to be higher than that which we saw with the Founders Edition, and this often led to gains in average frames per second in our suite. Admittedly the difference between one RTX 4090 and another is slender, but therein lies the charm of the Gigabyte Windforce. Why pay more for something which has no real world benefit beyond minor aesthetic considerations? The Windforce cooler is certainly capable of running cool and quietly under even the most demanding scenarios, and if it isn’t quiet enough then there is the famous Gigabyte Dual BIOS option to swap from OC to Silent.

The Gigabyte RTX 4090 Windforce 24G is a card which revels in its simplicity, adhering to Viollet-le-Duc’s form follows function maxim. It’s all the card it needs to be, without compromise, and no excessive add-ons causing an increase in price and wins our OC3D Gamers Choice Award. Buy it, Fit it, Game on it, Love it. 

   

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Head To Head Comparison Video

If you fancy a look at the Founders Edition Review and so you can compare the 4090 to a wide range of other graphics cards you can watch the video below or head over to tour full written review – Nvidia RTX 4090 Review