In the event you’re a gamer and need one of the best, there’s just one alternative, and it is the one graphics card that sits above all, the RTX 4090. For a primer and structure overview, take a look at our evaluate of the RTX 4090 Founders Version (opens in new tab). It is massive, it is costly and it is unapologetically highly effective, and that is simply the Founders Version!
Asus has expectedly given the mighty AD102 GPU the ROG remedy. The RTX 4090 Founders Version is not what you’d name a compact card, however Asus has taken it to the following stage. Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4090 OC Version (say that ten instances quick) is a big card at 357.6 x 149.3 x 70.1mm and will probably be a problem to accommodate in lots of instances. It is heavy too, so should you’re into weightlifting and PC gaming, the Asus is right here to assist. It takes up 3.5 slots, which implies 4 in actuality.
The cardboard encompasses a futuristic look with numerous RGB and some interesting little touches we have come to count on from excessive finish Asus ROG merchandise. It comes with a manufacturing facility overclock, too, with an official rated enhance clock of two,610MHz. That is a rise of 90MHz over the FE. You can too set it to a good larger overclocked start line at 2,640MHz through Asus’ GPU Tweak software program. The reminiscence clock stays unchanged at 21Gbps regardless.
The Asus comes with an eye fixed watering worth. It is a whopping $1,999 / £2,169 / AU$3,799 so you may be requested to pay an enormous premium over entry stage RTX 4090s. Not that ‘entry stage’ and ‘RTX 4090’ belong in the identical sentence. Actually, that is an excessive amount of cash, however flagship merchandise entice a premium, and should you’re an fanatic and might afford it, then nobody ought to choose you. Nvidia and Asus actually will not.
ROG Strix RTX 4090 specs
GPU: Nvidia AD102-300-A1
Shader Models: 16,384
Enhance clock velocity: 2,610MHz (Default), 2,640MHz (OC Mode)
Reminiscence capability: 24GB GDDR6X
Reminiscence velocity: 21Gbps
Outputs: 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, 2x HDMI 2.1a
Energy connectors: 1x 16-pin
Worth: $1,999| £2,169 | AU$3,799
Asus has gone all out with the RTX 4090 Strix. It takes up 3.5 slots, which as I’ve already mentioned truly means 4. There’s RGB-lit ROG branding alongside the aspect, and extra RGB across the finish of the cardboard. The design might be thought-about polarizing, although I prefer it personally. There is a full size backplate, as you’d count on at this stage.
The cardboard contains the brand new 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. Asus features a 4x 8-pin adapter to be used with older energy provides. In the event you add that to the 75W from the PCIe slot, the cardboard has as much as 675W on faucet. Like different 4090s, be certain the connector is 100% inserted with as little bending as doable to keep away from any potential melting problem, which frankly to me looks as if it has been overblown.
An infinite card means an infinite cooler. It features a vapor chamber, seven heatpipes and an enormous variety of fins with wonderful warmth dissipation functionality. The beneath of the heatsink is dotted with an array of thermal strips to maintain the reminiscence chips and VRM cool.
Load temperatures maxed out at simply over 60°C, that’s merely gorgeous for a 450W card, although on the identical time, not completely sudden with this type of cooling functionality. Within the confines of a case, temperatures will certainly be just a few levels larger, however even nonetheless, they’re going to be low. The Asus’ energy consumption numbers have been hardly larger than these of the Founders Version.
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Asus often contains some extras over and above a typical FE card. Along with the monster cooler and better clocks, you get twin BIOS, with a change to decide on between default and low noise settings. A fast check revealed zero distinction between the 2. There are a pair of 4-pin fan headers too, which may be very helpful for adjusting exterior fan speeds in accordance with the GPU temperature.
If dropping $1599 USD or extra on a graphics card is suitable to you, what’s just a few hundred additional between associates?
The PCB is solely excessive. The Asus’ 24-phase design with 70a phases appears to be like prefer it was constructed with the a lot larger TDPs in thoughts. Ought to an RTX 4090 Ti eventuate sooner or later, otherwise you want to overclock your card with applicable cooling, the Asus will not break a sweat. The PCB continues to be fairly compact by way of size. This permits Asus to comply with the current pattern of blowing air via a part of the cardboard and out into the trail of front-to-back case airflow.
The video output complement is great. Although it misses out on DP 2.1 – a major weak spot of all RTX 4090’s – you do get twin HDMI 2.1a and three DisplayPort 1.4a. You should use as much as 4 ports on the identical time.
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So how does it carry out? Fairly bloody effectively as you possibly can see within the following graphs.
A word on my methodology. The place relevant, I’ve run benchmarks with many of the ray tracing settings enabled. This makes the Radeon RX 6000 playing cards look fairly poor in lots of situations; nonetheless, these numbers shall be extra related to RX 7900 sequence playing cards, and all graphics playing cards going ahead.
Artificial gaming efficiency
1440p Gaming Efficiency
4K Gaming Efficiency
Take a look at rig
CPU: Intel Core i9 12900K
Motherboard: Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Apex
RAM: 2x 16GB G.Talent Trident-Z DDR5-6400 C36
Storage: 2TB Seagate FireCuda 530
Cooling: Cooler Grasp PL360 Flux 360mm AIO
PSU: Corsair AX1000
Surprisingly, the Asus did not outperform the Founders Version by as a lot as I might count on. That is due to the way in which Nvidia’s enhance algorithm works. It will clock larger if the cardboard is stored cool sufficient and there is sufficient energy funds. Throughout 10 minutes of 3DMark Speedway looping, the typical clock of the Asus card was 2,776MHz, simply larger than the rated 2,610MHz enhance clock, however the identical will be mentioned of the Founders Version, which achieved 2,745MHz.
Though the efficiency distinction wasn’t that nice, the Asus Strix was completely silent, and couldn’t be heard over the sound of my system’s AIO followers.
Simply take a look at that PCB! In the event you can hold it cool sufficient, the cardboard ought to reward you with some respectable overclocking headroom. I wasn’t fairly capable of crack the 3GHz barrier however a secure 2,945MHz clock continues to be exceptional for a GPU in comparison with just some years again. Every chip is totally different although, and chances are you’ll discover that straightforward tweaks to the ability limits or fan curves can considerably have an effect on your overclock. In the event you purchase a card like this, you may need to tinker with it!
How do you choose a card like this? It is priced at a stage effectively outdoors what a typical gamer would even contemplate. However then this is not a card to your typical gamer, very like a supercharged V8 is not geared toward a typical commuter.
The Asus RTX 4090 Strix is excessive in each approach. It is a superb possibility should you’re after a real flagship that appears the half, whereas providing efficiency, cooling and low noise ranges to match it. It is the form of card that can keep related for a few years to return.
High tier ROG merchandise often include premium worth tags, although if dropping $1,599 or extra on a graphics card is suitable to you, what’s just a few hundred additional between associates? The Asus is excessive and truthfully its overkill and much too costly for 98% of players, however the Asus and different premium RTX 4090s merely haven’t any competitors. Given the generational efficiency uplift on provide, I am unable to assist however like it, even when most won’t ever get nearer than seeing it locked behind a glass door of their native PC store.
