NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 – Non-reference ASUS, Gainward, KFA2, MSI, Palit, Zotac graphics card test

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is currently the most powerful graphics card, which can only be eliminated with the release of the GeForce RTX 4090 Ti, because the competition is not going to throw the gauntlet to the top Ada Lovelace system. Spending more than PLN 10,000 on a single component, you can expect not only the highest performance, but also the highest quality. This is where things start to get complicated, because even though the performance of individual models is very similar, the cooling system culture can be very different. So I decided to check out how the proprietary designs of ASUS, Gainward, KFA2, MSI, Palit, and Zotac compare to the successful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition.

Author: Sebastian Oktaba

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4000 family of graphics cards is based on the architecture Ada Lovelace, which has undergone a number of improvements over Ampere driving the GeForce RTX 3000 series. First of all, more L2 Cache memory has been added, GPC blocks have been rebuilt, and fourth-generation Tensor units and third-generation RT units have been introduced. The manufacturer’s primary goal was to increase the efficiency of ray tracing and improve DLSS technology. This is where the most serious tweaks were made, because DLSS 3 will not only scale the image, but also double the number of animation frames, while eliminating a bottleneck on the processor side. However, DLSS 3 only works on Ada Lovelace chips because it requires new computational units built into Gen 4 Tensors. TSMC’s 5nm lithography has also been used to cram 2.5x more transistors into a similar surface area, as well as achieve high clock speeds. Relative to its predecessor, you can expect a 60-70% performance increase in rasterization, up to 100% in ray tracing and 100-400% in DLSS.

Which is better than the reference GeForce RTX 4090? ASUS, Gainward, KFA2, MSI, Palit or Zotac? Or maybe the Founders Edition will be the model?

Model NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition, which is similar in design to its previous flagship, turned out to be a high-quality product. The massive aluminum alloy case, well-thought-out heat dissipation system, light style and excellent work culture can surprise you. However, these semi-references should seriously hinder NVIDIA’s partners from competing for the client. The bar was set so high that all companies offering the GeForce RTX 4090 had access to really powerful coolers. Standard were seasoned 3.5-slot radiators with three fans, which don’t accidentally receive special support in the kit. The beast with a TDP of 450W cooled surprisingly effectively, although in that statement, not only will the core temperature be checked, but also the GDDR6X memory and Hot Spot memory. The volume level, taking into account quietness/performance profiles, is also an open question, so determining the best proprietary design will require an analysis of all factors.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 – Performance Test on AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D vs Intel Core i9-13900K in Graphics Spaces

The table above contains the claimed GPU Boost clock in standard mode (NVIDIA, KFA2) or performance mode (everything else), as well as the actual **base frequency after The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt with Uber settings and a resolution of 3840×2160. Keep in mind that the base frequency drops gradually as the load increases, so all GeForce RTX 4090s achieved higher GPU Boost clocks at low settings. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the record holder for graphics card sweats, so the hours offered can be treated as minimal. The differences between the performance / quietness profiles are usually nominal, values ​​\u200b\u200bdo not exceed 60-90 MHz are closed, while the working culture of cooling systems is significantly improved. So, I ran brief performance tests in Performance mode to check which models offer the highest performance, but the temperature and volume measurements already take into account both BIOSes. So let’s move on to introducing the nine greatest…