With the RTX 5090 now right here, there’s been a whole lot of chatter about customized AIB playing cards, particularly as some manufacturers are introducing utterly new lineups together with what we have now right here in the present day in the best way of the RTX 5090 ROG Astral from ASUS. A card that had everybody speaking once they unveiled it at CES, and for us, we wished to place it by means of its paces to see if the sheer dimension of it may supply something over the Founders Edition, which as we all know has been on a little bit of a weight loss plan, now coming in as a dual-slot card, so in the present day we’ll be placing it by means of its paces.
So earlier than we soar proper in, let me begin by saying that that is nonetheless an RTX 5090, and we’ve already taken a take a look at the Founders card from NVIDIA, so I don’t wish to stomp over previous floor within the sense of displaying what a GB202-400 GPU can do as a result of we already know what it’s able to, although we’ll take a look at a smattering of video games to be sure that efficiency on this card does a minimum of align with the place it ought to.
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC
Beyond that, with customized AIB playing cards, it’s all about design, aesthetics, performance, additional added options, and most significantly, the cooling efficiency by way of fan velocity, temperatures, and what that finally means for clock speeds, which naturally, being a customized card comes with a slight overclock relating to the increase clock of 2580MHz which is 173MHz sooner when in comparison with NVIDIA’s MSRP primarily based 5090 Founders card which signifies that the Astral is available in packing 7% extra by way of clock velocity, so it’ll be attention-grabbing to see what meaning for total body charges, and particularly once we evaluate pricing, which we’ll wait just a little earlier than revealing that.
Key Features
- Overall Thermal Performance improved by 10%
- Quad-fan design boosts air stream and strain by as much as 20%
- Patented vapor chamber with milled heatspreader for decrease GPU temperatures
- Phase-change GPU thermal pad ensures optimum warmth switch, decreasing GPU temperatures for enhanced efficiency and reliability
- 3.8-slot design: large heatsink and fin array optimised for airflow from the 4 Axial-tech followers
- Secure GPU safety with GPU Guard know-how securing 4 corners of the GPU and GPU bracket ensures secure mounting.
- Full steel diecast shroud, body backplate, and rear I/O bracket brace the PCB for rigidity.
- Powerful 80-amp MOSFETs assist guarantee enhanced efficiency, stability and better overclocking potential
- Protective PCB coating guards towards moisture, mud, and excessive temperatures.
- Auto-Extreme manufacturing course of for precision and reliability
- GPU Tweak III software program supplies intuitive efficiency tweaking, superior thermal controls and system monitoring
So what’s the Astral vary of playing cards all about? What does it supply to the market that we’ve not already seen? Well the large apparent one goes to be that it’s the primary ROG quad-fan card, and so they’ve developed it in a very distinctive method, as a result of whereas the entrance appears fairly typical with 3 axial tech followers, this card now features a fourth fan on the rear which ASUS declare that it creates a vertical airflow channel that reinforces air strain by as much as 20% which ought to decrease GPU temperature and assist to minimise hotspots, which in flip will assist maintain ranges of increase by way of the clock velocity. Now clearly a whole lot of this may very well be advertising bumpf, and that’s the place we are available to place it to the check, as a result of what are we right here for, if to not maintain manufacturers to account for what they declare to be and do with their merchandise?
In addition to the distinctive fan design, ASUS additionally declare that the fourth fan permits them to pack the heatsink fins in additional densely to extend cooling potential together with a patented vapour chamber design which permits the heatpipes to sink in with out flattening and in flip helps with warmth dissipation by as much as 10%.
Now talking of percentages, the ASUS daring claims go even additional with their MaxContact design. They declare one other 5% improved thermal effectivity, simply through the use of a singular and unique manufacturing approach to extend the floor space of the heatspreader giving us as much as 2 levels cooler temperatures, although it’s at all times attention-grabbing once they make these claims, as we will’t evaluate it to the identical card with out this tech, so we form of should take their phrase on it.
Now one space that’s attention-grabbing, particularly as we work fairly intently now and again with Thermal Grizzly is the inclusion of a phase-change thermal pad. By utilizing a thermal conductor that adjustments its matter when heated, it not solely ought to present a lot better thermal properties, however must also enable for a lot better contact, and longevity, as a result of we’ve all been there when its time to interchange our thermal paste, and you discover it crumbles into items, and with GPUs, it’s a a lot tricker job than with a processor.
When in comparison with the FE mannequin from NVIDIA although, what’s extra attention-grabbing is how NVIDIA have spent effort shrinking down their PCB, and with ASUS, we’ve gone again to a extra historically sized board.