ASUS - ROG Astral NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB GDDR7 PCI Express 5.0 Graphics Card - Black

Absolutely stellar card! The ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 is a beast. The build quality is exceptional, truly feels premium. Be warned, though, this thing is MASSIVE. I had to adjust my AIO orientation in my mid-tower case to accommodate its sheer size and clear the tubes. Performance is mind-blowing. My 3DMark scores were through the roof 14800+ in Steel Nomad with no tweaks at all , and gaming is buttery smooth at max settings. What's even more impressive are the temps. Under full load while gaming, I'm seeing low to mid 60s (Celsius) with an ambient temp of 74 degrees Fahrenheit. That's significantly cooler than the 5090 Founders Edition I have seen reported, however there are a lot of other factors in play such as fan curves, airflow specifics etc. so YMMV. Upgraded from the 4090 FE, there was no good reason but life is too short to compromise on one of the things I love doing most which is gaming. This wasn't my first choice; I was aiming for one of four specific cards since launch, but in this market, you take what you can get. And I am glad I did! A must-have tip: download ASUS GPU Tweak 3. It's crucial for monitoring, especially the power connections. This card monitors all 8 power pins, an Astral exclusive, and GPU Tweak 3 provides audible alarms and optional OSD warnings if anything goes awry. As of this review, the GPU Tweak 3 beta version is recommended and only works with the 572.75 hotfix version of the GeForce drivers. Despite its monolithic design not being as aesthetically pleasing as the reference Founders card, it's clear this is an engineering marvel. I'm absolutely thrilled to have this card in my primary gaming rig.

If youre shopping doe this, i presume you already know what youre doing. You already know a 5070 is enough for most tasks, a 5080 is already high end, and 5090 is ultra top end. Well the Astral 5090 is in the top tier along with the likes of Suprim Liquid 5090 etc. if youre not playing in 4K this card is not foe you… What i was most suprised with is how efficient and how much you can still overclock this despite my ambient temps in my room. I recommend pushing the fan curve a little more aggressive, undervolt and then overclock. It soumds counter intuitive but trust me give it a go. Youll be pleasantly suprised. The most luxurious GPU Ive ever had. Highly recommended if youre an enthusiast.

After trying to score a 5090 for about a month looking everywhere and getting nowhere.. I lucked out and hit the jackpot with BB's last 5090 drop on 4/17/05 I'm upgrading from a 4090 so I expected more and let me tell you it delivers. Yes! The Astral price was "Astral" nomical but my 4090 saved the day by funding most of it. All my 176 ROMs are here. Great upgrade! 4k or bust!! I'd recommend it.