GeForce RTX 5090 Unleashed: Is NVIDIA's New Flagship the Ultimate 4K Gaming GPU?
Meet the GeForce RTX 5090 – A new 4K contender from NVIDIA.
Hardware by Katmin on May 28, 2025
We've been waiting for the next-generation flagship GPU since the RTX 4090 launched over the past two years. RTX 4090 was priced at $1,600, and it delivered an astonishing 60% uplift over its predecessor at 4K.
Now, NVIDIA has introduced the GeForce RTX 5090, code-named Blackwell, again commanding a $2,000 price tag, and you're probably wondering what's new, how it performs, and whether it justifies its steep price.
Specifications and Pricing
To boost performance, NVIDIA simply enlarged the GPU, making the RTX 5090 23% bigger than the 4090 and packing 33% more cores alongside 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus. This delivers a massive 1,792 GB/s bandwidth—a 78% increase over the previous generation.
However, NVIDIA remains on TSMC's 4N process node, so architectural overhauls were limited. As a result, this larger, more power-hungry card carries a 25% price hike over the 4090.
Thermals and Acoustics
On NVIDIA's Founders Edition, you can expect peak GPU temperatures of around 73 °C under sustained load in a 21 °C room while the card remains impressively quiet, with fans peaking at just 1,600 RPM—barely louder than most case fans.
Most core clocks stay around 2,655 MHz, and the GPU draws about 492 W of power on average. Memory temperatures peak at 88 °C at 2,334 MHz (28 Gb/s).
The RTX 4090 FE's GPU reached a high temperature of 68 °C, and its memory reached 80 °C. The RTX 5090 is slightly hotter and louder than the 4090, but it consumes approximately 35% more power.
Test System and Methodology
If you're buying an RTX 5090, you want to make sure you have a Ryzen 7 9800X 3D because you'll use maxed-out quality presets at both 1440p and 4K to gauge real-world performance.
You'll record average frame rates and 1% lows across 17 modern titles and measure thermals after one hour of load inside an enclosed ATX case.
1440p Gaming Performance
At 1440p, the RTX 5090 delivers noticeable gains over the 4090 in many titles. In Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, you achieve 222 FPS, though both GPUs hit this cap due to CPU limits.
God of War Ragnarök runs at 268 FPS on ultra, a 22% uplift, while The Last of Us Part I generates 204 FPS, 28% faster.
Even in less optimized games like Stalker 2, you see 94 FPS (22% faster). However, competitive titles such as Counter-Strike 2 sometimes show negligible gains or slight regression, highlighting possible architectural overhead at lower resolutions. Overall, across those 17 games, you experience an average 12% improvement at 1440p, which is primarily constrained by CPU bottlenecks.
4K Gaming Performance
At 4K, the RTX 5090 scales better and averages 27% higher frame rates. You see 212 FPS in Marvel's Spider-Man (26% faster), 195 FPS in God of War Ragnarök (36% faster), and 125 FPS in The Last of Us Part I (40% faster), while Stalker 2 delivers 71 FPS (42% faster). Despite these uplifts, a 27% boost for a 25% price premium feels underwhelming for a next-generation flagship.
Average Performance and CPU Pairing
High-end GPUs demand equally high-end CPUs, and at 1440p, the RTX 5090 is CPU-limited in many scenarios, emphasizing the need for a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or similar. At 4K, GPU scaling is more precise, but you still only see a 27% average uplift—barely outpacing the 25% MSRP increase.
Power Consumption
Power draw increases proportionally to performance, with some 1440p tests showing modest 12–17% rises, while 4K testing in titles like Dying Light 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 reveals 37–41% higher combined CPU+GPU consumption. Locking frame rates to 60 FPS reduces the RTX 5090's extra draw to as little as 2–15%.
Ray Tracing, DLSS 4, and Frame Generation
Ray tracing performance shows mixed results; without upscaling, the RTX 5090 can be 40–50% faster in specific titles.
However, with DLSS 4 frame generation, you don't gain actual FPS—only smoother presentation, often at the cost of latency. You'll want to test image quality versus input lag carefully before embracing NVIDIA's marketing claims.
Value Analysis
At launch, with an MSRP of $2,000, the RTX 5090 delivers just 12% better cost-per-frame value than the 4090. Even assuming retail discounts, the cost per frame remains unattractive, especially compared to the original 4090, which offered a 60% performance boost at a lower price.
Final Notes
The GeForce RTX 5090 is the world's fastest gaming GPU, but only marginally so. You get 27% more performance at 4K for 25% more money, 33% more VRAM, and roughly 30% higher power consumption.
If you missed out on the 4090 and have a hefty budget, the 5090 delivers high refresh rates at 4K; otherwise, its positioning feels like an RTX 4090 Ti in disguise rather than a true generational leap. Consider waiting for better pricing or future architectural advances before upgrading.
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