Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 Review: A Video Card with AI

Whether or not you call this a win will depend on your refresh rate. People with 4K monitors that have 60-Hz refresh will probably be happy with most of this, but I can imagine that some people with 120-Hz screens will have to adjust the settings to still stay above 100 fps. It certainly seems that the real 4K game at the highest end is not quite achievable with the current hardware, at least without the help of technologies such as the generation of frames that leaves the problem.

My main gaming monitor is a 1440p ultrawide with a 120-Hz refresh rate, and I know many of my friends have gone in the same direction. It’s easier to get a consistently high frame rate, but it’s also a cinematic experience, on a single display, that easily handles two windows for non-gaming work.

Graphic screenshot courtesy of Brad Bourque

It’s safe to expect 90 to 120 fps performance in most games at this resolution, which is great news for gamers looking to max out their existing monitor. Single player, cinematic-heavy games like Cyberpunk 2022 and Star Wars Outlaws they’re still at the forefront of graphical fidelity, so I’m not necessarily frustrated that they have some room to grow, especially when they look so good already. Online games and shooters like Marvel Rivals they perform well without much help, and it’s arguably more important to have consistent frame rates in those games.

Is it worth it to you?

Anyone considering the RTX 5090, Founders Edition or otherwise, should really consider their budget first. The FE version of the card will set you back $2,000 if you buy it directly from Nvidia, and partner cards with overclocking and liquid cooling will be even more expensive. You’ll also need to spend around $1,000 for a monitor that really takes advantage of your new graphics power, and potentially a new 1,000-watt or 1,200-watt GPU. That means you could be looking at a $3,500 bill before you have any other parts, and regardless of performance, I have trouble imagining it. start any construction so that.

Photography: Brad Bourque

The RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 hit the market at the end of January, with more budget-friendly cards arriving soon after. Without having spent time with the other RTX 50 Series cards, I can’t speak to their relative performance, but I do know that their price tags seem much more attractive. I expect these cards to support multiframe generation out of the box, and that’s great news if you just want to sit back and watch smooth gameplay.

Previous versions of the Founders Edition have not been in stock for a long time, so you may have to wake up before the 30th to get one of these if you want one. The whole situation makes the RTX 5090 feel less like the top end of the 50 Series, and more like a showpiece.

It’s the GPU I’d configure while dreaming up a new rig, not the first part I’d choose in a realistic build. PCPartPicker. If the price tag doesn’t give you a moment’s pause, then by all means, enjoy your new GPU. For everyone else, I’ll wait and see what the rest of the new GPUs look like before jumping in.