A Legendary RTX 5090 For the Few
The Asus ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 5090 is one of those graphics cards that feels more like a collector piece than a normal PC component. It was created to celebrate 30 years of Asus graphics cards and launched at an eye watering price of around 4000 dollars.
That is a huge jump over a regular RTX 5090. Some custom 5090 models are more than 1000 dollars cheaper and the Nvidia Founders Edition has a much lower MSRP. Still this Matrix card is not the most expensive 5090 ever sold. Asus also released a gold plated Dhahab edition that went for about 7000 dollars. So in the world of ultra luxury GPUs there really are different tiers of excess.
Only 1000 units of the ROG Matrix RTX 5090 exist which already makes it something most gamers will only see in photos and teardown videos. But there is more going on here than a pretty shroud and a limited sticker number.
Why This Card Pulls Up To 800 Watts
What really sets this Matrix edition apart is its power target. While a standard RTX 5090 already pushes the 12V 2x6 power connector close to its limit Asus boosts this design up to an 800 watt rating. To feed that kind of draw it needs more than a single cable from your power supply.
Asus uses something it calls the BTF connection. Here is how it works in simple terms:
- You still plug in the usual 12V 2x6 cable from your power supply.
- You also need an Advanced BTF motherboard that can deliver extra power through the motherboard itself.
- The card has an extra connector near the PCIe slot that taps into this additional power path.
So the Matrix RTX 5090 is not just a plug and play upgrade. To unlock the full spec you also have to commit to a compatible high end motherboard and a serious power supply. It is a whole ecosystem buy in.
Even then the card does not actually pull a full 800 watts in real world tests. Overclocker and YouTuber der8auer tore the card down and pushed it hard with higher power limits and voltage. Under full load he saw it usually drawing between about 680 and 730 watts while clock speeds went over 3000 MHz.
That is a wild amount of power for a single GPU. The big question is what you get for it.
Performance Gains Versus Power And Price
On paper Asus is pretty honest about what the Matrix can do. The company says you can expect up to a 10 percent performance boost if the card is paired with a BTF motherboard and allowed to sip that extra power.
In testing that is pretty much what der8auer saw. Compared to a standard RTX 5090 the Matrix card:
- Used around 26 percent more power.
- Delivered only about 10 percent more performance.
In a couple of actual games at 4K the differences looked like this:
- Star Wars Outlaws went from 89 frames per second to 98 frames per second.
- Assassins Creed Mirage went from 143 frames per second to 150 frames per second.
Those are nice bumps but they are not game changing. If you already have a normal RTX 5090 or any other top tier card that kind of gain is not going to reshape your experience. This is classic high end diminishing returns. The further you go up the stack the more you pay for smaller and smaller frame rate increases.
In other words the Matrix RTX 5090 is not about value for money. Other GPUs in the normal high end bracket including regular 5090s will deliver essentially the same gaming experience for a lot less cash and with far more reasonable power usage.
So Why Are People Excited About It?
Despite the brutal price to performance story the Matrix RTX 5090 still impresses reviewers. That is because it nails almost everything else.
First there is the design. The card has a bold rounded red accented look that stands out from typical angular gamer hardware. In person it apparently looks even better than in photos with a premium presence that fits its status as a showcase product.
Then there is the build and acoustic performance. After spending serious time testing it der8auer called the card pretty close to perfection. It runs significantly quieter than the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 which is already a high end model in its own right. For people obsessed with silent powerhouse rigs that combination of cooling and low noise is a big deal.
The only real technical complaint he had was the application of liquid metal on the GPU. Liquid metal can be amazing for thermals but it requires very precise work. For a four thousand dollar limited run showpiece he felt the execution here was not quite what he would call perfect. When you spend that much money you expect every detail to be flawless.
Of course for most of us all of this is academic. By the time coverage and reviews rolled out the card was already sold out. With only 1000 units made the Matrix RTX 5090 has basically turned into a collectors item overnight. If you want one now you are looking at the second hand market where prices will probably go even higher than the original 4000 dollar tag.
In the end the Asus ROG Matrix RTX 5090 is less about being the smart choice for gamers and more about being a flex. It shows what happens when a company throws engineering and aesthetics at the wall to chase a vision of the perfect GPU then sells it to the tiny group of enthusiasts willing to pay whatever it takes. For everyone else it is a fun piece of hardware to admire from afar while we stick to the more sensible cards that still deliver incredible performance without needing 700 watts and a small lottery win.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/graphics-cards/the-usd4-000-limited-edition-asus-rog-matrix-rtx-5090-rated-to-800-w-is-officially-out-and-oh-its-sold-out-already-never-mind/
