Asus Launches ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090: All a 4090 Can Be, For $3200
by Anton Shilov on September 20, 2023 8:15 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
- Asus
- GeForce
- GeForce RTX
- Ada Lovelace
- ROG Matrix
- AD102
When Asus teased its ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card back at Computex, it was clear that the company's ambitions were to develop no less than the world's fastest graphics card. The company meticulously described the card's advanced printed circuit board design, voltage regulating module, and cooling system, but it never revealed two important details: actual clocks and price. This week it disclosed both: the board will clock the GPU at 2.70 GHz out-of-box and will cost $3,199, twice the price of a reference GeForce RTX 4090.
An Overclocker's Dream Comes True
Asus proudly states that the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 is ideal for overclocking enthusiasts. The board used the AD102 GPU equipped with 16,384 CUDA cores that has a peak frequency of 2700 MHz, surpassing NVIDIA's reference boost clock of 2520 MHz. In a physically unmodified (but LN cooled) state, an extreme overclocked ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 surpassed the 4 GHz GPU clock threshold earlier this year, an achievement that underscores its potential for overclocking.
Since its debut at Computex, the card has secured three World Records and five top spots, totaling seven overclocking achievements in various benchmarks, Asus says.
NVIDIA has dozens of add-in-board (AIB) partners producing factory overclocked graphics cards. But with EVGA and its Kingpin-edition graphics cards gone, there are not so many brands left which cater to demands of extreme enthusiasts. Asus is certainly one of them and with its range-topping ROG Matrix RTX 4090, the company went above and beyond with enhancements beyond reference designs.
Through Hardware and Software
The card employs a custom circuit board featuring a 24-phase VRM and a 12VHPWR connector, ensuring up to 600W of power for the GPU. This board is equipped with multiple sensors to oversee temperatures of various components (and even create a temperature map) and even measure currents on the card's 12VHPWR connector (more on this later).
The ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 comes with a comprehensive closed-loop hybrid liquid cooling solution with a 360-mm radiator, magnetically connected fans, and RGB illumination. In a bid to improve efficiency of the cooler, Asus used a liquid metal thermal compound, which it uses for its gaming laptops and which is particularly hard to use for desktop PC components (marking a first in the GPU industry for Asus) since they tend to be located under a different angle.
The ROG Matrix RTX 4090's strengths are not solely in its hardware though. Asus has enhanced its GPU Tweak III software, adding more monitoring and overclocking capabilities that leverage the card's advanced features and sensors. Users can customize various settings, including power targets, GPU voltage, and fan speed. The software also offers real-time temperature insights and tracks the card's performance at varying power settings.
Another notable aspect is the card's Power Detector+ feature. This function examines the 12VHPWR connector, monitoring currents across all power rails to identify any irregularities, then recommends customers to reconnect the notorious plug if needed.
A Niche Product
Meanwhile, performance of the ROG Matrix RTX 4090 comes at a cost as the product's price doubles that of a standard GeForce RTX 4090. This greatly devalues the product in the eyes of average people. But the Asus ROG Matrix RTX 4090 is a niche product. It targets hardcore overclocking enthusiasts eager to maximize their hardware's performance. This card is for those who relish fine-tuning their systems for minor benchmarking improvements, making it a trophy piece for tech enthusiasts.
Source: Asus
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ballsystemlord - Thursday, September 21, 2023 - link
Yes, car comparisons happen in other industries -- such as lawn sprinklers. People "get" car analogies, but they don't understand when you compare to something else or just try to describe problems and solutions in general.Maybe Americans are retarded? Oh, wait, I'm an American. Okay, we're all very smart people, yes, that's what we are! ;)
ingwe - Thursday, September 21, 2023 - link
Yeah calling something a Rolls Royce is idiomatic at this point. Spoiler, it doesn't refer to their jet engines.Flunk - Thursday, September 21, 2023 - link
The main issue is that people don't think these massively overpriced cars are crazy, not that people don't think that way about GPUs.Samus - Friday, September 22, 2023 - link
Flunk, that's just it, they don't realize they're crazy because they (apparently) have so much disposable income it doesn't matter how ridiculous the purchase is.And that's great and all for those trust fund babies and mega wealthy people with gobs of disposable income, but the problem is it enables the industries they are profit-ballooning and turns the concept of a free-market on its head, because traditionally, niche and lux products SUBSIDIZED the 'average joe' purchases, but recently, companies have realized they can simply produce nothing but high-spec products (be it appliances, vehicles, technology) and turn similar profits than they did during wide-ranging mass production.
I'm not sure what the endgame is here for the average consumer. Everything has been pushed upmarket. You literally can't buy an entry level spec vehicle anymore because they aren't manufacturing them.
ballsystemlord - Saturday, September 23, 2023 - link
Umm, "entry level vehicle" has been effectively killed off thanks to industry over regulation and the recent additional taxation, at least in the US. I would know, my mother needed a new car recently and she knows people who work in the automotive industry.ballsystemlord - Saturday, September 23, 2023 - link
Also worth noting is that the "Mega wealthy" constitute only a few percentage points of the whole US population. And those people don't need rooms full of gaming PCs. So, I don't really see how your theory holds up in real life.It's seems more likely based on much reading and talking to people who did have disposable income, that recent government hand outs gave some people who were already well enough off, "disposable income" from which they could over pay for products such as GPUs.
Samus - Thursday, September 21, 2023 - link
Hey Peach, DM me, I'd love to chat sometime and talk bout my analogies to lubricants and cylindrical objects!crimsonson - Friday, September 22, 2023 - link
You will be amazed how often car comparison happens in every industry. It is a shorthand for practical vs luxury.PeachNCream - Friday, September 22, 2023 - link
That's odd. I've never really heard that outside of computer things, but I suppose its possible. It's just painfully common in information technology especially when people post comments here and in a few other tech forums I haunt. Oddly not so much in Linux or security though. It seems like its mainly a hardware component thing.Thud2 - Saturday, September 23, 2023 - link
The Rolls Royce of...You have to have heard that phrase use in every segment.