ASUS Tackles GPU Sag With Precision Sensor In ROG Matrix RTX 5090

Have you seen the ASUS ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 5090 card? Yes you have; it's right above this text. The new high-end graphics card from the halo-tier Matrix series has a striking design that we'd assume was a Radeon GPU if not for the obvious GEFORCE RTX branding on the backplate. This is a 30th Anniversary edition of the company's graphics card business, and so it is a limited edition. However, it is also the first Matrix graphics card to integrate ASUS' Level Sense feature.

ASUS' massive ROG Astral graphics cards have already featured Level Sense for a while now; we reported on it back in April. Essentially, the card has a built-in gyroscope to detect its own orientation; if the card isn't level, it will throw a warning in the ASUS software, because as well know, GPU sag can absolutely kill your graphics card, your motherboard, or both. Those GPU support brackets aren't just for kicks, kids.


In the most recent update, version V2.0.4.5, ASUS just added support for the new Matrix card to its GPU Tweak III software. This allows you to check the angle of the card and make sure it's not drooping too much. The interface is surprisingly straightforward, and it even lets you configure how much tilt is acceptable if you're willing to tolerate a bit of sag. (We don't recommend it, though.)


In a world where GPU vendors are struggling to differentiate their products amidst extremely tight controls from GPU chipmakers on things like overclocking or custom configurations, this is exactly the kind of feature that would get someone to buy a given brand over another, and potentially even pay a small price premium. Aesthetics are all fine and well, but for our part, we prefer the feature that protects our two-thousand-plus dollar investment over ostentatious lighting.

ASUS is only making a thousand of these cards, so it's pretty unlikely that you will have one, but if you're willing to spend a bunch of time trying to win one, you can head over to ASUS' "Cheers to 30 Years" site to participate in the event. Besides the first-place prize, which is a ROG Matrix RTX 5090 and a compatible power supply (since you'll need it), there are other graphics cards, keyboards, headsets, and even apparel and backpacks up for grabs.