ASUS Unveils ProArt RTX 5080 With Built-In SSD And A Literal GPU Twist
Now that NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 50 series has been out in the wild for a few months, we're seeing new versions pop up with some interesting and unique features. So it goes with ASUS, one of NVIDIA's leading add-in board (AIB) partners (especially with EVGA having bowed out of the GPU market), with a distinct lineup of interesting GPUs. One of its more unique offerings is actually from its ProArt line, which is primarily aimed at content creators.
What's unique is the ASUS ProArt GeForce RTX 5080 sports a GPU die that is rotated 90 degrees, which is an uncommon approach. Every new design approach packs with it development costs, so ASUS must have good reason to do it in this way. While this oddity is neat, more users will be interested in the fact that this GPU also has a built-in M.2 slot to accommodate a solid state drive (SSD).
Keeping in mind the target audience is for content creators first and foremost (as opposed to taking aim at gamers like, say, the ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 Doom Edition), the SSD slot makes sense here. With the advent of cheaper NVMe storage, many users often make full use of fast M.2 slots, especially in workstation-like systems.
What's unique is the ASUS ProArt GeForce RTX 5080 sports a GPU die that is rotated 90 degrees, which is an uncommon approach. Every new design approach packs with it development costs, so ASUS must have good reason to do it in this way. While this oddity is neat, more users will be interested in the fact that this GPU also has a built-in M.2 slot to accommodate a solid state drive (SSD).
Keeping in mind the target audience is for content creators first and foremost (as opposed to taking aim at gamers like, say, the ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 Doom Edition), the SSD slot makes sense here. With the advent of cheaper NVMe storage, many users often make full use of fast M.2 slots, especially in workstation-like systems.
In the ASUS Computex wrap-up video above, the company touches on this subject around a bit after the 58-minute mark. Also note that this isn't the first unique twist on GPUs that we've seen from ASUS. The company is no stranger to introducing innovative features on its graphics cards, as evidenced by a yet another GeForce RTX 5080 model, with a built-in gyroscope to detect GPU movement or sagging.
On the RTX 5080 with a rotated GPU, ASUS is using PCIe bifurcation, with the SSD mounting to the backplate of the GPU. The temperature is also lower due to this by as much as 10C, according to ASUS. There's also a Multi-LM software utility that purportedly utilizes the GPU's SSD for AI models.
It is clear that ASUS, along with NVIDIA, see the massive demand in the AI market for both basic and more feature-rich GPUs. No pricing or release information is available, and in the current GPU climate, it is anyone's guess where the MSRP will ultimately land.
On the RTX 5080 with a rotated GPU, ASUS is using PCIe bifurcation, with the SSD mounting to the backplate of the GPU. The temperature is also lower due to this by as much as 10C, according to ASUS. There's also a Multi-LM software utility that purportedly utilizes the GPU's SSD for AI models.
It is clear that ASUS, along with NVIDIA, see the massive demand in the AI market for both basic and more feature-rich GPUs. No pricing or release information is available, and in the current GPU climate, it is anyone's guess where the MSRP will ultimately land.
