GeForce RTX 5090 Rumored For A 448-Bit Bus, 28GB GDDR7 And A Surprise Cooler Design
As the eventual release of NVIDIA's highly anticipated GeForce RTX 50 series draws closer towards the latter half of 2024, the rumors are heating up. The mighty GeForce RTX 5090 is squarely in the sights of opposing and whimsical rumors, especially relating to its cooler size. At first some speculation as to a monstrous 4-slot cooler design surfaced, but that has been quickly brushed aside (as we noted in our coverage, photos of the alleged cooler are the same ones that purported to be for the GeForce RTX 4090 before it launched).
Beyond the cooler design, rumors are also surfacing of NVIDIA's next-gen flagship gaming card employing 28GB of GDDR7 VRAM, which would provide a 448-bit memory width bus according to a discussion on Chiphell, where other morsels of information have been spotted in the past.
First, let's discuss the potential smaller cooler design, as that is also of great interest. According to known leaker kopitekimi7 on X, the RTX 5090 may come housed in a surprising 2-slot cooler design instead of the monstrous 4-slot cooler that recently broke cover (again). This would be counter to most flagship NVIDIA GPUs of late, going back to the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 with their heftier designs.
Gamers have complained at times that the RTX 4090 cooler design is just too big, and in all directions. This has made fitting into smaller PC cases more of a chore, necessitating problematic angled adapters for proper fitment with the panels closed. Your mileage will vary, of course, and many system builders (professional and DIY) have managed to cram the chunky card into PC gaming setups with little issue.
A 2-slot cooler design would likely mean some other innovations in cooling methods, presuming that the GeForce RTX 5090 maintains a TDP of at least 450 watts.
A more efficient card is also not out of the question and very likely, given that it will employ NVIDIA's next-gen Blackwell architecture. This could be further helped by the aforementioned GDDR7 VRAM that will supposedly will run cooler due to its efficiency gains compared to GDDR6X.
The RTX 5090 has been rumored to house all the way up to 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM at a 512-bit memory width bus previously, so the new 28GB at 448-bit is a bit of a downgrade in that respect. VRAM is of big interest to gamers and creators alike—graphics cards play a dual role as a gaming product and productivity powerhouse for 3D workloads and machine learning.
This GB202 Blackwell RTX 5090 GPU as currently rumored could also leave some room for a potential RTX 5090 Ti or higher tier with higher specs at a later date. We'll have to wait and see.
Coupled with the shortage of NVIDIA's data center specific products, the RTX 5090 will likely be a clear alternative for hungry AI workloads for smaller operations, too. That could also help explain the 2-slot cooler design, which makes sense in more tightly packed GPU workstations and server-like environments.
Beyond the cooler design, rumors are also surfacing of NVIDIA's next-gen flagship gaming card employing 28GB of GDDR7 VRAM, which would provide a 448-bit memory width bus according to a discussion on Chiphell, where other morsels of information have been spotted in the past.
First, let's discuss the potential smaller cooler design, as that is also of great interest. According to known leaker kopitekimi7 on X, the RTX 5090 may come housed in a surprising 2-slot cooler design instead of the monstrous 4-slot cooler that recently broke cover (again). This would be counter to most flagship NVIDIA GPUs of late, going back to the RTX 3090 and RTX 4090 with their heftier designs.
Gamers have complained at times that the RTX 4090 cooler design is just too big, and in all directions. This has made fitting into smaller PC cases more of a chore, necessitating problematic angled adapters for proper fitment with the panels closed. Your mileage will vary, of course, and many system builders (professional and DIY) have managed to cram the chunky card into PC gaming setups with little issue.
A 2-slot cooler design would likely mean some other innovations in cooling methods, presuming that the GeForce RTX 5090 maintains a TDP of at least 450 watts.
A more efficient card is also not out of the question and very likely, given that it will employ NVIDIA's next-gen Blackwell architecture. This could be further helped by the aforementioned GDDR7 VRAM that will supposedly will run cooler due to its efficiency gains compared to GDDR6X.
The RTX 5090 has been rumored to house all the way up to 32GB of GDDR7 VRAM at a 512-bit memory width bus previously, so the new 28GB at 448-bit is a bit of a downgrade in that respect. VRAM is of big interest to gamers and creators alike—graphics cards play a dual role as a gaming product and productivity powerhouse for 3D workloads and machine learning.
This GB202 Blackwell RTX 5090 GPU as currently rumored could also leave some room for a potential RTX 5090 Ti or higher tier with higher specs at a later date. We'll have to wait and see.
Coupled with the shortage of NVIDIA's data center specific products, the RTX 5090 will likely be a clear alternative for hungry AI workloads for smaller operations, too. That could also help explain the 2-slot cooler design, which makes sense in more tightly packed GPU workstations and server-like environments.
