[nextpage title=”Introduction: “]
We’re back today with a review of a custom model of the RTX 5090, and not just any custom model, as we’re talking about a ROG Astral LC RTX 5090. This model, as its name suggests, is a Liquid Cooling version, meaning that an AIO-type liquid cooling system is in charge of keeping the graphics chip and memory chips cool. We also had the opportunity to review the Astral model in aircooling version with the ROG RTX 5080 Astral. Today, we’re going to take a look at the performance of this model, which is currently one of the most powerful on the market.
You’ll find out how this new RTX 5090 compares with the previous generation, and the potential of DLSS 4 on this model. We’ll also be looking to see whether a card with factory overclocking can do even better than the NVIDIA RTX 5090 Founders Edition, and with what margin for improvement.
Many thanks to ASUS France for making this copy of the ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 available to us.
[nextpage title=”The ROG Astral LC RTX 5090:”]
Architecture:
As a reminder, this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is a custom model, i.e., a board offered by an NVIDIA partner that benefits from a brand-specific PCB and cooling system, in this case from ASUS. NVIDIA partners offer their own models.
This RTX 5090 benefits from the Blackwell architecture and retains a 4-nanometer etching finesse, but switches to the TSMC N4P process, enabling higher transistor density and improved energy efficiency. This architecture features new 5th-generation Tensor Cores and 4th-generation Ray Tracing Cores. The 5th-generation Tensor Cores will bring support for the FP4(Floating Point 4 bit) format, which will double the computational performance of neural models while halving the memory footprint. We’ll be coming back to this development in the course of our tests with UL Procyon software, which we’ve been using for several weeks now.
Of course, DLSS 4 support is a must. This new NVIDIA RTX 5090 is NVIDIA ‘s new flagship, with 92 billion transistors and 21,760 CUDA Cores.
There’s more to come on the memory front too, with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory (30 Gbps). But let’s move on to discovering the new packaging for this ASTRAL series.
The ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 bundle:
As ASUS points out, this new ROG Astral range has been inspired by the limitless expanse and beauty of the cosmos, and demonstrates an unwavering dedication to exploring and defining new frontiers. The box thus offers a new identity, and as you might expect, it’s quite imposing. The front panel is quite sober, with a visual of the graphics card on a black background. The green NVIDIA color code is repeated, along with the GeForce RTX 5090 model number.
Included in the bundle are a quick-start manual, a ROG graphics card holder, ROG velcro for attaching cables together, a ROG magnet, a ROG ruler, a thank-you card and finally a 4 x PCIe 8-pin power adapter. ASUS has provided a series of plastic films to protect the various components of the graphics card, as well as the 360 mm radiator.
This isn’t the first time we’ve tested an ROG Liquid Cooling model, even if it’s already a little dated, with the ROG Strix LC RX 6800 XT OC Edition. So this will be an opportunity to see how this model, which uses a liquid cooling system, evolves.
Cooling :
Let’s start with the size of our sample of the day, here we’re talking only about the graphics card, whose dimensions are 288.46 x 153.7 x 48 mm and those of the radiator, 400 x 120 x 65mm. We can see straight away that ROG has gone to great lengths to offer a card with cooling worthy of the name, since the radiator is a 360mm version. This is the second time we’ve had a graphics card from the ROG Astral series in our hands, and the feeling is the same as for the RTX 5080: the finish is superb and the casing of the pipes is much improved, but we’ll come back to that later.
Let’s start with the front end, where we discover a fairing made of steel and plastic parts. The imposing axial fan in charge of keeping the power stage cool is a 105 mm model with 7 blades. The fan stops when the GPU temperature drops below 50°C and restarts at 55°C, with a balanced speed curve to minimize noise pollution. This model also benefits from dual BIOS: Pmode (performance) and Qmode (quiet).
The back of the system, where the backplane is located, is quite sober, with a single cutout at the rear of the graphics chip. This ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 benefits from a cooling system we call “hybrid”. The term hybrid is used to designate a system that combines liquid and air cooling.
As we said, the radiator in charge of keeping your graphics and memory chips cool is a 360 mm model, 38 mm thick. It is topped by three 120 mm fans. Although ASUS doesn’t provide any information on these fans, they look exactly like those fitted to the ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme, but 25 mm thick. The good news is that they snap together quickly, thanks to special magnets that reduce the number of cables. In fact, there are no visible cables at all.
The hoses are much improved, with a length of 600 mm, they are flexible enough to guarantee easy installation. Don’t forget that you’ll need to provide a space for the radiator inside your case.
The PCB of this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090:
We haven’t disassembled our copy, as it will be leaving for other colleagues, and on these Astral models, ASUS uses a thermal pad that should improve heat exchange and, above all, won’t disintegrate over time. We’ve already had the opportunity to test this type of product and were quite satisfied. Unfortunately, once disassembled, it’s impossible to put back in place, and we would have had to replace it with thermal paste, which will distort the thermal performance of future tests by our colleagues. We hope to see this board again in the future, for a series of cold tests.
Here’s what the PCB looks like, thanks to photos from TechpowerUP. We’ll be back with more details in a special feature.
Connectors :
To power this ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC Edition, there’s a single 12V-2×6 connector, but you can use the 4 x PCIe 8-pin adapter supplied in the bundle, if your power supply doesn’t have this connector. Finally, the card’s video outputs include three DisplayPort 2.1b and two HDMI 2.1b.
ASUS has also retained the two 4-pin connectors for connecting two fans to your graphics card, located next to the power connector. The fans connected to these connectors will act in the same way as those on your graphics card: if the GPU temperature rises, they will be triggered to optimize cooling inside your case. Finally, the radiator fans feature customizable ARGB backlighting.
Which power supply for this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090?
It’s only logical to ask what kind of power supply you’ll need to build a new configuration around this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 graphics card. There are several ways of doing this, such as referring to NVIDIA’s recommendations, or using the online tool that lets you calculate the power you’ ll need to power your configuration. Simply specify the model of your processor and graphics card. You’ll then have a recommended power rating, as well as the option of indicating that you intend to overclock your configuration, thereby increasing the power of the power supply.
We’ve calculated the power required, and this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 combined with our Intel i9-14900K processor requires a 1200 watt power supply. If you want to overclock your configuration, ASUS recommends a 1,600-watt model.
How about a 1,600-watt ROG Thor III power supply with 80 Titanium certification? With this, these units benefit from a particularly meticulous design. As you can see, they also feature a small OLED display on the side that can be repositioned according to the orientation of the block.
Internally, the brand relies on quality components such as gallium nitride MOSFETs, claimed to be more efficient. Otherwise, GPU-FIRST technology will enable the block to deliver power according to GPU and not CPU activity. This makes it possible to better anticipate power consumption peaks, for example. Naturally, cable management is fully modular, with connectors featuring high-quality copper contacts.
[nextpage title=”Full of new technologies:”]
DLSS4: what’s new?
With the announcement of its new range of graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070, it was also an opportunity for the greens to announce the arrival of DLSS 4, the fourth generation of Deep Learning Super Sampling combined with Multi Frame Generation (MFG). As a reminder, the Blackwell architecture features new 5th-generation Tensor Cores and 4th-generation Ray Tracing Cores. It is these hardware innovations from Blackwell and DLSS that will enable MFG, which would have been technically impossible on the previous generation ADA Lovelace.
According to NVIDIA, Multi Frame Generation can deliver up to 8 times better performance in games like Cyberpunk 2077, compared with raw image rendering. Up to 15 of the 16 pixels per frame are generated by AI. The 240 FPS mark can thus be reached in 4K ray tracing, and path tracing can also be used in compatible games.
So, what does this new generation bring to the table? The main difference lies in Frame Generation. Where with the RTX 4000 series, DLSS 3 was able to insert an additional frame between two native frames, DLSS 4 will be able to insert up to three, hence the addition of the term Multi FG. You’ll have the choice of generating a single image (x2) for the RTX 40 and RTX 50 series, two images (x3) for the RTX 50 series or three images (x4) for the RTX 50 series.
It’s the AI that will generate up to three images, resulting in increased FPS, smoother gameplay and reduced memory consumption thanks to RTX Neural Shaders that can be used to compress textures. This new AI model is 40% faster, uses 30% less VRAM and only needs to run once per rendered image to generate multiple frames. The only downside is that these AI-generated images will add latency to the creation process, but NVIDIA will be introducing Reflex 2, which we’ll come back to later in this article.
One thing is certain: NVIDIA is reaping the benefits of having jumped on the AI bandwagon very quickly, and is now benefiting from its many years of research in the face of the competition. It’s important to realize that it’s no longer possible to increase raw performance by 25-30% with each generation of graphics cards – it’s the same problem faced by processors, for example. This is why NVIDIA has chosen to integrate AI into its cards in order to offer upscaling.
Multi Frame Generation is only compatible with this new generation of RTX 5000s, but the other accompanying technologies will have a positive impact on previous generations. RTX 4000s will also benefit from improved Frame Generation, with a gain of 5 to 10% according to NVIDIA, and lower memory consumption.
As soon as the RTX 5000s arrive, i.e. at the end of January, on the 30th to be precise, 75 games and applications will be compatible with DLSS 4 at launch, including Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Star Wars Outlaws.
The new “Transformer”:
DLSS 4 features an updated architecture for DLSS Ray Reconstruction, DLSS Super Resolution and DLAA. Previously, DLSS used convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to generate new pixels, which now becomes the new Transformer. This should offer greater stability, less ghosting, more detail on moving objects and smoother edges.
This could translate into the possibility of using a Performance mode for DLSS, which would no longer be visually average, but could approach the Balanced/Quality mode on the previous-generation CNN model. Of course, this will have to be tested and compared in terms of image quality between the RTX 4000 and RTX 5000. It will also be relevant to compare the different DLSS modes in terms of image quality.
The new Transformer will offer improved image quality in Ray Reconstruction, as seen, for example, in the image on the left, in Alan Wake 2 with the chain-link fence. The image on the right shows the improved detail between the CNN model and this new generation Tranformer model.
Reflex 2 technology:
As we said earlier, Multi Frame Generation will enable you to increase the number of FPS, but will add latency due to the creation process. NVIDIA will therefore be offering its version 2 for Reflex, which we have already had the opportunity to present to you here. These few milliseconds will make a real difference, especially in competitive games.
NVIDIA Reflex 2 will combine Reflex Low Latency mode with Frame Warp technology, and will be compatible with all RTX models. The idea, of course, is to reduce latency, i.e. the time that elapses between the moment you click your mouse button and its manifestation on the screen, by displaying a predictive image that is as close as possible to reality. Reflex 2 will be available in the coming weeks.
Override DLSS or the replacement for DLSS:
NVIDIA’s latest application, NVIDIA App, will enable games that have not yet been updated to the latest DLSS models and features to activate support via DLSS override. The version of the app we’ll be testing is a press version, and the DLSS replacement options are available in the Graphics > Program Settings screen under Driver Settings.
We’ll of course be testing Override DLSS during our test of this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 to see how easy it is to manipulate. We’ve taken a first look at these new technologies, even if we haven’t gone into detail about everything the new RTX 5090 has to offer: it features three 9th-generation encoders and a new 6th-generation decoder. The three encoders should logically accelerate rendering speed.
[nextpage title=”Technical specifications:”]
A quick trip to GPU-Z to check that the information read is correct. Let’s see what we can learn about our model of the day, the ROG Astral LC RTX 5090.
In terms of frequency, ASUS has announced a base frequency of 2017 MHz and a boost frequency of 2580 MHz for the ROG Astral LC RTX 5090. The card features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory (1792 GB/s) on a 512-bit bus. This model features an overclocked Boost frequency, since the Boost frequency of the RTX 5090 Founders Edition was 2407 MHz.
Bear in mind that the GPU frequency may be higher in benchmarks, depending on the quality of your chip and the cooling system used.
In fact, we ran a test under 3DMark Time Spy to observe the GPU boost frequency. At certain points, the GPU reaches the maximum frequency of 2985 MHz, compared with 2872 MHz for the Founders Edition. Memory frequency remains unchanged, which is perfectly normal.
As for temperatures, they rise to 50.7°C and memory to 62°C. At the time of this first test, it was 19°C in the lab. We’ll be checking these temperatures during our more in-depth tests. The fans are far from running at maximum speed and the card is very quiet. As a reminder, we’re on a bench, not inside a case. Let’s get to testing!
[nextpage title=”Test configuration: “]
As we said in the introduction, we’ve updated all our graphics using the latest drivers from NVIDIA, AMD and, of course, Intel. We also took the opportunity to slightly modify our test configuration and add new games to our protocol. So here we go again, with a new series of tests and graphics on this slightly modified configuration:
- Motherboard: ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore
- Processor : Intel Raptor Lake i9-14900K delid
- Cooling system: EK-Nucleus AIO CR360 Direct Die D-RGB – 1700
- Memory: 48 GB Corsair Dominator Titanium 8000 MT/s CL38
- Graphics card: ROG Astral LC RTX 5090, NVIDIA RTX 5090 FE, ASUS RTX 4090 TUF OC, NVIDIA RTX 4080 Super FE, NVIDIA RTX 4080 FE, AMD RX 7900 XTX and AMD RX 7900 XT
- SSD: Western Digital Black SN750 2 TB radiator EKWB
- Power supply: Corsair AX1600i
- Operating system: Windows 11 64-bit 24H2 (26100.2894)
For this test, we used a fairly high-end configuration based on a delided i9-14900K processor and DDR5 memory. Depending on the definition tested, we’re using either an MSI Oculux NXG253R or a ROG Strix XG27UCS on loan from ASUS France.
Our test protocol :
All cards are tested at stock frequencies and without any optimization. For the various benchmarks, whether synthetics or games, we’ll opt for 1080p, 1440p and 2160p resolutions, depending on the card’s performance.
Here, with this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 model, there’s no doubt about the definition: it’s 2160p! We’ll be using DLSS Super Resolution in Performance mode, with image generation and ray tracing where available.
As you can see, we’re now running Windows 11 and we’ve activated the ReSize BAR in the BIOS, which can be seen in GPU-Z. Now that you know everything about our test configuration, it’s time to get started!
Remarks:
Before we begin our tests, we wanted to highlight two remarks we read in NVIDIA’s reviewer guide. NVIDIA recommends using AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor for the best experience. Indeed, after our tests, this processor proves to be the best choice for gaming. As our protocol is built around the i9 14900K, it’s impossible to retest all our cards with this processor. But we’ll be bringing you the performance of the RTX 5090 with a 9800X3D CPU in the coming weeks.
Finally, NVIDIA recommends using a display with a high refresh rate and high resolution, i.e. 4K at 240 Hz. The idea is to ensure that you can enjoy optimal game fluidity and clarity of movement.
[nextpage title=”3DMark series benchmarks: “]
Our first series of tests is dedicated to synthetic benchmarks. These are often used for overclocking competitions , but are also very interesting for comparing different GPUs. We’ll be focusing on benchmarks from the 3DMark series. For this new version of our graphics, and for the 3DMark test section, we’ve also isolated the GPU score. You’ll therefore find, where stipulated in the benchmark, both the overall score and the GPU score.
3DMark Fire Strike and Fire Strike Ultra:
Let’s start with 3DMark Fire Strike, one of today’s most widely used benchmarks. It consists of two graphics tests, a CPU test and a fourth test that combines GPU and CPU. Don’t forget to deactivate the demo, which makes no contribution to the final score and prolongs the benchmark ‘s duration (unnecessarily). The version used for these tests is, of course, the latest available.
We start our tests with the two Fire Strike and Fire Strike Ultra benchmarks, and to say the least, they’re off to a great start. While under Fire Strike our RTX 5090 takes first place, with a 6.2% gain in graphics score, it crushes the competition on the Ultra version with a 31% gain.
3DMark Time Spy and Time Spy Extreme :
The second test is 3DMark Time Spy. Although this one is performed in 1440p, its main feature is that it uses DirectX 12. It consists of two graphics tests and a CPU test. As with Fire Strike, don’t forget to disable the demo. These first two benchmarks are provided by UL Benchmark.
We continue with Time Spy, where results are still very high. We start with a 17.6% increase in Time Spy’s graphical score and a 32.7% increase in the Extreme version. The scores on Hwbot are about to change.
3DMark Speed Way:
Ulbenchmark’s latest benchmark, and it’s nice to be able to say we’re going to benchmark this Speed Way. It uses DirectX 12 and defaults to 1440p. We haven’t modified anything, so we’re using the original benchmark.
In Speed Way, our sample of the day takes first place once again and very easily, with a score of 15003 points, leaving the RTX 4090 at 4837 points.
3DMark Port Royal :
Here’s a benchmark we left out last year, but which you may have wanted to see again in our tests. It’s still widely used, especially in the overclocking community. So we’ve decided to add it to our tests.
The findings remain the same, and even if the RTX 4090 was already performing extremely well, the new RTX 5090 comes in for a big slap in the face.
3DMark Steel Nomad:
The latest benchmark in the 3DMark suite, Steel Nomad will replace Time Spy as the most recent benchmark in the 3DMark suite. The good news, however, is that it will be free for users who already have a key. The program includes a test bench based on Microsoft’s DirectX12 API. However, there will be no ray tracing, but the scene will use an “extreme” level of geometry and rasterized light.
Finally, the penultimate benchmark in the 3DMark series, Steel Nomad, which has just been released, keeps our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 ahead of the pack, with a 58.8% gain over the RTX 4090.
3DMark NVIDIA DLSS:
We’ve added this benchmark here, highlighting the potential of DLSS, which will now be compatible with DLSS 4, and giving us the opportunity to test it with this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090.
Finally, the last benchmark in the 3DMark series, the NVIDIA DLSS feature test will enable us to highlight, for the first time, the contribution of DLSS 4 technology. As a reminder, Frame Generation, on RTX 5000s, can be selected as x2 (one frame), x3 (two frames) or x4 (three frames). This refers to the number of additional frames that can be added between two native frames.
[nextpage title=”Cinebench 2024 and V-Ray 6:”]
After the 3DMark series of benchmarks, let’s tackle a series of tests concerning tasks for productive use. Even if this is not the primary function we’ll be attributing to the graphics card, we couldn’t do without offering you a small panel of tests, especially concerning AI, which is becoming more and more present.
Cinebench 2024 GPU:
This is a benchmark we won’t be presenting again, so much so that it’s used for our CPU tests, but here, with version 2024, it’s our graphics card we’re going to put to the test. Please note that the version included in BenchMate will not work for this GPU test, so you’ll need to download the full version from the Maxon website. As you can see, Intel graphics cards are still not compatible with this benchmark.
No results in Cinebench 2024, which will probably need updating, as our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is not recognized. As you may remember, Intel graphics cards are also still not compatible with this benchmark.
V-Ray 6:
A new benchmark to add to those we use to test our graphics cards. The V-Ray 6 benchmark is produced by the Chaos company to enable users to quickly evaluate rendering speeds for both your processor and your graphics card, which is why we’re adding it today. The advantage is that it’s free and can be downloaded directly by following this link. You can then compare your score directly with those below, or directly online on the Chaos page.
Here, for our tests, we’ll be opting for “RTX” rather than “CUDA” rendering for NVIDIA’s RTX graphics cards. As with the 3DMark benchmarks, our RTX 5090 dominates.
[nextpage title=”UL Procyon AI Image / Text Generation:”]
UL Procyon AI Image Generation:
UL Benchmark not only offers its 3DMark benchmark suite, but also UL Procyon, to meet the demand for Artificial Intelligence evaluation. This benchmark was chosen for its ease of implementation. The benchmark will generate 4 x 4 images and provide us with a score as well as a result in the form of the time, in seconds, required to generate an image. The software supports several AI inference engines, depending on the GPU used.
We’ll be using the benchmark in Stable Diffusion 1.5 (FP16) mode. It is intended for mid-range GPUs. The test will create 16 images at a resolution of 512 x 512, in batches of 4. There’s a test called Stable Diffusion XL (FP16), where 16 images will be created, at 1024 x 1024, in batches of 1.
Unfortunately, our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is not recognized by the software and should be updated as soon as the cards are released. However, here are the performances of our other cards, and we’ll be updating both graphics as soon as this RTX 5090 is supported.
On the other hand, the 5th generation Tensor Cores bring support for the FP4 (Floating Point 4 bit) format, which will double the computational performance of neural models while halving the memory footprint. This improvement is based on an essential compromise: FP4 uses less precision than traditional formats such as FP16 or FP32. However, for many deep learning models, this precision is sufficient to maintain reliable results while considerably reducing the load on memory and computing units. So we ran the test with our RTX 5090 and here’s the result.
UL Procyon AI Text Generation:
The latest benchmark to be added to this test suite, AI Text Generation. The Procyon AI Text Generation Benchmark offers a more compact and easier way to repeatedly and consistently test AI performance with multiple LLM AI models. UL claims to have worked closely with many AI software and hardware leaders to ensure that the benchmark tests take full advantage of the local AI gas pedal of the systems used.
Our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is once again in the vanguard, mastering the subject perfectly. Our two top-of-the-range AMD models lag far behind.
[nextpage title=”2160p gaming rasterization performance: “]
Let’s get on with the gaming tests. We’ve used all the graphics cards we felt would be interesting to compare with this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 in 2160p definition. In the coming weeks, we’ll be offering a new type of article, retesting graphics cards from previous generations to find out what they’re still worth in 2025. Our games panel currently consists of 11 titles, and will be expanded in the coming weeks.
We have chosen to use the built-in benchmarks of these games.
Why do we do this? Quite simply to enable you to compare your results with ours if you also own a copy of one of these games. It’s a thought-provoking idea, and one that will enable you to compare your results with ours. The number and titles selected have changed slightly, and will increase again in the coming weeks as we get our hands on new games.
What is rasterization?
A quick word about “rasterization”, which is currently the subject of much discussion. Rasterization is the evaluation of the performance of our graphics cards without the use of upscaling technologies . We choose a graphics quality, often the highest, and test it. The advantage of these tests is that we can quantify the gains made by the architecture between different generations. In our case, this means being able to judge the gains obtained between the architecture of the RTX 4090 (ADA Lovelace) and that of the new RTX 5090 (Blackwell).
Borderlands 3 :
Let’s get down to business with Borderlands 3. It’s a direct hit, with an average of 192.3 FPS, a 45.1% gain over the RTX 4090.
Cyberpunk 2077:
New game and same observation with Cyberpunk 2077. The 100 FPS mark is easily passed, with an average of 115 FPS.
COD Modern Warfare III:
You can’t change a winning team, and our sample of the day is still well ahead. Once again, the gap between us and the RTX 4090 is colossal, with the latter only in third place in this benchmark.
Forspoken:
Forspoken is a fairly demanding game, and the RTX 4090 and RTX 5090 are the only two cards capable of breaking the 140 FPS barrier.
Horizon Zeron Dawn Remastered:
One of the new games we’ve added to our comparison, where the differences are smaller than usual. Here, there’s a 21.9% gain over the RTX 4090.
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider:
Under Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, the 250 FPS mark is easily passed by our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090.
Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool :
This new game, too, seems greedy and doesn’t feature NVIDIA graphics cards.
Far Cry 6:
Far Cry 6 performance remains unchanged, with the RTX 4090 and RTX 5090 at the top.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage:
Here, performance is less important, but still first place for the RTX 5090.
Red Dead Redemption II:
Under Red Dead Redemption II, nothing changes, and our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is well ahead with an average of 157.6 FPS.
F1 2024 :
Last game and nothing will have changed during this series of 11 games, with an RTX 5090 logically dominating the older generation. Let’s calculate the average gains to get an idea of the difference between the two architectures.
Average of games in 2160p rasterization :
Let’s start with a logical observation: yes, our RTX 5090 logically performs better than the RTX 4090, and we’re averaging a 32.5% gain over the previous architecture. There are two ways of looking at this: either you can say that almost 33% isn’t bad at all, or you can say that it’s not enough, given the gains, for example, that we noted between ADA Lovelace and Ampere. Well, yes, but… Don’t lose sight of the fact that between ADA Lovelace and Ampere, etching finesse improved (8 nm to 4 nm), the number of Cuda Cores was increased, Tensor Cores and RT Cores evolved and increased in number, and it benefited from a much higher boost frequency.
Here, we’re on an identical etch finesse, which explains the lower gain, and unless the etch finesse changes for the next architecture, we should find ourselves in the same gain proportions. Is this a bad thing? Not really, and it would have been difficult to propose a greater gain in rasterization in this situation, given that the TDP is already 600 watts. We’ll be keeping a close eye on how the rest of the RTX 5000 range fares against the previous generation.
NVIDIA has been working on AI for years, notably with its upscaling, and continues to develop it, as we’ll see in the rest of our tests.
[nextpage title=”Gaming performance 2160p upscaling:”]
In this section, we’ll test our graphics cards by activating ray tracing, if available, and upscaling, depending on the graphics card used. As a reminder, there are currently three upscaling technologies . NVIDIA has DLSS, which can only be activated with NVIDIA cards. Depending on the generation of your GPU, you may or may not be able to benefit from all the technologies offered by the greens. At AMD, it’s FSR, which is also evolving and, for certain games, also benefits from Frame Generation.
Finally, Intel’s in-house upscaling is called XeSS, and with the arrival of this new generation of graphics cards, Intel has taken the opportunity to announce the arrival of XeSS 2, which will introduce two new features to compete with NVIDIA and AMD, who are already ahead of the game. Intel will offer Xe Frame Generation (XeSS-FG) and XeSS Low Latency (XeLL).
Today sees the arrival of DLSS 4, and in our comparative tests, only Cyberpunk 2077 is already compatible. On the next page, we’ll be showing you a selection of other games compatible with DLSS 4. Finally, it’s important to point out that some games don’t feature ray tracing, but only an upscaling solution. We’ll make this clear in the games below. For 2160p definition, upscaling in either DLSS or FSR will always be in Performance mode.
Cyberpunk 2077:
Here we go again, with Cyberpunk 2077 as our first game. Our NVIDIA cards are in the lead, thanks to DLSS 3. Please note that, for the purposes of comparison, DLSS 3 is used with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090. DLSS 4 will be discussed on the next page. Our sample of the day achieves an average of 61.2 FPS at 2160p with ray tracing in Ultra mode! With DLSS, it reaches 219.4 FPS.
COD Modern Warfare III:
No worries in Call Of Duty Modern Warfare III, where upscaling still allows you to gain FPS, even if our RTX 5090 doesn’t really need it, with an average of 179 FPS.
Forspoken:
While the RTX 5090 is well ahead in terms of rasterization, with an average of 152 FPS, it’s the AMD RX 7000 that benefits from upscaling. Of course, you’ll have to pay close attention to image quality, but as we said, there’s no need to resort to upscaling when you see the average you get.
Horizon Zeron Dawn Remastered:
The same applies to Horizon Zeron Dawn Remastered, with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 far ahead in terms of rasterization.
Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool :
Ah, here we go again with Black Myth: Wukong, a greedy game that benefits from ray tracing. And this is exactly where upscaling comes in handy, as our average with ray tracing enabled is 48 FPS, rising to 135 FPS when using DLSS Performance combined with Frame Generation. This game will benefit from DLSS 4 in the near future.
Far Cry 6:
No DLSS here, we’re using AMD upscaling, which explains the very low gain between DXR and upscalingmodes.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage:
The same applies to Assassin’s Creed Mirage, with our sample in first place.
F1 24 :
The last game on our test panel, DLSS Performance combined with Frame Generation allows our model of the day to dominate the other cards.
What about upscaling with our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090?
In the end, it’s not necessary at all! The card performs so well in rasterization that if the game doesn’t feature ray tracing, upscaling is not at all necessary . Once ray tracing is available, however, its use becomes necessary or even compulsory to take full advantage of 2160p definition. It will be necessary to compare the images offered by the different upscaling systems in order to judge their qualities and shortcomings, but that will be the subject of a future test. Let’s take a closer look at the performance that awaits us in games already compatible with DLSS 4.
[nextpage title=”Games that support DLSS 4:”]
A number of games are already DLSS 4-compatible on the day of the RTX 5080/5090 launch, and we’ve been able to get our hands on them in order to begin a series of tests and highlight the performance achieved thanks to DLSS 4. We’ll be coming back to the qualitative side of rendering in detail in the weeks to come. Of course, the upscaling principle here is to support our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 against 2160p performance with graphics options at maximum, as well as ray tracing or path tracing if available.
To measure our FPS, we had access to a beta version of CapFrameX v1.7.5. This measurement tool is certainly one of the best and most intuitive when the game doesn’t have an integrated benchmark. If you’re interested, we’ll be back with a detailed article on how to use it.
Cyberpunk 2077:
In this well-known first game, and with the arrival of DLSS 4, we’ll be opting for ultra graphics options with path tracing enabled. Here are the graphics options available in Cyberpunk 2077. We have path tracing, DLSS in Performance mode and Frame Generation in x2, x3 or x4. The idea is to measure the differences in performance between DLSS OFF, one generated frame (x2), two generated frames (x3) and three generated frames (x4). It’s important to understand that you can choose the number of frames with Multi Frame Generation.
Here’s how our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 performed against the RTX 4090 and RTX 5080.
Hogwarts Legacy: The Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy has no built-in benchmark, so we’ll be using CapFrameX to take our various readings. As far as graphics options are concerned, there’s no ray tracing in this game, but we have enabled ray reconstruction. As far as DLSS 4 is concerned, we have all the options at our disposal.
As far as performance is concerned, we start from an average of 88 FPS in 4K DLSS OFF and reach an average of 410 FPS in 4K DLSS Performance x4. Of course, the average may vary from one scene to another, so results will differ from one site to another, depending on the scene selected for reproduction.
Alan Wake 2:
From January 30, Alan Wake 2 will also benefit from the DLSS 4 option, as well as RTX Mega Geometry. But what is Mega Geometry? RTX Mega Geometry enables developers to offer up to 100X more triangles in ray tracing. RTX Mega Geometry will reduce CPU overload and increase ray tracing performance and image quality.
It’s off to the graphics options, and the least we can say is that Alan Wake 2 is surely one of the most comprehensive games to showcase NVIDIA technologies(ray tracing, path tracing, ray reconstruction, direct lighting, transparency, etc.). Naturally, we activated all these options.
As far as performance is concerned, we start from an average of 33 FPS in 4K DLSS OFF and reach an average of 263 FPS in 4K DLSS Performance x4. Of course, the average may vary from one scene to another, so results will differ from one site to another, depending on the scene to be reproduced.
Star Wars Outlaws:
The third game with direct support, Star Wars Outlaws is quite demanding. No ray tracing in this game, so we’ll be using DLSS Performance in 2160p with Multi Frame Generation. We’ve also enabled ray reconstruction and NVIDIA Direct Lighting.
As far as performance is concerned, we start from an average of 29 FPS in 4K DLSS OFF and reach an average of 239 FPS in 4K DLSS Performance x4. Of course, the average may vary from one scene to another, so results will differ from one site to another, depending on the scene to be reproduced.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Finally, our last game on this panel: Dragon Age: The Veilguard. So here, no DLSS 4 available within the game’s graphics options. So we’re going to force DLSS using NVIDIA’s new application. To do this, launch the application and go to Graphics > Program Settings screen under Driver Settings.
This will enable you to make the following changes. First, in DLSS Override – Model Presets, select the ” Latest ” option to activate DLSS Super Resolution Transformer. Then go to DLSS Override – Frame Generation to choose between two or three frames, and finally, you can also make a change in DLSS Override – Super Resolution. We won’t touch this, as we’ll be choosing Performance in the game’s graphics options.
NVIDIA has provided a small in-game overlay so that we can check the settings we’ve chosen. No ray tracing here, just DLSS 4 Performance upscaling and Frame Generation.
Here, you can really appreciate the contribution of DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation when a game benefits from NVIDIA’s various technologies: ray tracing, path tracing, ray reconstruction, direct lighting, transparency,… . On the other hand, you’re under no obligation to activate DLSS if you don’t need it, and you can always opt for a single frame generation rather than three, since you can choose the number you wish to activate.
[nextpage title=”Energy consumption and efficiency:”]
At last, we have the means to effectively monitor the power consumption of our graphics cards, thanks to the Benchlab telemetry system. We’ll now be able to carry out a complete analysis of our graphics card’s total power consumption via the dedicated 3 x PCIe and 2 x 12VHPWR power cables. But that’s not all, as we also need to be able to measure the power supplied via the PCIe slot. So we’re going to use a PCI-E PMD adapter from the ElmorLabs store. This will enable us to measure the overall power consumption of the graphics card under test in a totally independent way. Here’s a series of photos of our Benchlab installation, to which we’ll devote a dedicated test in a few weeks’ time.
These various readings will be taken via Benchlab’s dedicated application. The photos below were taken with the NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB FE graphics card to illustrate our power consumption readings.
To obtain the total power consumption, we’ll record the 12VHPWR Power consumption, which corresponds to the card’s power supply via its 16-pin mini-connectors, and the EPS1 reading, which supplies the adapter. We export the readings, which are taken every 500 ms, and calculate the average consumption in the Cyberpunk 2077 game in 4K rasterization with graphics options in Ultra and in 4K with ray tracing in Ultra, DLSS Performance x2 and path tracing.
Power consumption in Cyberpunk 2077 :
As you can see, the power consumption of our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 literally explodes. We knew that on paper, NVIDIA had announced a TDP(Thermal Design Power) of 600 watts for this new model, compared with 450 watts for the RTX 4090, an increase of 33.3%. In our readings, we actually have our RTX 5090, whose average consumption in 4K rasterization is 594.13 watts, compared with 417.39 watts for the RTX 4090.
It’s hard not to make a direct shortcut between the 32% increase in rasterization performance and this increase in power consumption. Unfortunately, with the same engraving proces, it was necessary to increase power consumption in order to increase performance. We’ve already seen this with CPUs. The good news is the reduction in power consumption when upscaling and NVIDIA’s various technologies are activated. This brings us down to 491.4 watts, which is logical, but something AMD is unable to achieve.
As a reminder, NVIDIA recommends a power supply of 1000 watts with an RTX 5090, and during this test we recorded an average of 785 watts for our entire configuration, peaking at 889 watts. The recommendations are therefore entirely logical.
[nextpage title=”The final word:”]
So, what do we think of this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090?
One thing’s for sure: there’s a lot to say. Ever since NVIDIA announced its new range of RTX 5000 graphics cards at CES 2025, social networking sites have been buzzing with tension between fans of the green and those who don’t like the new architecture at all. We’re going to take a point-by-point look at the strengths and weaknesses of this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090, comparing it with NVIDIA’s Founders Edition model
Performance:
We’d like to stress once again that the etching process remains identical to that used on the RTX 4000, and therefore to that of the RTX 4090, so we shouldn’t have expected astronomical differences in pure rasterization, as was the case between ADA Lovelace and Ampere. We found a 32% gain in rasterization for our ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 compared to the RTX 4090 in 4K (2160p). This seems pretty decent to us, and will enable this model to enjoy many games without the need for NVIDIA upscaling. One thing’s for sure: this ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 is the best-performing card we’ve come across in recent years!
On the other hand, if you want to opt for ray tracing or path tracing, you’ll have to go through the Frame Generation to benefit from MFG. DLSS 4 is supported by all RTXs, but NVIDIA is announcing a Frame Generation enhancement for the RTX 4000, which could result in a gain of between 5% and 10%, according to NVIDIA.
DLSS 4:
Highlighted by NVIDIA, DLSS 4 is the big new feature of this Blackwell architecture. Here again, some people, like myself, activate DLSS in certain games, while others never, oh God, never, want to use “fake” FPS. It’s true that these are additional images created by AI, but as the name suggests, anything created by Artificial Intelligence will always have this “artificial” side. Now we have to admit that it works well, even better than before. We’d have liked to spend more time “playing” with this NVIDIA RTX 5090, but the numerous tests to be carried out reduced our gaming time. As far as games with DLSS 4 are concerned, it’s hard to see any difference in quality when DLSS 4 is activated.
If you want to take advantage of ray tracing and path tracing, you’ll be able to activate them while enjoying 4K definition (2160p) and retaining more than sufficient FPS. You can also choose the number of additional frames with DLSS 4. We’ll be back to the fluidity of the game after we’ve received a 4K 240Hz screen, to judge its impact.
A word about NVIDIA’s new DLSS Override application. This will enable games that have not yet been updated to the latest DLSS models and features to activate support via a DLSS override. We’ve tested this with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and it’s very effective!
Power consumption and cooling :
As we expected, with a TDP of 600 watts versus 450 watts for the RTX 4090, it explodes! No choice, NVIDIA also had to increase the TDP to support performance, a situation we’ve already encountered with CPUs. Temperatures are excellent, as are noise levels, thanks to ASUS’ choice of a liquid cooling system. Don’t forget that you’ll also need to think about inserting this cooling system into your case, so make sure it’s big enough.
Price:
As you’ll have gathered, it’s high, far too high, and the lack of cards doesn’t help matters at all. The last price we saw was 3,349 euros from AbsolutePC, with, of course, no cards available. This is a considerable budget, and one that will appeal to customers with no financial constraints. As it was already the case with the RTX 4090, if you can indeed play with this RTX 5090, don’t forget its “PRO” side. It will also find its place perfectly in the configuration of a designer using AI tools. Remember that this model benefits from three 9th-generation encoders and a new 6th-generation decoder, all combined with 32 GB GDDR7. NVIDIA also continues to develop Broadcast, with new AI-powered effects.
Should you sell your RTX 4000?
Of course not! RTX 4000s still have plenty of good days ahead of them. Since NVIDIA’s announcement of the RTX 5000, we’ve seen many RTX 4090/4080 sales come and go. Of course, you’re perfectly free to opt for an RTX 5090, as long as you want to acquire the very best and enjoy the best performance on the market. This ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 remains the flagship of the Blackwell range, but don’t forget that other models have also been announced. We invite you to read our latest articles by following this link.
With the ROG Astral LC RTX 5090, ASUS offers one of the most powerful cards on the market today. If you want the very best in performance, you can opt for this model or for the air-cooled version, like the ROG Astral RTX 5080 we tested last week. That’s why we’re giving it our ” Editor’s Choice ” award. Our only regret with the RTX 5090 is the absence of any real overclocking potential , restricted by NVIDIA, on this top-of-the-range model. Many thanks to ASUS for making this sample of the ROG Astral LC RTX 5090 available to us.
