Nvidia's new RTX 4090 is a big deal. Well, it's just big, period. This goliath of graphics brings hitherto untold levels of performance into the consumer space. It's expensive, it's physically massive and it's sure to make the gamers drool.
Like most releases, there's a Founders Edition version directly from Nvidia alongside the third-party takes on the GPU. With something that packs the performance of the RTX 4090, there will be some truly outrageous designs and hefty cooling solutions. So you'll need plenty of space in your PC case for it.
Our own RTX 4090 just landed and while we can't talk about performance just yet, we can at least show you it in all its gargantuan glory. There are a couple of important things to note about it, too, if you're thinking of picking one up.
Nvidia RTX 4090: What's in the box?
Nvidia's packaging is pretty slick and kind to the environment. There's no plastic, no foam inserts, and all of the protection is constructed using cardboard. That's a nice touch. Though considering the electricity you're going to use powering this thing, it's the least they could do.
Cracking open the box we find inside:
- Nvidia RTX 4090 Founders Edition 24GB
- Paperwork
- Adapter cable
The adapter cable is of crucial importance because unless you have one of the new, incredibly hard-to-find ATX 3.0 power supplies, you're going to need it. On one end it matches the 12-pin 12VHPWR connector of the RTX 4090, on the other, you have four PCIe power connectors. The idea is that you connect four PCIe cables to your existing power supply, connect those to the adapter, and then the adapter to the graphics card. It's messy, but it's necessary.
If at some point you do get hold of an ATX 3.0 power supply then you won't need the adapter, you'll have the right cable to go straight from the power supply to the graphics card. I'm sure this adapter is safe, after all, Nvidia is shipping it in the box, but it still makes me feel a little uneasy.
The graphics card itself as we've already touched on is huge. Like, massively huge. You're essentially losing four PCIe slots on your PC case to this thing. The heatsinks are basically full length and there's a fan on each side of the card at opposite ends. But it looks really smart in its gunmetal and black finish.
That's all for now, performance talk will follow at a later date. The RTX 4090 is extremely impressive, albeit in different ways from Intel's recent graphics cards. If its physical form is anything to go by, it's a monster.