I Fit The World’s Most Powerful Graphics Card In My Aging Miniature Sff Pc

In 2022, I wrote that GPUs were headed successful nan incorrect guidance — their price, size, and powerfulness depletion were disconnected nan charts. And while I still judge that’s true, I tin now corroborate Nvidia has astatine slightest made 1 phenomenal objection successful nan size category: nan two-slot “Founder’s Edition” of its RTX 5090 graphics card, connected discarded January 30th.

The past clip Nvidia made a two-slot flagship graphics card, it was nan 2021 RTX 3080 Ti FE — nan 3090, 4080 and 4090 were gigantic by comparison.

So, while my workfellow Tom Warren was engaged penning his afloat reappraisal of nan caller 5090 utilizing nan champion gaming CPU, I wedged 1 of nan $2,000 cards into my ain aging mini desktop. I wanted to spot whether nan amazingly mini flagship GPU was genuinely caller for mini style facet (SFF) cases — or, whether my beloved 12.7-liter Ncase M1 chassis is bully and genuinely obsolete.

To my surprise, it worked: each I needed was a caller powerfulness proviso to move my backpack-sized regular driver into 1 of nan astir powerful gaming PCs successful nan world. At 4K resolution, I’m typically seeing overmuch than double nan framerate I get pinch an RTX 3080 Founder’s Edition, 1 of nan past cards that could comfortably caller successful nan Ncase M1, to springiness you immoderate idea.

But I’m not going to propose you do nan same! For starters, we’re talking astir a 2 1000 dollar graphics insubstantial and a 1 1000 watt powerfulness proviso — which I really saw consuming up to 1 afloat kilowatt (as measured by my trusty Kill A Watt astatine nan wall) successful my Cyberpunk 2077 tests. With an RTX 3080, my strategy consumed complete 200 little watts. Not that I minded having a abstraction heater connected these acold January days!

But I virtually had to wedge nan 5090 into my Ncase M1 to make it fit, and moreover region and reattach nan video card’s bracket incorrect my case. And moreover past I couldn’t afloat seal my desktop because nan GPU’s caller 12V-2x6 powerfulness connector occupies a chunk of abstraction wherever my case’s broadside expanse is expected to go. You’ll want an SFF-ready lawsuit pinch overmuch clearance than I have.

Still, leaving my desktop’s courageousness exposed was a mini worth to net to artifact pinch this overmuch power! It’s tin to play games astatine 4K astatine their maximum settings, prevention for afloat ray tracing (aka measurement tracing). It’s moreover sewage tin horsepower to move connected measurement tracing, too, if you harvester it pinch move upscaling and/or clone model generating tech.

I usually play Helldivers 2 connected an aged 3060 Ti graphics insubstantial I bought for conscionable $400, wherever I’m forced to spot connected those tricks conscionable to get soft 4K-ish gameplay. It was alternatively nice, if expected, to yet max retired that crippled connected nan 5090 instead.

What I didn’t expect: my aging, space-constrained AMD 5800X desktop delivered nan aforesaid capacity arsenic Tom’s open-air testing rig successful alternatively a less of our 4K gaming benchmarks. I knew it was possible, but it goes to show that Nvidia’s fancy two-slot “double recreation through” cooler really is suitable for SFF PCs.

It depends connected whether your games are CPU limited, of course, arsenic my older PC does personification a slower CPU — and astir of today’s games bladed to beryllium astatine slightest somewhat CPU constricted astatine 1440p resolution, wherever Tom’s strategy often pulled acold up by 20 to 60 percent.

Facing down nan alien swarms and flying particles successful Returnal, for example, Tom pulled 201 frames per 2nd astatine 1440p while my diminutive desktop managed conscionable 169fps; successful Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, nan astir CPU-limited crippled we’re testing, my bottlenecked strategy averaged conscionable 123fps to Tom’s 200fps.

But that’s still complete 120fps connected max settings, overmuch than tin for butter-smooth sessions of these single-player games! And if I were to brace my mini building pinch a 4K TV successful my surviving room alternatively of a 1440p monitor, arsenic galore SFF PC builders mightiness for illustration to do, I’d personification a blast — my 4K results ever averaged complete 60fps, and were often incorrect conscionable a less FPS of Tom’s unfastened bench.

And again, I’m typically seeing nan RTX 5090 delivering overmuch than doubly nan horsepower of an RTX 3080, making it alternatively nan upgrade for SFF fans pinch dense pockets. That’s not needfully point to celebrate, though: nan $2,000 RTX 5090 admittedly costs overmuch than doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic a $700 RTX 3080 did astatine its 2020 launch, and will beryllium retired of scope for astir gamers moreover if shortages and scalpers don’t rear their disfigured heads.

When it comes down to it, I deliberation nan Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is simply a damn cool information of kit. It makes maine want to quote Ferris Bueller’s Day Off because it is truthful choice. It’s a noteworthy objection to nan very annoying inclination of GPUs expanding successful each direction. But astatine $2,000, 575 watts of powerfulness by its lonesome, and pinch nary different Nvidia committee partner offering point astir arsenic compact, it’s nan objection that proves nan rule.

Photography by Sean Hollister / The Verge