A well-known tech YouTuber receives a huge Nvidia graphics card that was never officially released – and shows what it can do. The prototype of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 with a gigantic cooler resembles the rumors about the never-released RTX 4090 Ti. Gamers Nexus has tested the card and demonstrates what performance it could have delivered.
What kind of graphics card is this? A user on Reddit supposedly rescued a GeForce RTX 4090 Ti from a container, and the community was astonished by the discovery. The graphics card, initially referred to as “RTX 4090 Ti,” attracted a lot of attention because it was supposedly a model that was never officially released. However, as soon as the first pictures were online, they were deleted again.
Now YouTuber Gamers Nexus has gotten hold of the graphics card and subjected it to thorough testing. Gamers Nexus is one of the most well-known YouTubers in the tech field, regularly testing hardware. In a recent video, he took a look at Nvidia’s prototype.
Interestingly, he received the card from an anonymous person who provided him the NVIDIA prototype. It is likely an engineering sample. However, as he does not elaborate further on the receipt, the details remain unclear.
What makes this prototype so special
Steve Burke, the head of the channel, explained in his video that the prototype from Nvidia is equipped with some unique features:
- Massive Quad-Slot Cooler: The cooler is particularly large and uses multiple heat pipes to dissipate heat better. At the same time, the airflow has been cleverly designed to effectively distribute heat and keep the card cooler.
- Unusual PCB Arrangement: The printed circuit board (PCB) has been rotated 90°, which not only provides more stability but also distributes heat better. This makes cooling even more efficient, as the hot areas are optimally relieved.
- Direct and Stable Power Supply: The PCB provides a particularly stable power supply to the GPU, which is crucial for performance during heavy use or high loads. This could help avoid overheating and performance loss.
The GPU chip corresponds to that of the regular RTX 4090, further underscoring the assumption that it is merely a modified version.
The prototype is noticeably cooler, but slower than a proper RTX 4090
This is what emerged from the testing: The prototype showed an interesting mix of strengths and weaknesses during performance tests:
- Cooling Performance: The graphics card remained about 20 degrees cooler than the standard RTX 4090 even at a power consumption of 600 watts. This improved cooling indicates a better cooling design.
- Noise Level: Thanks to the larger cooler, the noise level of the card could be reduced, ensuring quieter use, despite noticeable frequency spikes during the test.
- Gaming Performance: The performance in the gaming test was about 62 FPS, which is approximately 10 percent less compared to the standard RTX 4090. This could suggest a non-optimized prototype, as the card was recognized as an RTX 4090 in the driver.
Why not an RTX 4090 Ti? It should have been clear earlier that this prototype is not an RTX 4090 Ti. Although the card had differences in some aspects, the large cooling system was noticeable. However, the typical performance increases and technical differences one would expect from a Ti version were missing.
The difference was already visible back then, but was now almost definitively confirmed through the test and breakdown.
With the upcoming RTX 5000 series, it seems unlikely that Nvidia will release an upgraded version of the 4090. Do you want to know if a new generation NVIDIA card is worth it for you or where to find it? Here are the most important informations.
