The hardware manufacturer Colorful has introduced a graphics card, the iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Kudan, which costs about 4,220 euros. But what can the graphics card actually do, and for whom is it worth it?
If you thought that several thousand euros for a gaming PC is a lot of money, a hardware manufacturer now shows you that it is also possible to sell a single graphics card for a lot of money.
Because the manufacturer Colorful has introduced the iGame GeForce RTX 3090 Kudan, which costs 4,999 US dollars (about 4,220 euros).
For that money, you could currently get a fully equipped gaming PC with RTX 3080 Ti and a high-end processor (i9 11900K or Ryzen 9 5950X).
But what do you actually get when you buy a graphics card for 4,220 euros? MeinMMO took a closer look at the graphics card.
Stylish design, high clock rates, and possibilities for overclocking
What does the graphics card offer for the money? The design is very detailed and should appeal to steampunk fans, especially thanks to the gears and other details. If you are going to install your graphics card in a closed case without a glass side, you won’t see much of that.
The Colorful graphics card also features a 90-degree rotatable LC display with 60 Hertz on the side to display data such as temperature.
Additionally, the graphics card offers two cooling options. On one hand, the manufacturer relies on three 90-millimeter fans mounted on the graphics card. A water cooling system with a 240-millimeter radiator is also integrated.
Water blocks for an RTX 3090 cost on average between 150 and 200 euros and still need to be mounted on the graphics card. You can also watch the graphics card in the official video:
How much performance does the graphics card offer? In terms of clock rates, Colorful is oriented towards the Founders Edition from Nvidia but offers a significantly higher boost clock than the FE (1,700 MHz vs 1,860 MHz). However, there is also a graphics card from ASUS, the GeForce RTX 3090 Strix OC, that delivers an even higher boost clock of 1,890 MHz but is only air-cooled from the factory.
On the Chinese social media platform Bilibili, a streamer showcased the graphics card and also tested various benchmarks (via Bilibili.com, in Mandarin).
The maximum FPS for the Colorful graphics card is on average 10 FPS above the Founders Edition from Nvidia. However, in terms of average FPS at 4K resolution, the card is only ahead by 2 to 3 FPS at the same load and similar power consumption.
An investment of 4,000 euros is not worth it for most gamers
For whom is this card worth it at all? The regular RTX 3090 is primarily aimed at content creators and enthusiasts. Users who mainly want to game in 4K are better off with the RTX 3080.
Gamers don’t benefit much from overclocking. The increased performance compared to the regular Founders Edition of the RTX 3090 is in the single-digit percentage range and wouldn’t justify the high price on its own.
Overall, the features of the 4,000-euro graphics card mainly focus on the optical details and extensive cooling options. Anyone who cannot relate to the steampunk look and refrains from overclocking would not have much joy with the expensive graphics card.
By now, graphics card prices are at least falling again, so you currently have to pay “only” double the MSRP for many graphics cards. In the long term, it could again become possible for gamers to get graphics cards at reasonable prices.
What do you think of such a graphics card? Would you buy such a graphics card if you had the money, or is such an investment too expensive for you? Let us know in the comments!
