The new flagship graphics card Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 impresses not only with its characteristics and price of $2000, but also with the fact that its reference Founders Edition is almost twice as compact as the previous generation model RTX 4090 Founders Edition. On the popular YouTube channel Gamers Nexus, engineer Malcolm Gutenburg, who works on cooling Nvidia video cards, explained how the company managed to achieve this.
Image source: NVIDIA
In the reference GeForce RTX 5000 FE graphics cards, Nvidia used a new cooling system design called Double Flow Through. This innovation allows both fans to pass air through the radiator fins, unlike previous designs of reference cooling systems (GeForce RTX 30 and 40 series), where the air flow from one of the fans was blocked by the printed circuit board.
The design change improves cooling efficiency while maintaining a compact card thickness of just two expansion slots. Let us remind you that the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition is the only version of the RTX 5090 that meets the SFF-Ready classification.
Changes in the cooling system were made possible thanks to the modular design of the printed circuit board of the GeForce RTX 5000 FE video cards. It consists of three separate modules: the main board, which houses the graphics processor, memory chips and VRM power subsystem, a board with external video outputs, and a board with a PCIe x16 connector. These modules are connected to the main board using proprietary adapters.
According to the data provided, the new cooling system is superior in efficiency to previous models. The new product is capable of dissipating up to 600 W of thermal energy, operating quieter than its predecessor coolers, designed to dissipate up to 450 W. At the same time, at a load of 450 W, the new cooling system copes with the task more quietly than systems designed to dissipate 200 W.
GeForce RTX 5090 main PCB with engineering thermocouples. Image source here and below: YouTube / Gamers Nexus
The GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition cooling system includes a nickel-plated copper vapor chamber that removes heat from the GPU, VRAM chips and power components. The chamber is equipped with five large horizontal heat pipes connected to three parts of the radiator. The middle part of the heatsink is located under the main printed circuit board, and the other two are connected to the heat-conducting tubes of the evaporation chamber. The design is completed by two large fans that force air through the fins of the aluminum radiator.
Despite its compact size, the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition cooling system handles up to 600 W of thermal energy and remains relatively quiet. According to Nvidia, the operating noise level is only about 30-35 dBA.
Nvidia is using liquid metal for the first time as a thermal interface between the GPU and the vapor chamber. According to Malcolm Gutenberg, time-tested thermal pads are used to transfer heat from other heating elements, which are highly reliable and resistant to damage.
Nvidia has implemented the Double Flow Through design in the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 models. The implementation of the RTX 5070 Ti model will be entrusted exclusively to the company’s partners, who will release it in their own versions.
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