GeForce RTX 5090 Fe cool: 575 watts and dual flow
Image: Fractal Design
During the test of the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition, the innovative 2-slot Founder Edition cooler from Fractal Design Torrent proved convincing. But it became clear: after 450 watts instead of 350 watts on the RTX 4090, 575 watts again represent a completely new challenge for cooling the case. The FE cooler helps with this.
575 Watt Power “Double-Through-Design”
One reason for the increased requirements is the high maximum power consumption, another reason is the operation of the cooler:
Thanks to the “double-flow design”, it cools efficiently and relatively quietly, but everything that is usually behind the fans (in the case is usually above the graphics card) receives the heated exhaust air without detours. Nothing goes directly to the outside, as was the case until the end of the Geforce RTX 4090 and this was previously provided for in the “reference designs” (Direct Heat Exhaust).
Custom designs have been distributing air for generations, almost exclusively in the case, but this usually happens under the graphics card in the ATX case, from where, mixed with the cool air, it is exhausted to the outside.
The RTX 5090 Founders Edition is different: it blows all the exhaust air from both fans to the CPU and their VRMS in a classic vertical ATX application. And this is not mandatory, but it can cause problems.
The CPU of the GPU test system gets too hot
In the fractal design torrent used by the editorial staff, TechAstuce has reduced the fan speed of the CPU (NH-D15) to 800 rpm since the GeForce RTX 4000 change at the end of 2022, which also decreases after the CPU change. end of 2024 to keep the Ryzen 7 9800x3D in games at low temperatures.
The two 180mm fans on the front spin at just 450 rpm, which seems a bit at first, but can already carry a lot of air for the large fan dimensions. So far, both have never been a problem.
With the RTX 4090 Fe to date without problems
With a fully occupied GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition, which reaches 439 watts in-game, the Ryzen 7 9800x3d in the test system heats up to 73 degrees Celsius after half an hour, meaning it’s still far from 95- the mark of the degree remains. Even on hot summer days, there is still considerable room for higher CPU temperatures in this case.
The RTX 5090 demands more
The situation is different with the GeForce RTX 5090. This was determined directly on the first day of testing, in terms of performance consumption and cooling performance during a 30-minute charging session (Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition, consumption measured 578 watts).
During the half-hour charging phase, the Ryzen 7 9800x3d reached 90 and 95 degrees Celsius after 20 minutes – the critical limit. The reason is not the processor: the graphics card, with a heating power of almost 600 watts, continually heats up the processor cooler.
With a torrent of fractal design, this is not an unsolvable problem, because if desired, the case has almost enormous airflow. TechAstuce tested two other scenarios to map the effects of the adjustments:
Once the two case fans are accelerated to 650 RPM ahead of 450 RPM, and to make the job of the CPU cooler a little easier, it spins at 1,000 instead of 800 RPM. High noise level.
Measurements with more airflow in the housing
This shows that the first scenario takes the processor away from the critical limit of 95 degrees Celsius, but even then the processor remains hotter than with the RTX 4090 FE. The noisy “all-in-one scenario” pushes the temperature to a new low, but fortunately that’s not the case at all.
Editor’s recommendation
The clear recommendation from the editorial team is to keep an eye on the CPU temperature, but also the temperatures of the VRM, RAM and SSDs (above the PCIe slot) when using a GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition.
Even more critical at Intel Core I
The tested CPU is still one of the non-critical varieties: with an average of 81 watts at the absolute CPU limit (720p), the Ryzen 7 9800x3d consumes extremely little electrical power, a 12th, 13th or 14th generation Core i9 gives good results. And like twice the heat lost on the cooler and that way it also warmed up the VRMS on the motherboard.
Custom designs will also face 575 watts and other new enclosure challenges, but their approach generally remains the same. The IT base will test what this means in the near future.
Does the RTX 5090 still use 575 watts?
The knowledge presented concerns a scenario in which the GeForce RTX 5090 fully extends its TDP of 575 watts, as happened during the standard test to determine the power consumption of the RTX 5090. However, this is far from the case in UHD.
On average across the 21 games in the UHD benchmark course, 474-watt graphics card telemetry was reported (not measured!). That’s 100 watts less than the worst case, but still 97 watts more than with the RTX 4090 FE.
The cooling requirements in the system are undoubtedly increasing and anyone relying on the new Fe should definitely think about where the graphics card is giving off hot air.
More details on the Geforce RTX 5090 Founders Edition
Full details on the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition can be found in the 15-page article NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in the test: DLSS 4 MfG gets 575 watts in 2-slot format and in the CB radio podcast #101: The test of the GeForce RTX 5090 from Fabians and Jans.
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