I couldn't believe my eyes when I triple checked my benchmark over and over again. The RTX 4090 is a beast of a graphics card that marks a new era for PC gaming, where the high frames I've been getting used to at 1440p are now available in 4k.
The type of smooth 4K performance that Cyberpunk 2077 can deliver is something that has never been possible before. I am talking nearly 140 frames per second at 4K with all settings maxed out. It is nearing the limit of my monitor.
In games where it's not yet supported you're still getting on average 70 percent better frame rates.
All of this costs. The huge footprint of the RTX 4090 makes it hard to fit it into some PC cases. The 450 watt of power used by the RTX 4090 makes it necessary for you to have a lot of spare power cables. If you can deal with the price, size, and power requirements, this is a card that can deliver a 4K experience.
There is a box that is comically large. You would be sent a winning check from the lottery, because the oversized box prepares you for the size of the RTX 4090
The extra inch in height makes it look much larger than it is. I didn't have any problems fitting it into my case, but I can imagine the sheer size will be problematic in some cases.
The aesthetic of the RTX 4090 is very similar to an RTX 3090, but the fan has seven blades instead of nine. More of the back of the card is occupied by that fan.
The single 12-pin PCIe 5 standard that can deliver up to 600 watt in total has been switched up by the company. You can connect up four 8-pin power cables with the 12VHPWR cable in the box. You only need to connect up three 8-pin cables that can deliver 150 watt each to use the double amount of 8-pin cables. If you want to increase the amount of power you can use, you should connect the fourth 8-pin.
If you want to take advantage of the power on offer, you will need a 1000 watt power supply and the latest generation CPUs. Extra headroom for overclocking is something that could be helpful.
Even if nothing has changed on the outside, I still like the design of the RTX cards.
Corsair HX 1000 PSU: Corsair HX 1000
I have been using the Core i9 12900K processor for testing. I have a 32-inch Odyssey G7 monitor with this graphics card. This monitor has a refresh rate of up to 120 frames per second.
I put the RTX 4090 head to head with the RTX 3090 to see what this new generation of graphics cards has to offer. I've been playing a lot of games, including a few from the series. I have been playing both Microsoft Flight Simulator and Cyberpunk 2077.
Most games delivered frame rates well beyond 100 frames per second even with ray tracing options enabled. Even with ray tracing enabled the RTX 4090 still delivers an impressive 167 frames per second.
The Watch Dogs: Legion has always been demanding, even on the RTX 3090, and the 4090 manages to deliver 132 frames per second without ray tracing enabled. I saw a 50 percent jump in performance from the 3090 to the 4090 at the same time frame. It's an impressive leap, but things get even more interesting with the ability to use DLSS 3.
New versions of Cyberpunk 2077 and Microsoft Flight Simulator have been tested. The new version uses the same techniques as the previous one, along with a new frame generation technology. The frame generation feature uses existing rendering techniques and a new frame generation tech to create two frames and a third frame. The result is a huge leap in performance that is only available on the RTX 40-series.
The average frame rate for playing Cyberpunk 2077 with maxed settings and psycho ray tracing is 114 frames per second. If you just enable frame generation, that jumps more than 50 percent. If you are willing to sacrifice image quality, you will get a performance mode that will boost this to 217 frames per second. That is an amazing jump for a game that runs at 70 frames per second.
The same can be found on other platforms. I used a special test build of Flight Simulator to see if it could manage 64 frames per second. Simply flicking a switch bumped this by more than 100 percent to 133 frames per second. I couldn't believe the performance I was seeing in the game.
Wait until you see what the 4090 can do in 4K before making a decision. I have a 31.5-inch monitor with this graphics card. The RTX 4090 was able to deliver the types of frame rates that were needed to take advantage of this 4K monitor.
If the performance gains at 1440P are getting close to 50 percent at times, they are even bigger at 4K. The RTX 4090 has a 70 percent jump in performance over the RTX 3090 in my tests. It is a beast of a card.
I haven't been interested in 4K gaming because of the lack of high frame rates I'm used to. I am the type of person who can immediately tell if I am playing at 120 or 200 frames per second, but I am really tempted to upgrade to 4K.
I spent most of my time playing Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K because I have always wanted to play this game in 4K. The experience of watching the RTX 3090 at 4K was so bad that it felt like sludge.
I was able to hit nearly 140 frames per second with the help of psycho ray tracing and the performance mode enabled. Night City looked and felt a lot better with regulardlss2 quality delivering 66 frames per second on average, but playing Cyberpunk 2077 at way beyond 100 frames per second is a true delight.
It is not the only Cyberpunk that plays well at 4K. Most games delivered more than 100 frames per second at 4k. Control maxed out with maxed out ray tracing and a 158-frames-per-second frame rate, which was the fastest I have ever played it at. The stunning improvements found in Cyberpunk 2077 would be great to see in more games that supportDLS.
Microsoft Flight Simulator works well on the RTX 4090 There is a special test build of Flight Simulator that has 61 frames per second. The game can be played at up to 125 frames per second thanks to the move to the third generation of the game.
There are some big performance improvements over the Ampere 30-series generation. The price of the RTX 4090 puts it out of reach of most PC users, but it also sets the stage for what could be an exciting next generation of card.
The options of quality, balance, or performance for imagery are maintained while the framerate is transformed. It will take some time before we see the impact of this new technology, as only 35 games or apps have been confirmed for the third edition.
The Turing 4090 is in a performance league of its own. The RTX 4090 is the best for 4K gaming. The entry point into this generation of cards is more reasonable with the launch of the RTX 4080 cards. Will the performance be as good on the $899 12GB RTX 4080.
It is hard to imagine that it will have anything close to the performance of DLSS 3 when it arrives. If you believe that Nvidia will be able to pull off the kind of support we have seen so far, then you need to upgrade.
It is tempting to upgrade to the RTX 4090 because it is a beast of a graphics card. I am tempted to not because of the price tag.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
