Conclusion
Today’s review evaluated the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC. This video card is the top of the top tier of MSI’s lineup for the GeForce RTX 5090. The detail and craftsmanship of this video card certainly reflect that. The emphasis has also been placed on cooling, and MSI’s Hyper Frozr technology does not disappoint. The performance certainly does not disappoint either. The video card is as fast as it is big, but also requires a big bit of power, enough to push the 12V 2×6 technology right to the limit. For the price, you simply get the best MSI has to offer: the best NVIDIA GPU, the most video memory, and a stunning, well-cooled package.
Performance
We looked at a number of performance criteria in the review. We compared the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC to its namesake of the prior generation, the MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X 24G. We benchmarked both plain raster and ray-traced games and also added in upscaling. We also included power readings using the Kill-A-Watt and our standard software-based power and temperature. Also, while we held our breath, we overclocked the video card as well. Overall, there simply is not a better-performing video card than the GeForce RTX 5090.
In plain raster gaming at 4K, every game we use was playable natively for both video cards, excepting Black Myth: Wukong. In that game, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC just missed at 58 FPS. Upscaling provided for some outrageous FPS gains for both cards. The MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC was 31% better on average in this category, with a range of 20-50% depending on the game. Looking specifically at the “always-on” ray-traced games, the margin was 26%.
When we enabled ray tracing in games that offer it, only two of four were playable natively for the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC, and with that, Star Wars Outlaws was at 1440p. The MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X 24G was zero for four. The margin was 30%. Upscaling was the trick, giving very fast FPS for the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC. Both video cards were playable. The difference was 29%.
Overclocking
We were able to overclock the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC without any issues. The power limitations of the connector were the issue. In our benchmark run-through, we gained a Boost of 17% and an average clock of 3007MHz. In reality, in our gaming benchmarks, we gained only 3% and the TBP was generally 102-103%. We would not recommend overclocking this video card. Living on the edge to gain 2-3 FPS just isn’t worth the risk. MSI has taken this video card right up to the limit when you select the “Gaming mode” on the BIOS switch. There just isn’t much more you can do here.
Power and Temperature
It is pretty obvious, this card uses a bunch of power. Close to twice as much as its predecessor. We can see on the Kill-A-Watt that the system pulls over 800 Watts in a graphics-intensive game. That takes you pretty close to the edge on a 1000 Watt PSU. If you have an older PSU, that could be a problem. You certainly have to consider upgrading your PSU here.
Temperatures are not a problem. Neither is fan noise. MSI has definitely built a heatsink that can do the job. There is no difference in temperature generation to generation despite the larger appetite for power. The fans did their job at a low cycle, and there was no noise.
Final Points
MSI has built a very customized, well-performing video card in the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM SOC. This is truly a top-of-the-line product and one of the fastest video cards money can buy. The design is beautiful, the fit and finish are top-notch notch and the performance speaks for itself. The downside here is the price. This is one of the most expensive video cards in the history of video cards. It is simply the decision of the buyer if that is for them. You certainly won’t be disappointed in the product or performance.
