Power, Temp & GPU Frequency
On this page, we will explore the power and temperature of the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G in a game. We have also compared the GPU Frequency with the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition.
GPU Frequency
The first thing we want to look at is the real-world, in-game GPU frequency of the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G while playing a game. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G carries a factory overclock with the GPU Boost at 2550MHz compared to the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition, which is clocked at 2407MHz. This GPU Boost factory overclock, combined with the higher TDP, allows a higher GPU frequency, as we can see in the graph.
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G starts at around 2780MHz, and rises up to peaking at 2820MHz, and is mostly just above 2800MHz while gaming. The average clock speed of this was: 2800MHz. Therefore, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G is operating well above the GPU Boost and sustaining consistent frequencies; as we can see, they are much smoother than the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition starts off well at 2700MHz and varies a bit more between 2700MHz-2720MHz while gaming. The exact average clock speed of this was: 2710MHz. Therefore, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G was running about 90MHz-100MHz faster than the Founders Edition while gaming. There is a clear difference between the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G factory overclock and the Founders Edition.
Board Power
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition TDP is 575W. We can see that ours is hitting 580W, so it is on target with the official TDP spec for total board power. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G beats that by a lot. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G consumes, and is able to consume, a lot more power, exceeding 600W. In this test above, we are running Resident Evil Requiem at 4K with Path Tracing turned on with DLSS Quality Upscaling, so it is pushing the video card as hard as possible in a game. There are other games where it isn’t as high, but it can still reach 600-603W while gaming. In all of our testing, it wasn’t hard to get the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G to the 600W board power range. This means the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G can consume 6% more power, or 33 more Watts.
16-Pin Power
Now, the scary thing with the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G is the amount of power on the 12VHPWR 16-pin cable. According to GPU-Z, while gaming in Resident Evil Requiem at 4K Path Tracing, we are hitting very close to that 600W edge on the 16-pin power cable. It peaked just over 590W, leaving very little room for a safety margin with the 600W-rated maximum of the 16-pin cable. We just wanted to show you this because it was interesting and is worth noting before you decide what’s best for you. Be sure to use a high quality power supply with the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G, and use the native power supply cable if you can, make sure it’s plugged in all the way, tight, and don’t put any strain or bends on it, no pressure, keep the case well ventilated, and that’s about the best you can do, the rest is just going to be up to fate.
GPU Temperature
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition ran the warmest at near 80c GPU Temperature, not hotspot. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G actually improves upon this! The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G’s cooling brings the GPU temp down to 74.5c, about 4 degrees cooler, so it is definitely working and has a positive cooling effect.
Memory Temperature
We were also impressed by the Memory Temperatures. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G improved over the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition memory temperatures by a large margin! The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 FE had temperatures hit 92c on the memory. The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G, however, only hit 76c, lending to the much better cooling of the VRAM on the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G, so that in itself is worth it to provide longevity to the memory.
Fans Speeds
The fans on the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5090 GAMING OC 32G ran up to 65% fan speed while gaming, with a very consistent gradual climb- nothing jarring. The RPMs hit up to 2000RPM.
Discussion (2 replies)
Join Discussion →This price is just too high. The current price retail is now exceeding the scalper prices at release-time...... I thought I paid way too much for mine, which now feels like a bargain. The current situation has just put these video cards out of reach......and this card is at Gigabytes low end of 5090s......ouch.
I've got the lowly MSI Ventus 3X OC, but I only paid $2,600 for it around launch. I had to buy it as part of an MSI bundle to do it, but I still got the card for what was about MSRP at the time. The prices of 5090's (and most everything else) now is utterly insane. I make good money at my job, but I wouldn't be able to justify a top end gaming build right now.
Your at assrape Alienware and Falcon Northwest pricing a few years ago just to DIY a top end PC build now.