The much-anticipated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, expected to launch later this year, has already generated a lot of buzz in the tech world.

With new leaks and rumors surfacing, join us as we explore the latest speculations – and what they could mean for gaming performance and for tech enthusiasts of all stripes.

Behind the Buzz: RTX 5090's Rumored Features

The fastest consumer graphics card on the market is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090. As its successor, the new flagship RTX 5090 will have some pretty big shoes to fill. But based on what we know about it and what's been leaked, we're confident it'll be up to the task.

For one thing, the upcoming RTX 50-series GPU lineup will utilize NVIDIA's new Blackwell architecture line, leaving the Ada Lovelace generation behind. Along with that will reportedly come the GB202 gaming chip – which is expected to have significant performance gains over the current Ada Lovelace AD102 chips.

A reputable hardware leaker has stated that the GB202 chip is set to share the same process node as the AI-focused GB101, and that it will have 12 Graphics Processing Clusters (GPCs), each containing 8 Texture Processing Clusters (TPCs), for a total of 96 TPCs.

Another reliable source indicated that the RTX 5090 will feature a "dense" memory layout with four modules on top, five on each side, and two at the bottom, necessitating a new PCB design. This aligns with rumors of a 512-bit memory bus – up from 384 in the RTX 4090 – since such a dense memory configuration would require significant bit width. Plus, the RTX 5090 could boast well over 1.5 TB/s in memory bandwidth compared to the RTX 4090's 1,008 GB/s.

Further recent leaks suggest that the RTX 5090 will have a base clock speed of ~2900 MHz. That's an incredible 30% increase over the RTX 4090! Not to mention, with boost clock engaged, speeds exceeding 3 GHz are on the horizon.

Design and Power Enhancements

So what does all of this mean for design? One source suggests that the Founders Edition of the RTX 5090 will feature a new PCB layout, divided into three sections: the main board, a rigid I/O board, and a separate PCIe slot section. This layout could make the RTX 5090 thinner than its predecessors, using a two-slot cooler with a dual-fan setup.

The RTX 5090 is also expected to include Display Port 2.1 outputs, an improvement on the Ada Lovelace series. This will enable it to support gaming monitors that feature increasingly higher resolutions and refresh rates.

The power connector has gotten some criticism, however. The latest rumors suggest that the RTX 5090 will use the same 12VHPWR connector as the RTX 4090 – which has reportedly had some problems – but there is speculation that NVIDIA will switch to a more modern connector design in the RTX 50 series.

Power supply manufacturer Seasonic was responsible for one of the latest leaks, in which details about the RTX 5090 were inadvertently revealed through the company's PSU wattage calculator online. Specifically, the RTX 5090 is listed in the drop-down menu as having 500W TDP (thermal design power) – a +50W change from the RTX 4090 – as well as a 1 x 16-pin 12VHPWR connector.

The Next Big Leap in GPU Technology

There's also talk that the RTX 5090 could come with up to 192 streaming multiprocessors (SMs) and an impressive 24,576 CUDA cores if it continues using the 128-cores-per-SM configuration of the RTX 4090. Plus, rumors suggest an upgrade to 192 third-gen ray-tracing cores and 768 fourth-gen Tensor cores, improving significantly from the RTX 4090's 128 and 512, respectively.

This naturally means a major boost to performance. According to some leaks, the RTX 5090 will deliver up to 70% performance improvements – but it remains to be seen whether this is with ray tracing and/or DLSS enabled.

Still, if the RTX 5090 ends up being about 1.7x faster than the current fastest gaming GPUs on the market, then the Blackwell generation will represent one of the biggest leaps forward we've seen in a while.

Spec Comparison

As we approach the likely release window of the RTX 5090 in Q4 this year, the wait is almost over…

A New Era of Consumer-Grade Excellence

To sum up, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is set to usher in a whole new generation of state-of-the-art consumer-grade GPU performance. From outstanding 4K resolution to next-gen DLSS 4 (AI-powered upscaling to further enhance performance and image quality), consumers are expecting big things from this graphics card.

It may be seen as a luxury upgrade from the already-exceptional RTX 4090 – but if you're looking for the best in class, the RTX 5090 will certainly deliver. The price, however, will also undoubtedly reflect its top-tier status. For some, the high upfront investment will be out of reach, or won't make sense for their needs.

Here at Vast.ai, we offer a budget-friendly solution for accessing next-level graphics and compute power. Renting GPUs on our platform lets you leverage the latest technology without the high upfront cost and upkeep of buying your own hardware. Ready to experience next-level GPU capabilities or prepare for the arrival of the RTX 5090? Explore Vast today to get the cutting-edge performance you need at an unbeatable price!