It’s been two years since Nvidia last dropped a GeForce graphics card, and its “xx90”-class models took off all of them eyeballs when they debut. Today, the long-awaited GeForce RTX 5090 made a grand entrance at PC Labs. Of course, we couldn’t resist tearing into the packaging the moment it landed. (Note: The RTX 5090 and its sibling the 5080, the first two RTX 50-series cards to appear, won’t hit store shelves until January 30.)
Ready to leave? Let’s dive into the RTX 5090’s sleek design and check out Nvidia’s new take on the packaging—yes, the box. For once, the “box” in an unboxing can be almost as interesting as the contents.
Team Green’s freshly green packaging
The RTX 5090 is packed with environmentally conscious materials, incorporating them into the packaging design in an attractive way. Mind you, the outer box is nondescript brown cardboard…
(Credit: John Burek)
Foxconn manufacturing labels and other internal identifiers dot the box.
(Credit: John Burek)
To get inside, you have to grab one of two pull tabs and remove a security strip from three sides of the box…
(Credit: John Burek)
The long hem reveals a label, “Inspired by gamers. Enhanced by AI. Built by Nvidia” below the tear bar.
(Credit: John Burek)
This slogan is also a suggestion of where to rise. The box hinge opens from the front, as…
(Credit: John Burek)
Upon opening it, you can see an internal holder for the card itself, plus some additional indicators. (Note the arrows.)
(Credit: John Burek)
To remove the actual card holder, open the two “arms” of the case on either side to give you room to grab the narrow edges.
(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
After working without the card carrier, you’ll see that an access box is also included, somewhere below the holder.
(Credit: John Burek)
We’ll remove it and put it aside for now…
(Credit: John Burek)
Let’s look at the card carrier. The box itself is made mostly of corrugated cardboard with layers of hard cardboard on top and bottom…
(Credit: John Burek)
The top layer of the cover’s hard cardboard has the GEFORCE RTX 5090 cut into it. Nvidia would like to point out that no paint is included in this part of the box.
(Credit: John Burek)
In theory, you could use the case as part of the display after installing your GPU.
Enough of the box… How about that 5090 card?
To get inside the carrier, you have to slide two hardboard “brackets” to release the two halves. It’s a smart design, and notably, no plastic is involved.
(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
Taking the cover off, it’s the watch card.
(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
The card deck is deep, with a cool, all-metal design, crafted to the usual elite quality standards of Founders Edition cards. The chassis of the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition is exactly 12 inches (304 mm) long, 5.3 inches (137 mm) high, and has a width of two slots (40 mm). Note: This is the Nvidia Founders Edition of the 5090, and these tend to be sharper than most. Other RTX 5090 models will vary in size, and many, as we saw at CES 2025, will be much larger.
(Credit: John Burek)
The Founders Edition design makes it compatible with many small form factor (SFF) PC cases, appealing to users with compact builds. This is in line with Nvidia’s SFF-Ready initiative announced last year at Computex.
(Credit: John Burek)
The card’s cooling solution features what Nvidia calls a “Double Flow Through” design, with two fans pushing air through the GPU. It’s similar to what we’ve seen on previous Founders Edition cards. But the actual arrangement and layout of the PCB under the metal shell has been revamped, according to Nvidia.
(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
The multi-part PCB layout separates the main components into different physical boards within the card. A central PCB houses the GPU, memory and power subsystem, while the PCI Express connector (a PCIe 5.0 connection, Nvidia notes) and the I/O port block are on separate boards connected by a flexible high-speed signaling board and the interior. the cables. This modular approach aims to increase airflow and thermal efficiency, as well as (theoretically) facilitate warranty repairs.
(Credit: John Burek)
Nvidia describes the internal cooling as a “unified 3D vapor chamber,” with the chamber design allowing hot vapor to travel directly to the card’s internal heat pipes for dissipation. The heat is then directed up and out via the exit slits at the edges of the card to reduce recirculation of hot air. The combination of straight and curved fins in the cooler is designed to facilitate the passage of this air.
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(Credit: John Burek)
(Credit: John Burek)
As for the I/O panel, you can see the usual array of three DisplayPorts and one HDMI. In this case, they are DisplayPort 2.1b (supports UHBR20) and HDMI 2.1b. These ports support the latest high-resolution, high-refresh rate displays.
(Credit: John Burek)
Now, here’s an interesting detail: The card’s power connector is located at a roughly 45-degree angle on the top edge.
(Credit: John Burek)
We like this; it doesn’t stick straight and doesn’t have the precarious, fragile feel of previous implementations on Founders Edition cards. (Hopefully the cable will get some hold from the card body in this arrangement.) This also means no more 12VHPWR cables bunched up against the case side panel or glass, which is unattractive to look at and disturbing from the point of view of cable bending.
A new approach to power
Speaking of which, what’s in the accessory box?
(Credit: John Burek)
A small pamphlet to get started and a converter cable. The adapter goes from the 12VHPWR connector on the card to four PCI Express 8-pin power connectors from your PSU…
(Credit: John Burek)
Those four connectors reflect the high power requirements of this GPU. (Nvidia suggests a 1,000-watt power supply; you’ll need something high-end, really, to get you four 8-pin plugs in the first place.) We have to say: At least in the impression of At first glance, this adapter is a huge improvement over the stock ones offered with the RTX 40 series cards and previous Founders Edition cards. The cables are lighter and feel very soft and flexible, which should make it less of a chore to steer and ease them around corners.
(Credit: John Burek)
The design also means you put a lot less stress on the 12VHPWR connector at the bottom of the card. (We know how badly bending these cables turned out in some previous implementations.)
A quick rundown of the specs, with closer looks
As reported earlier, the RTX 5090 is built on Nvidia’s “Blackwell” architecture, which offers a host of advancements in performance, AI processing capabilities, and efficiency. It features 92 billion transistors and 21,760 CUDA cores, complemented by fifth-generation Tensor cores and fourth-generation Ray Tracing (RT) cores. These specifications represent a significant step forward in computing capability.
(Credit: John Burek)
The GPU includes 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, rated by Nvidia for 1.8 TB per second of bandwidth – a huge increase over its RTX 4090 predecessor. Indeed, between the increased specifications and the sheer amount of capabilities associated with Introduced by the company a few weeks ago during CES 2025, the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition appears to be a package of innovations.
(Credit: John Burek)
Support for DLSS 4 and all the rest suggest a game-changing card. But its real-world performance and value will only be revealed on the test bench. (We can only hope the engineering matches the thoughtful packaging and design.) Stay tuned for performance benchmarks and benchmarks that will shed light on how the $1,999 RTX 5090 fares in the real world.
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About John Burek
Executive Editor and Director of PC Labs
