The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 3090 is the most powerful graphics card money can buy today. Here is everything a gamer needs to know about this high-performance GPU.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090: What’s Changed? 

First, let’s look at the card’s design. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 sports the best cooler design that the Founders Edition has done to date. RTX 3090 is a massive graphics card, measuring 12.3-in long. As expected, it is also the heaviest. The card has cooling fans on either side.

The power consumption rates at 350 Watt, and with the NVIDIA new 12-pin PCIe connector, the RTX 3090 could easily push your previous units to their limits. Moreover, the heatsink of the RTX 3090 has a ton of surface for more dynamic cooling. To boost efficiency, the PCB had to be redesigned. Thus, NVIDIA implemented the newest 12-pin PCIe power connector to make possible air flows through the back of the graphic card.

Like the GeForce RTX 3080, the newest RTX 3090 is built on the NVIDIA Ampere architecture, using the full-fat GA 102 GPU. However, if we compared it with the RTX 3080, which is the world’s first 8K gaming GPU, the RTX 3090 gets you more than double memory (24GB of GDDR6X RAM), and not to mention faster video memory at 20% more CUDA tensor and RT cores. Therefore, you are getting 82 Streaming Multiprocessors (SM), which makes a total of 10,496 CUDA cores, along with 328 Tensor cores and 82 RT Cores. 

Due to the Ampere architecture and Streaming Multiprocessors, the RTX 3090 can handle FP32 workload. Thus, making NVIDIA’S flagship best tool for those users that require hardcore-accelerating rendering. For example, creative professionals in 3D animation or video rendering will hugely benefit from it. 

NVIDIA DLSS and AI

Let’s focus on the 8K ray tracing for a minute. You will need to use Deep Learning Supersampling (DLSS) for that. DLSS is a revolutionary rendering technology that promises to deliver stunning visuals and incomparable clarity with the dedicated Tensor Core processors. This kind of performance boost allows gamers to maximize ray tracing settings and increase output resolutions in real-time. 

It also allows users to customize image quality, offering several rendering options ranging from Quality to Ultra Performance. In addition, you are free to determine the balance of quality and performance by controlling the game’s internal rendering resolution. For example, graphics performance accelerates up to four times in “Super Resolution” mode (1080p-4K). And the new “Ultra Performance” setting can accelerate up to nine times thanks to AI (1440p -8K).

The technology enables gamers to play smoothly in 4K Final Fantasy XV at 70 frames per second (fps). However, playing World of Warcraft: Batter for Azeroth and Destiny 2 in 8K at 60-70 fps triggers a 3-5% performance loss. Yet, it is not significant enough, as the 24GB of VRAM makes up for it. 

You can utilize NVIDIA DLSS technology on games like Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite, Bright Memor, DOOM Eternal, and more.

8K HDR

With the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 card, you can connect, play, record content and watch amazing videos in HDR resolutions up to 8K. In addition, the HDMI 2.1 standard allows you to display content in 8K with a single cable. So, suppose you are fortunate enough to own an 8K HDR display today. In that case, you can expect more detailed and sharper images than 4K offers and no sliding in performance.

The GeForce Experience 

Overall, the GeForce Experience is a very intuitive and responsive interface. You can record, share videos, screenshots, and live streams using Nvidia ShadowPlay. This technology lets you record and publishes your gameplay videos on Twitch and Facebook with a minimal impact on performance. Also, you can download the latest drivers with GeForce Experience sending automatic alerts when updates become available. Moreover, the GeForce Experience automatically configures your game settings based on your GPU, CPU, and display type.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090: Availability & Price

The most powerful video card is, of course, the most expensive. The starting price is $1499, but the card is rarely available in Best Buy, Micro Center, Adorama, and Newegg stores. There is also a buying limit of one card per household. And while the steep price may be discouraging for scalpers, it is pretty much impossible to find the Founders Edition at its actual retail cost.

Final Thoughts

Nvidia RTX 3090 is a powerful GPU designed for gaming at 8K resolution. And not only is it beneficial to gamers, but the card also becomes quite handy when working with 3D and video rendering. However, as expected, premium specs come at a premium price. Furthermore, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is a desktop card. Will we ever see the RTX 3090 on a laptop? The time will tell. Regardless, the RTX 3080 is plenty for laptop gaming. So if you are ready to upgrade your current computer, look into laptop trade in. At Gadget Salvation, we helped thousands turn their preowned devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more into cash.