Mid-cycle — next generation may be on the horizon
Best for: Content creators, AI researchers, and enthusiast gamers who want the absolute fastest GPU regardless of price or power consumption.
Full details →Overdue for a refresh — no successor announced yet. Prices should be at their lowest
Superseded by RTX 5090
Best for: 4K enthusiasts who can find the RTX 4090 at a significant discount and don't need DLSS 4 or GDDR7.
Full details →| NVIDIA RTX 5090 | NVIDIA RTX 4090 | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Enthusiast | Enthusiast |
| Generation | RTX 5000 | RTX 4000 |
| VRAM | 32 GB | 24 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR6X |
| TDP | 575W | 450W |
| Upscaling | DLSS4 | DLSS3 |
| Ray Tracing | ✅ | ✅ |
| Launch MSRP | $1999 | $1599 |
| Released | Jan 30, 2025 | Oct 12, 2022 |
| Cycle length | ~850 days | ~840 days |
| Cycle advice | Caution | Wait |
| Deals advice | Caution | Buy |
| Successor | — | RTX 5090 |
Double the VRAM of the RTX 5080 ensures headroom for 8K textures, AI model training, and multi-monitor setups.
Generates multiple frames per rendered frame, dramatically boosting perceived frame rates in supported games.
New shader cores, enhanced RT cores, and Tensor cores deliver the largest generational leap NVIDIA has shipped.
More VRAM than the RTX 5080 (16GB), making it relevant for AI workloads and 4K texture packs.
Street prices have dropped significantly below $1599 MSRP, offering 5090-adjacent performance for less.
Over 2 years of driver optimizations make this one of the most stable GPUs available.