Which 5090?

[naefeart]

Which of the two cards seems best from an ownership pov:

Asus GeForce RTX 5090 ROG Astral OC White 32GB​

MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 32GB SUPRIM SOC​

So excluding silly purchase costs, which has the best perceived build quality, most effective cooling system and anticipated longterm reliability/better RMA process? I’m particularly focused on not melting any cables, but both seem to draw 600w plus in testing. Undervolting should help here.

From my research there is much mention of coil whine, specifically for the ASUS card, the MSI not so much. The MSI seems to have slightly better cooling and at a quieter level.

I’m not looking to rehash the value debate, I have the money to spend and I won’t be feeding the kids baked beans from here on. Well, not based on this alone.

I’m coming from a Zotac 4090 Amp Extreme which has been faultless over the last 2.5 years, but I think for the 5090 gen, these two cards offer better features/performance this time around.

Interested in people’s thoughts.

 

[Purgatory]

Asus Astral gets my vote as it has better PCB components and better VRM. Out of the two options you wanted, but if being realistic a 5090 FE if you can get one and also going from a 4090 to 5090 for gaming is really a waste of money and time, UNLESS you need the 32GB VRAM for other things then yes worth updating to a 5090 from a 4090.

ASUS

ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral OC Review - Astronomical Premium

The ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Astral is the company's $2800 flagship RTX 5090 model. It comes with a massive quad-slot, quad-fan cooling solution that weighs over 3 kilograms! Thanks to the large factory overclock it can deliver additional performance and temperatures are very low.

www.techpowerup.com

MSI

MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC Review

The MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Suprim SOC is the best RTX 5090 custom design that we've tested. Thanks to its large cooling solution, paired with perfect fan settings, it's the quietest card available, much quieter than the Founders Edition. Thanks to the factory OC you also get some extra performance.

www.techpowerup.com

 

[harmattan]

Super similar thermals and performance on both those cards. I'd go with whichever costs less and has a better warranty. I'd stay away from Asus personally due to the reports of RMA fraud on their part.

I will say my Zotac 5090 Solid has been flawless, and runs within spitting distance of those other two models. Not sure if 3-4% faster clocks is worth the extra several hundred clams to you.

 

[naefeart]

Thanks for the responses, I must admit the reports of poor RMA experiences with ASUS (more seem to happen in the US?) does lean me more towards MSI this time. But as Purgatory points out the ASUS has plus points around components etc.

I’ve ruled Zotac out this time purely because the Solid isn’t that much cheaper and looks a bit underwhelming, even compared to the Suprim imo.

Is anyone swayed by the pin monitoring on the ASUS card?

 

[Purgatory]

Is anyone swayed by the pin monitoring on the ASUS card?

I forgot to even mention that, that also in my book makes it the safer and better card thanks to these silly new connectors. Really the Astral is the no-brainer out of the two.

 

[harmattan]

I forgot to even mention that, that also in my book makes it the safer and better card thanks to these silly new connectors. Really the Astral is the no-brainer out of the two.

Zotac has a monitor on the plug itself. Also 5-year warranty...

That said, for same price I'd definitely take the Astral or Suprim for the bigger HS and resale value will likely be better.

 

[sgoaty]

I also have the zotac solid, no complaints on the performance but completely agree on looks.