NVIDIA has revealed its aspirations around designing its "Founders Edition" GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, claiming that the idea "seemed impossible" but Team Green managed to nail it.
NVIDIA's RTX 5090 3D Vapor Chamber, Blow-Through Cooler Design & Airtight Liquid Metal Are The Key Elements For Optimal Performance
Well, we recently got an official unboxing of the GeForce RTX 5090 FE edition, and it won't be wrong to say that the design and form factor have certainly surprised us. Considering that the FE model is not only "SFF-compliant" but also comes with a two-slot design, the important point to note here is that we have seen a massive difference in generational architecture. With NVIDIA reducing the size of its RTX 5090 model by up to 40%, there's something mysterious in Team Green's camp.
In a dedicated video, NVIDIA engineers came together to discuss the ideology behind the development of the new FE model and how they initially perceived that reducing the model's size would be almost impossible, considering that there are new and advanced components onboard. NVIDIA went in depth about how the cooling design evolved from the first GeForce GPU onto the Blackwell series, and interestingly, they did mention the existence of the "triple-fan" FE model, which occupied four slots with a "Three-Thirds" blow-through configuration, but they didn't release it due to design complexities.
Building upon this idea, NVIDIA was encouraged to adopt a "Two-Thirds" configuration, which meant shrinking the PCB size by two-thirds of the size present in previous generations. However, the design complexity didn't hold the engineering team back, as with hit-and-trail along with testing out multiple ideas several times, Team Green came to the conclusion of "modularizing" the RTX 5090, which meant slicing the PCB into multiple portions, which we call the "multi-layer" PCB. The parts included the main board, the PCIe daughter board, the I/O daughter board, and the flexible PCB that connects the layers all together.
However, partitioning the PCB meant that NVIDIA couldn't opt for proceeding with industry standards, given that display connectors such as the DP 2.1 are designed for a single-layer PCB, which is the ordinary market concept. To cater to this, NVIDIA used glass fibers with its substrates to bridge the gap created due to segmented PCB. Interestingly, there's an airtight seal around the GPU die, which also facilitates NVIDIA's most capable liquid metal interface for thermal dissipation, so there's a lot more for teardown experts to look out for.
The next big element in the GeForce RTX 5090's design is its new and advanced 3D Vapor Chamber design, which, according to NVIDIA, is why this implementation became possible in the first place. By having copper heat pipes running all along the side of the VC, Team Green managed to increase the density of the liquid metal and ensure that the water evaporated and traveled to the sides of the GPUs. With a 3D fin-stack design, the RTX 5090 optimizes airflow to the fullest, allowing optimal cooling dissipation for the axial fans onboard.
The angled power receptacle is also a new addition, which NVIDIA integrated to allow consumers more space in their cases. With rotated DP and HDMI interfaces and a "thumbprint" proof I/O shield onboard, Team Green ensured that with these little details, they managed to nail the design of the RTX 5090 perfectly.
NVIDIA's RTX 5090 FE model is surely a marvel by the company, showcasing how innovation manages to achieve the impossible. And, we cannot wait to see what performance this model brings in the market.
