ASUS shows water-cooled ROG Matrix RTX 4090 with 360mm AIO
ASUS is introducing a new video card in its ROG Matrix series for the first time in years. This RTX 4090 gets a 360mm AIO water cooler and liquid metal instead of regular thermal paste. The video card will be available later this year.
The ASUS ROG Matrix RTX 4090 is the first ROG Matrix video card since the RTX 2080 Ti variant from 2019. The video card has a 360mm AIO water cooler that has three ROG MF-12S fans with individually controllable RGB LEDs. The fans are magnetically connected to each other, so only one cable is needed to connect them. That cable is hidden in the cooling tubes of the AIO cooler. According to ASUS, the fans run at less than 1000rpm and keep the GPU temperature at 60 degrees Celsius at a TGP of 450W.
The AIO water cooler is connected to a cold plate designed by ASUS, which cools the GPU, memory and VRMs. ASUS uses liquid metal instead of thermal paste. Liquid metal has a higher thermal conductivity, but also conducts electricity. The manufacturer says it uses UV resin on the capacitors and two extra protective layers between the GPU die and the PCB. This should prevent the liquid metal from leaking and causing a short circuit. According to ASUS, the video card can be placed both horizontally and vertically.
ASUS does not share any concrete specifications of the ROG Matrix RTX 4090. The manufacturer calls it the ‘fastest RTX 4090’, but the exact clock speeds are not yet known. ASUS does say that the video card will have a single 12Vhpwr connection for power supply. The card also has a dual BIOS, allowing users to switch between Quiet and Performance modes. The video card is surrounded by a ‘hollow’ frame. The cold plate, PCB and pump are enclosed in a larger aluminum housing. The video card also has several RGB LEDs, which can be controlled via the ASUS Aura software.
The ROG Matrix RTX 4090 will be a limited edition. The video card will be available in the third quarter of this year. ASUS does not mention a specific release date and does not say how many copies will be available. The video card has a suggested retail price of ‘close to $2000’.