Keeping Pace with Nvidia's RTX 50 Series, Maxtor Thermal Compound Ensures High-Performance GPUs Run Cool
As Nvidia officially unveils its RTX 50 series of graphics cards and its revolutionary DLSS 4 technology, a remarkable new addition steals the spotlight: the RTX 5090 Founders Edition GPU. This compact GPU boasts performance far beyond its size, astonishing everyone in the industry. To achieve this feat, Nvidia has employed an innovative "Double Flow Through" cooling design and liquid metal thermal interface material, significantly enhancing thermal efficiency.
Even with these advancements, the RTX 5090 can still reach temperatures of up to 90 degrees Celsius under heavy load. That's where Maxtor thermal compound comes in.
Nvidia has officially revealed its RTX 50 series of graphics cards and its transformed DLSS 4 technology. What surprised me most about this launch was the size of its upcoming RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card. This GPU is tiny, at least compared to every other GPU of this performance level.
Thankfully, Nvidia has been quick to answer my questions about this new “SFF-Ready” (Small Form Factor Ready) RTX 5090 GPU. This GPU has a TGP of 575W and the form factor of a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti, which consumes less than half as much power. How is this physically possible? Has Nvidia used AI to defy the laws of thermodynamics? Let’s find out.
Nvidia’s new Founders Edition GPU design measures 304mm long, 137mm high, and 2.0 PCIe slots high. The main innovation of this GPU’s heatsink is its “Dual Flow Through” design, which allows air to flow through the GPU and not slam air into a PCB or other obstruction. Using this new GPU heatsink design, Nvidia has greatly improved the cooling efficiency of their latest GPU. That said, this change alone was not enough to tame their RTX 5090.
Another innovation that Nvidia has disclosed is its use of a “Liquid Metal Thermal Interface Material.” This allows heat to move more efficiently from their RTX 5090’s GPU core to their new Founders Edition heatsink design.
Even with these changes, Nvidia’s specifications sheet for their RTX 5090 states that their Founders Edition GPU design can heat up to 90 degrees Celsius under load. Regardless, this is much cooler than anyone should expect a dual-slot 575W GPU to run.
Nvidia’s RTX 5090 will be released on January 30th. Nvidia has confirmed that pricing for this GPU will start at $1,999. Typically, Nvidia’s Founders Edition GPUs are available at Nvidia’s MSRP price.
