ASUS unveiled its latest custom-design graphics card, the ROG MATRIX GeForce RTX 4090, at the 2023 Computex. This top-of-the-line card is designed to be the fastest on the market, featuring the industry's highest factory-overclock for an RTX 4090 and a power limit of 600 W, maxing out the single 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. The card also boasts the strongest VRM solution ever by ASUS for a graphics card to hold this power limit.
The standout feature of this card is its use of liquid metal technology in its cooling solution. ASUS is among the first companies to use a fully automated process to apply and maintain liquid-metal thermal interface material (TIM) for the GPU on an industrial scale. Liquid-metal TIMs offer the highest possible thermal conductivity, but are difficult to apply and maintain due to their electrical conductivity. ASUS innovated a cold-plate design and developed a special multi-layer resin to protect the SMD components on the PCB against being shorted by the liquid-metal. The card is backed by a comprehensive 5-year warranty.
The heat is transferred to the cooling solution, where it is dissipated via a copper water-block, picked up by a high-pressure coolant, and circulated through a 360 mm x 120 mm radiator, ventilated by three ROG MF-12S ARGB high static-pressure fans with discreet wiring. Each fan is driven by a fan-controller on the card's PCB. Due to its elaborate liquid cooling solution, the card is still 3.5 slots thick and requires a case that can accommodate graphics cards at least 35 cm in length.
The PCB of this graphics card has an array of temperature sensors that are individually exposed to software. The card's VRM can detect anomalies in the input power from the 12VHPWR connector on a per-pin basis. The card also features dual-BIOS, with the P-BIOS featuring the 600 W power limit and undisclosed factory-overclock, and the Q-BIOS running it at a more tame 450 W power limit, with lower clock-speeds and a relaxed fan-speed profile.
