ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIRO Unboxing and Review

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X AMP Extreme AIRO-Highlights

Introduction

As Nvidia’s highly anticipated GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition makes its dazzling debut, gamers and enthusiasts around the world are celebrating its remarkable capabilities. 

This powerhouse of a graphics card effortlessly tackles 4K gaming with Ray-Tracing activated, and its dual AV1 encoders open up new horizons for workstation applications. However, amidst the excitement surrounding Nvidia’s flagship release, it’s the add-in board (AIB) partners who step into the spotlight, each vying to showcase their unique designs, clock speed enhancements, and thermal innovations.

In today’s comprehensive review, our focus shifts to Zotac’s Gaming RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIRO, a tantalizing AIB option that has captured the attention of the gaming community. We embark on a journey to explore how this offering from Zotac compares to the Founders Edition and other available choices. 

Is the Extreme AIRO 4090 GPU a worthy investment, poised to elevate your gaming and creative experiences, or does it make sense to stick with the Founders Edition to keep a tighter grip on your budget? Join us as we delve into the heart of Zotac’s offering and find out if it lives up to the hype in the world of high-performance graphics.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming OC Unboxing

The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming OC is a standout addition to the custom-design RTX 4090 lineup by GIGABYTE, positioned just below the esteemed AORUS Gaming series. 

Setting its sights on delivering exceptional performance and cooling, this card boasts the latest iteration of the IceStorm 3.0 cooling solution. Compared to its predecessor, the RTX 3090 Gaming OC, the cooler is notably thicker and offers a substantially increased surface area. GIGABYTE has also sprinkled premium touches throughout the card, enhancing the overall experience.

When it comes to packaging, GIGABYTE doesn’t disappoint. The RTX 4090 Gaming OC arrives in a two-layered box, with the outer paperboard layer featuring a glossy finish adorned with detailed prints highlighting the card’s key features and specifications. 

Inside, the hard cardboard box unveils two layers of foam, with the top one acting as a protective lid for the lower one. Within the second layer, you’ll find the card itself nestled alongside its accessories, which include an NVIDIA-designed adapter, a height-adjustable support bracket, essential documentation, and a QR code that unlocks extended product warranty when registered with GIGABYTE.

The RTX 4090 Gaming OC is the embodiment of premium aesthetics and functionality. Its matte-finish alloy shroud crowns an extensive aluminum fin-stack heatsink, ensuring optimal heat dissipation. To maintain efficient airflow, three 100 mm fans spin in opposing directions while guiding air in a synchronized manner onto the heatsink. 

This strategic design minimizes turbulence between the fans, contributing to quieter operation and improved cooling. The shroud extends seamlessly into a solid 3-D backplate, providing both structural support and additional cooling benefits.

Display options on the RTX 4090 Gaming OC are comprehensive, featuring three DisplayPorts and an HDMI port for versatile connectivity. 

Power requirements are met through a single 12+4 pin 12VHPWR connector. Moreover, the card incorporates a BIOS switch, allowing users to toggle between two different BIOS profiles. One profile prioritizes quieter operation, albeit at slightly reduced performance, while the other unleashes the card’s full potential. 

It’s worth noting that this graphics card boasts a 4-slot design, making it thicker than the Founders Edition. Measuring 34 cm in length and weighing in at 2.02 kg, the RTX 4090 Gaming OC commands attention with its substantial presence.

Nvidia RTX 4090: Design

The design of Nvidia’s RTX 4090 graphics card marks a significant leap forward in the world of GPU architecture. With the introduction of the RTX 4000 series, Nvidia has ushered in a transformative era, leaving the previous generation RTX 3000 GPUs in the dust. This generational improvement is nothing short of remarkable, underscoring the strides made with the RTX 4090. 

The adoption of the ADA Lovelace architecture is at the heart of these changes, bringing with it substantial enhancements across various aspects, with particular emphasis on the RT Cores and Tensor Cores. These core improvements play a pivotal role in defining the 4090’s capabilities, especially in terms of Ray-Tracing and the intricate processing demands of DLSS, where Nvidia is already on its 3rd and 4th generation designs.

Beyond hardware upgrades, the RTX 4090 benefits from substantial software enhancements that can deliver impressive performance boosts, ranging from 40% to a staggering 70%. 

The evolution of DLSS technology is particularly noteworthy, now capable of rendering frames and predicting them in real-time. This monumental leap in frame generation enhances overall performance, enabling gamers to enjoy high graphical fidelity in titles that traditionally posed challenges. 

Frame Generation represents a groundbreaking innovation, and as it becomes more prevalent in game integration, the prospect of playing titles at higher resolutions becomes increasingly attainable, even for users with lower-end GPUs.

While limitations may persist based on game engines, the future holds promise for widespread adoption of this technology. Ray-Tracing, too, sees notable improvements, with reduced overhead and enhanced global illumination, further elevating visual quality within games. 

The RTX 4000 architecture, exemplified by the RTX 4090, heralds a new era of GPU performance and capabilities, leaving enthusiasts eagerly anticipating what the rest of the 4000 series GPUs have in store. The design of the RTX 4090 stands as a testament to the strides made in both hardware and software, promising unparalleled experiences for gamers and creators alike.

ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090: Hardware

The hardware configuration of the ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 represents a testament to the capabilities of Nvidia’s modern Ada Lovelace architecture, delivering an impressive package that sets the bar high for high-end graphics cards. With a staggering 16,384 cores and a substantial 24GB of GDDR6X memory, all interconnected through a spacious 384-bit bus width, the RTX 4090 ensures blistering performance and an ample pool of memory resources. 

The resulting memory bandwidth of 1,008GB/s paves the way for handling even the most demanding graphical workloads with ease. What’s particularly striking is the shift to a 4nm manufacturing node, enabling Nvidia to pack a remarkable 76.3 billion transistors into the AD102 silicon without increasing the card’s physical size. In fact, the AD102 silicon employed in the RTX 4090 is even smaller than the GA102 silicon found in the RTX 3090 Ti, a testament to the advancements in semiconductor technology.

In terms of clock frequencies, the ZOTAC RTX 4090 flexes its muscles with an impressive starting core clock of 2,235MHz and a boost clock of 2,580MHz. These elevated clock speeds translate into exceptional performance gains, but they also necessitate a higher power draw. 

The RTX 4090 comes equipped with a TDP (thermal design power) of 450W, signifying its substantial power requirements. To meet these demands, the card features a 12+4 pin 12VHPWR connector capable of delivering up to 600W of power when needed, ensuring the RTX 4090 has ample headroom for peak performance.

While the hardware internals of the RTX 4090 are a showcase of cutting-edge technology, Nvidia has maintained consistency on the connectivity front. The card offers three DisplayPort 1.4a ports alongside one HDMI 2.1a port, ensuring compatibility with a wide range of displays and peripherals. With this remarkable hardware foundation, the ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 stands poised to deliver unrivaled gaming and creative performance, embodying the pinnacle of Nvidia’s GPU innovation.

Here’s a rundown of the hardware:

ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 Efficiency and Performance

Efficiency and performance are at the heart of the ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090, and this graphics card demonstrates its prowess most prominently when paired with a 4K monitor. While the RTX 4080 still holds its ground as a commendable choice for gamers who favor QHD gaming monitors with high refresh rates, the RTX 4090 truly comes into its own in the realm of 4K gaming. 

Before delving into gaming performance, it’s essential to shed light on the efficiency improvements that define this generation. Nvidia’s transition to the 4nm manufacturing node represents a pivotal step in this regard, contributing to significantly enhanced efficiency figures. 

The Lovelace architecture, which underpins the RTX 4090, further bolsters these gains. Those intrigued by the architectural intricacies driving these improvements can delve deeper into comprehensive reviews, such as the one for the RTX 4080.

In terms of power consumption, the RTX 4090 exhibits a clear profile. During idle mode, the card draws a modest 35W of power, reflecting a 15W increase compared to its RTX 4080 counterpart. This increment extends to 45W when engaged in video playback, showcasing the card’s versatility for multimedia tasks. However, it’s during gaming sessions that the RTX 4090 truly asserts its prowess, with power consumption comfortably reaching 375W. 

It’s worth noting that this level of power demand necessitates robust power delivery capabilities in your system. At maximum load, the card’s power draw peaks at 465W, emphasizing the importance of having a capable power supply to accommodate its demands.

While it’s crucial to mention that there were reports of the 12VHPWR connector on Founders Edition RTX 4090 units experiencing melting issues, it’s reassuring to note that this concern did not manifest with the Zotac variant. 

The RTX 4090 from Zotac exhibited robust performance and reliability, showcasing that the card is well-prepared to handle the demands of high-end gaming and content creation without compromising on safety. In summary, the ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 strikes an impressive balance between efficiency and performance, particularly excelling in 4K gaming scenarios while demonstrating improved power efficiency thanks to advancements in technology and architecture.

Bagittoday Test System For ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090

4K Gaming (FPS)

Unmatched 4K Gaming Performance (FPS)

The ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 emerges as the undisputed champion when it comes to 4K gaming performance, delivering a level of excellence that sets new standards in the industry. This behemoth of a graphics card outpaces even the formidable RTX 3090 Ti, the pinnacle of Nvidia’s RTX 30 series lineup, with gains exceeding an astonishing 40%. What’s truly remarkable about this achievement is that the RTX 4090 achieves these performance leaps despite launching in early 2022, showcasing its forward-looking capabilities.

Surpassing the RTX 4080

In addition to overshadowing the RTX 3090 Ti, the RTX 4090 also exhibits a substantial 20% performance boost compared to its predecessor, the RTX 4080. This notable performance increase cements its status as a game-changing graphics card, pushing the boundaries of what gamers can expect in the 4K gaming landscape.

Consistent 100+ FPS at 4K

Perhaps the most eye-catching achievement of the RTX 4090 is its ability to consistently deliver over 100 frames per second (FPS) at 4K resolution. This is a remarkable feat that sets it apart from its predecessors and contemporaries alike. Gamers seeking an unparalleled 4K gaming experience, characterized by fluidity and visual excellence, will find the RTX 4090 to be the natural and logical choice.

QHD Gaming (FPS)

QHD Gaming Performance Beyond Overkill

When it comes to QHD gaming, the GeForce RTX 4090 emerges as the embodiment of overkill. The RTX 4080, already an impressive performer in this realm, delivers an exceptional gaming experience. However, the RTX 4090 takes it a step further, showcasing gains of approximately 25% in QHD gaming performance. While the RTX 4080 provides a fantastic balance of performance and visual fidelity at this resolution, the RTX 4090 enters the scene as a true powerhouse, setting new standards for QHD gaming.

4K Ray Tracing

4K Ray Tracing: A Formidable Challenge

When it comes to 4K gaming with ray tracing enabled, there’s no denying that it presents a formidable challenge to any graphics card. 

Enabling ray tracing, with its complex calculations for realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections, traditionally leads to a significant hit in framerates. However, the ZOTAC GEFORCE RTX 4090 rises to this challenge with unwavering confidence, thanks to its arsenal of new cores, redesigned architecture, and the sheer hardware firepower it brings to the table.

The RTX 4090’s Impressive Showcase

The RTX 4090 doesn’t just meet the expectations for 4K ray tracing; it exceeds them. There’s a substantial performance gap between the RTX 4090 and the RTX 3090 Ti in this area as well. What sets the RTX 4090 apart, particularly in titles that harness the power of DLSS 3, is its ability to deliver substantial gains. 

DLSS 3, a groundbreaking feature that utilizes AI to inject frames automatically, plays a pivotal role here. In titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the RTX 4090 demonstrates its prowess by delivering an impressive 92 frames per second (fps) with the new Frame Generation feature, marking a significant increase of 25%.

The Reign of the RTX 4090

Overall, it’s abundantly clear that the RTX 4090 is currently the undisputed champion when it comes to 4K ray tracing. Its unmatched performance and ability to handle ray tracing workloads with remarkable efficiency firmly establish it as the fastest graphics card available on the market. With its superior capabilities, it’s unlikely that this reign will be challenged anytime soon. 

The RTX 4090’s exceptional performance in 4K ray tracing reaffirms its status as a pinnacle of gaming technology, promising gamers an unrivaled and immersive gaming experience that sets the standard for the foreseeable future.

Zotac RTX 4090 graphics card Pros and Cons

RTX 4090 FAQ’s

1. What are the dimensions of the Zotac RTX 4090 graphics card?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 measures 337.4mm in length, 142.9mm in width, and occupies 2.9 slots in your system.

2. How many CUDA cores does the Zotac RTX 4090 feature?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 is equipped with a whopping 16,384 CUDA cores, highlighting its immense computational power.

3. What is the clock speed of the Zotac RTX 4090?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 boasts a base clock speed of 2,235 MHz, ensuring high-performance capabilities.

4. How much memory does the Zotac RTX 4090 come with?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 is equipped with a generous 24GB of video memory, ensuring ample resources for demanding tasks.

5. What is the memory interface of the Zotac RTX 4090?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 boasts a wide 384-bit memory interface, enhancing data throughput and performance.

6. What are the available video outputs on the Zotac RTX 4090?

   The Zotac RTX 4090 offers three DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.1 outputs for connecting to displays and peripherals.