Need for Speed Unbound (NFS Unbound), the latest entry to the popular genre-defining race sim by EA that launched today, unearthed a problem with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 "Ada" graphics card that cannot be fixed by simply updating the drivers or the game. This is a world-first—never before has a game required a VBIOS update to work around problems.

According to EA, the title exhibits a display flashing/blinking issue on machines powered by the RTX 4090, which requires a firmware update (i.e. video BIOS update). Luckily, this doesn't involve putting your RTX 4090 through a nerve-racking NVFlash manual BIOS update process (not that there's any risk with most RTX 4090 cards shipping with dual-BIOS). NVIDIA has released a fully-automated Firmware Update Tool that can be run from within Windows, which easily updates the video BIOS of the RTX 4090. We confirmed that it is in fact the video BIOS that is being updated (by comparing the VBIOS dumps before and after using the tool).Update Dec 3rd: EA Support has just updated their support recommendation from graphics card VBIOS update to a motherboard BIOS update. "After testing, we've found a solution is to upgrade the motherboard BIOS. Please refer to your motherboard manufacturer's support page to obtain the latest system BIOS," the updated recommendation reads.

More performance for GeForce RTX 4090! With the Eisblock Aurora coolers, Alphacool presents two new, innovative solutions for active water cooling of NVIDIA's Founders Edition as well as MSI Suprim graphics cards.

In order to dissipate the enormous waste heat of this graphics card generation as effectively as possible, numerous optimizations have been made to the water cooler compared to the previous models. The fin structure has been adapted and allows a very effective water flow while simultaneously increasing the cooling surface. The modified jet plate with improved inflow engine ensures optimum distribution of the water on the cooling fins. The fully chrome-plated copper base is resistant to acids, scratches and damage. Additionally, the chrome plating provides homogeneity and shine that cannot be achieved by nickel plating.

Here's the first picture of the PCB of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition. With NVIDIA cancelling the AD104-based GeForce RTX 4080 12 GB, the significantly buffed, AD103-based RTX 4080 16 GB is now referred to as simply the RTX 4080. The picture reveals an asymmetric PCB shape to fit with the Founders Edition dual-axial flow-through design. The card pulls power from a 16-pin ATX 12VHPWR connector, and appears to use roughly a 16-phase VRM. The PCB has many blank VRM phase traces, although just eight memory-chip pads to go with the 256-bit wide GDDR6X memory interface of the AD103 silicon.

The AD103 silicon features a rectangular die, and a fiberglass substrate that looks about the same size as past-generation NVIDIA GPUs with 256-bit wide memory interfaces, such as the GA104. The AD103 GPU is probably pin-compatible with the smaller AD104, at least as far as substrate-size is concerned; so minimal PCB design R&D effort is put into designing the 12 GB and 16 GB variants of the RTX 4080. The RTX 4080 12 GB is now gone, and the AD104 will power --70 classs SKUs with fewer shaders than what would've been the RTX 4080 12 GB. The display output configuration remains the same as the RTX 4090, with three DisplayPort 1.4a, and an HDMI 2.1a. NVIDIA is expected to launch the GeForce RTX 4080 on November 16, priced at USD $1,199 (MSRP).

EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is introducing new water blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Founders Edition graphics cards. The EK-Quantum Vector² FE RTX 4080 D-RGB comes in the form of a water block with a passive backplate and offers two options for the top material. It cools all the critical GPU components, ensuring peak performance and a prolonged lifespan of the card.

The EK-Quantum Vector² FE RTX 4080 is a liquid cooling solution that is actually a set of a Vector² series water block, a black-anodized aluminium backplate, and a custom-made single-slot PCIe bracket - all in a single package. As with the previous 30-series Vector² water blocks, the look is dominated by minimalist straight lines and the backplate coming around the side of the GPU to cover the PCB in its entirety.

It's barely been a day, and the $1600-2000 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 "Ada" graphics card is already out of stock in leading US retailers such as Newegg. Either the inventory was barely large enough to last a day; or the scourge of scalping is back to haunt graphics card buyers. NVIDIA is testing a new way of retail for its GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics cards, which it calls "Verified Priority Access." From the looks of it, this is copied from EVGA ELITE Priority Access program; where you reserve a graphics card purchase regardless of it being in stock, and when the reseller is ready with some stock, you're given a position in a queue, with a limited time window in which to complete your purchase and place the order.

NVIDIA Verified Priority Access (VPA) program is only available in a handful markets, and through participating retailers. These include Best Buy (United States), Scan (United Kingdom), NBB (Germany & Netherlands), and LDLC (France, Italy, and Spain). One big catch with VPA is that you should already be owning a GeForce GTX 10-series, GTX 16-series, RTX 20-series or RTX 30-series graphics card; and be signed in with GeForce Experience. When your position in the purchase queue advances or opens up for you to make the purchase, you will be notified through a pop-up in GeForce Experience, from where you'll be taken to a page by the participating online retailer to buy your card.

NVIDIA and CD Projekt RED (CDPR) came up with a unique giveaway for three GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics cards that have been customized with an ultra-rare Cyberpunk 2077-themed backplate. Even if not for the backplate, just the fact that you could win an RTX 4090 should get you to "dust off" Cyberpunk 2077 from your Steam library, reinstall it with its latest update that includes a crazy graphics present aptly named "overdrive," and explore every nook and corner of Night City for clues leading up to the card. These cards are hidden away as premium gear, and everyone who finds the card in the game stands a chance to win one IRL. For more information, visit this page.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced the wide ranging compatibility of its array of PC components with NVIDIA's newly announced 40-series graphics cards, including the revolutionary RTX 4090. From power supplies able to drive the world's most powerful gaming systems, to stylish and capable gaming cases and a huge array of cooling options and accessories, CORSAIR offers the hardware to power, house, and cool the world's most powerful graphics cards - the way they were meant to be.

The newly announced NVIDIA RTX 4090 promises a huge leap in performance, and the great news for PC enthusiasts is that CORSAIR's existing power supply lineup is already fully compatible with the new NVIDIA 40-series. While the RTX 4090 uses a new 12+4 pin 12VHPWR power connector, all cards will ship with a PCI-e 8-pin power to 12VHPWR adapter. There's no need to wait for future PSUs to support Intel's new ATX 3.0 standard and CORSAIR's power supplies already provide the needed reliability and quality components to support the higher power needs of the next generation of PC hardware. Whether it's an RM1000 that's seen many builds, or a brand new HX1500i, you can depend on your CORSAIR PSU to power your graphics cards into the future.

NVIDIA detailed the design of its GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card in a briefing with us today.While the new Founders Edition looks very similar to the RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition, NVIDIA says it has made several changes to its design. The metal outer frame now comes with a more pronounced gunmetal tinge. The heatsink array underneath has been redesigned to improve airflow between the two fans.

Later today, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will take centerstage at GTC to launch the next-generation GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" graphics cards, in what is expected to be a pre-recorded stream, which may have been filmed earlier. This has been leaked, and we have our first picture of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card. Its design retains the dual-axial flow-through concept introduced with the RTX 30-series Founders Edition cards, where a fan on one side of the card draws in cooler air, passes it through the heatsink, and exhausts with the help of a second fan. There appear to be some refinements to the design of the fan-impellers, The card itself is 3 slots thick, much like the RTX 3090 Ti Founders Edition. The RTX 4080, positioned a notch below this card, was pictured earlier in its anti-static sleeve, and appears to feature an identical board design.

When we first got news about NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 4080 "Ada" coming in 12 GB and 16 GB variants, we knew there was more setting the two apart than just memory size and memory bus-width. Turns out there's a lot more. According to detailed specifications leaked to the web, while the 16 GB variant of the RTX 4080 is based on the same AD103, the second largest chip after the AD102; the 12 GB RTX 4080 is based on the smaller AD104 chip which has a physically narrower memory bus.

It looks like NVIDIA is debuting the RTX 40-series with at least three models—RTX 4090 24 GB, RTX 4080 16 GB, and RTX 4080 12 GB. The RTX 4090 is the top-dog part, with the ASIC code "AD102-300-xx." It's endowed with 16,384 CUDA cores, a boost frequency of up to 2.52 GHz, 24 GB of 21 Gbps GDDR6X memory, and a typical graphics power (TGP) of 450 W, which is "configurable" up to 600 W. The RTX 4080 16 GB is based on the AD103-300-xx" comes with 9,728 CUDA cores, a boost frequency of 2.50 GHz, and 16 GB of 23 Gbps GDDR6X memory across a narrower memory bus than the one the RTX 4090 comes with. This card reportedly has a 340 W TGP configurable up to 516 W.

That NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce "Ada Lovelace" graphics architecture will feature significant increases in board power across the lineup, is widely reported, with the top AD102 silicon as the RTX 3090-successor allegedly drawing over 400 W. All that power drawn converts to heat that needs to be dissipated, and so we'll see proportionately larger cooling solutions. Kopite7kimi, a reliable source with NVIDIA rumors, claims that the reference design AD102 board features three fans.

To be clear, the reference design board is not the same thing as the Founders Edition product. The reference-design is an internal prototype NVIDIA develops the product around, and it rarely makes public appearances. The Founders Edition is a technically a "custom design" card from NVIDIA, that features higher clock speeds than reference, and is known for a high level for industrial design that sets standards for board partners and their custom-designs. We know from a May 2022 rumor and alleged photo leak that the Dual-Axial Flow-through concept of air-based cooling solutions, will make a comeback with Ada Founders Edition cards. and its design appears to have the usual layout of two large fans; unless NVIDIA somehow found room for a third fan. We'll know soon enough.

The RTX 3090 Ti is certainly one of the most powerful graphics cards on the market. But where to put the resulting waste heat? To be able to utilize the full performance of the graphics card, Alphacool introduces the Eisblock Aurora water cooler for GeForce RTX 3090 TI. Fully illuminated with aRGB LEDs, the full-cover copper cooler with acrylic surface and edge design not only looks great, but also impresses with its exceptional cooling performance.

With the optionally available active backplate, also equipped with a complete aRGB LED illumination, the cooling performance can be further increased significantly. The active backplate is also made of copper and additionally cools VRAMs and the GPU through direct contact on the back. It can be integrated into the circuit in parallel via the optionally available MCX adapter or directly via the G1/4 connectors.

Alphacool today presents the Eiswolf 2 All-in-One solution for Geforce RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. The Eiswolf 2 uses the Alphacool 360 mm NexXxoS ST30 full copper radiator. For the fans, we use the 120 mm Alphacool Aurora Rise. The AIO is completed by the Eisblock Aurora water cooler. This not only cools the GPU chip, but actively cools all relevant components such as the memory and VRAM. It also has brilliant aRGB lighting.

All components used (radiator, fan, cooler, DC-LT 2 pump) including fittings and tubing are part of the Alphacool DIY range and are therefore available separately. The combination of all components results in a solution that is as easy to install as an AIO, but offers the performance of a pre-assembled and pre-filled custom loop.

As you're most likely aware of, NVIDIA introduced a new power connector with its RTX 30-series Founders Edition graphics cards and at the time it was something of a controversy, especially as none of its AIB partners went for the connector. As it turned out, the connector was largely accepted by the PCI-SIG, with a few additions which lead to the 12VHPWR connector. The main difference between the two was the addition of a small set of sense connectors, for a 12+4-pin type connector. It has now been confirmed that the 12VHPWR will work with NVIDIA's Founders Edition cards, although this isn't a huge surprise as such, but rather good news for those that happen to own a Founders Edition card and are looking to invest in a new PSU.

However, what's more interesting in the news about the 12VHPWR connector is that it will operate in two distinct modes. If the 4-pin sense connector isn't connected to the GPU, the PSU will only deliver 450 Watts to the GPU, presumably as some kind of safety precaution. On the other hand, if the sense connector is used, the same cable can deliver up to 600 Watts, which would allow for a combined card power draw of up to 675 Watts for next generation GPUs. It's possible that we'll see cards with multiple power thresholds that will be negotiated on the fly with the PSU and we might also see PSU's that can force a lower power state of the GPU in case the overall system load gets too high. It'll be interesting to see what the new standard delivers, since so far not a lot of details have been released with regards to how the sense function works in detail.

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is proud to unveil its Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Founders Edition graphics card. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3070 Ti D-RGB comes in two versions - Silver and Black, both featuring the aluminium outer shell and backplate in the same color, as well as the Plexi window and terminal illuminated with addressable D-RGB LEDs.

This water block comes with multiple ports, allowing great versatility. The performance is one of the key elements of the design, which is why this block features a 30% larger fin area compared to other water blocks from the Vector family.

Alphacool today presents the Eiswolf 2 All-in-One solution for GeForce RTX 3080 NVIDIA Founders Edition and Radeon RX 6800/6800XT MSI Gaming X Trio graphics cards. The Eiswolf 2 uses the Alphacool 360 mm NexXxoS ST30 full copper radiator. For the fans, we use the 120 mm Alphacool Aurora Rise. The AIO is completed by the Eisblock Aurora water cooler. This not only cools the GPU chip, but actively cools all relevant components such as the memory and VRAM. It also has brilliant aRGB lighting.

All components used (radiator, fan, cooler, DC-LT 2 pump) including fittings and tubing are part of the Alphacool DIY range and are therefore available separately. The combination of all components results in a solution that is as easy to install as an AIO, but offers the performance of a pre-assembled and pre-filled custom loop.

EK, is proud to show off its Full-Metal Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 and 3090 - Full Metal water blocks come in the more popular Black color, featuring a black, completely metal enclosure with a nickel-plated brass terminal. These water blocks come with two types of connection terminals, offering versatility in tube routing. The performance is one of the key elements of the design, which is why this block features a 30% larger fin area compared to other water blocks from the Vector family.

The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 D-RGB water block enclosure is the most complex GPU cooling solution developed by EK to date. Aside from the small form factor and unique shape of these PCBs, EK has built a hybrid cooling solution for the backplate that is so far unique to the EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 water blocks and their backplates.

Bitspower today unveiled a pair of innovative liquid-cooling products for high-end graphics cards. First up is the premium Mobius water block for the GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition; and next up, is the X-TEND Backplate for ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 series. The Mobius (model number: BPPRE-VG3090FEID) takes advantage of the compact PCB of the RTX 3090 FE to give you a compact 2-slot solution, with the plumbing located at its tail-end, rather than along the top (where NVIDIA's fancy 12-pin power connector is located). The block uses nickel-plated copper as its main material, with a chunky tinted acrylic top that's wrapped around by an alloy scaffolding that attempts to resemble NVIDIA's original product design. The top is studded with addressable-RGB LEDs.

The X-TEND Backplate for ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 is an interesting product. It's a backplate that features a small water block that pulls heat from the GDDR6X memory chips located at the reverse side of the PCB, as well as heat from right behind the GPU. A distributor is included, so you can share coolant with your main water block that's on the obverse side of the PCB. Barring the centrally-located water block, the X-TEND is made mainly of acrylic, with a PE-film cover, and is studded with addressable RGB LEDs. The Mobius for RTX 3090 FE is priced at USD $425, while the X-TEND liquid-cooled backplate for the ROG Strix RTX 3090, is priced at $198.

EK, is launching separate backplates for the Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks that were made for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Founders Edition graphics cards. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 and 3090 Backplates are available stand-alone due to many requests by users who wanted to make their blocks in one color instead of having a contrasting silver backplate on a black version of the water block and vice-versa.

This backplate provides additional passive cooling for the GPU core and the backside of the printed circuit board VRM section. Due to the small size of the card and the block itself, the ribbed backplate boasts an increased surface area for additional passive cooling power. It comes in anodized aluminium with a silver or black finish. The silver version is intended for the silver EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 water block, to make it an all-around silver enclosure, just as the black backplate is intended for the black EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 water block. By replacing the stock backplate with one of a different color, you get a truly monochromatic look.

Bitspower today introduced its Classic full-coverage water-block for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Founders Edition (model: BP-VG3070FE). The block also works with the RTX 3060 Ti Founders Edition, which shares its PCB with the RTX 3070 FE. A simple boxy shape defines this block, which is exactly 17.14 cm long, aligning with the short reference PCB of the RTX 3070 FE. Nickel-plated copper is the primary material, capped off with a clear acrylic top that's studded with addressable RGB LEDs. A matching aluminium backplate comes included with the block, as are thermal pads for the memory and VRM. The block measures 171.4 mm x 125 mm x 28.4 mm (LxWxH), and comes with G 1/4" threads for your fittings. Available now, the BP-VG3070FE is priced at USD $175.

NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card is likely to feature a hardware hash-rate limiter, much like the recently launched RTX 3060, according to kopite7kimi, a reliable source for NVIDIA rumors. The hash-rate limiter ensures that that crypto-currency mining performance of the card is significantly lower than what its hardware is capable of, so it doesn't remain viable for miners. The limiter works through a secure key exchange between the video BIOS, system firmware, and the driver; so driver-level modifications wouldn't affect it.

The RTX 3080 Ti is being launched to fill the large price-performance gorge between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3090. Its rumored specifications wildly swing between a 12 GB memory setup maxing out the 384-bit memory interface of the "GA102" silicon; and 20 GB of it across a narrower 320-bit wide interface. The card allegedly features 80 out of 84 streaming multiprocessors (40 out of 42 TPCs) enabled, working out to 10,240 CUDA cores, 80 RT cores, and 320 Tensor cores. Below is a picture of the RTX 3090 Founders Edition.

NVIDIA GeForce GPUs feature hotspot temperature measurement akin to AMD Radeon ones, according to an investigative report by Igor's Lab. A beta version of HWInfo already supports hotspot measurement. As its name suggests, the hotspot is the hottest spot on the GPU, measured from a network of thermal sensors across the GPU die, unlike conventional "GPU Temperature" sensors, which reads off a single physical location of the GPU die. AMD refers to this static sensor as "Edge temperature." In some cases, the reported temperature of this sensor could differ from the hotspot by as much as 20°C, which underscores the importance of hotspot. The sensor with the highest temperature measurement becomes the hotspot.

GPU manufacturers rarely disclose the physical locations of on-die thermal sensors, but during the AMD Radeon VII, we got a rare glimpse at this, in a company slide, with the sensors being located near components that can get the hottest, such as the compute units (pictured below). Igor's Lab put out measurements of the deviation between the hotspot and "GPU temperature" sensors on a GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition card. There's a much narrower deviation between the two (between 11-14°C), and than the one between hotspot and Edge temperature on an MSI Radeon RX 6800 XT Gaming X Trio (which posts a 12-20°C difference).

According to the findings of Igor's Lab and Andreas Schilling from HardwareLuxx, we have information that NVIDIA is no longer listing its GeForce RTX 30 series graphics cards in the Europe shop. NVIDIA website has a special section where the company lists all the available cards, and it represented a way to get the newest 3000 series Ampere graphics cards at MSRP. However, that seems to no longer be the case. NVIDIA has removed all the Ampere Founders Edition graphics cards from the European stores with Poland representing an exception with RTX 3090 listed. The company continues to list these cards at the US store version, however, the links are all redirecting to BestBuy, in the same manner as before. It is not clear why NVIDIA is no longer listing Founders Edition cards in Europe, and we are waiting for more information to report on. Below you can check out the Poland store, UK store, and US store, in order.

Update 13:10 UTC: NVIDIA did not remove these cards manually, but it was a technical error. Cards are now listed again on the storefronts.

EK, the leading computer cooling solutions provider, is proud to finally unveil its Special Edition high-performance GPU water blocks for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Founders Edition graphics card. The EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3090 D-RGB, just like the 3080 model, comes in two versions - Silver and Black, both featuring stark contrasts between the aluminium outer shell and backplate, as well as the Plexi window and terminal illuminated with addressable D-RGB LEDs.

These water blocks come with two types of connection terminals, offering unrivaled versatility. The performance is one of the key elements of the design, which is why this block features a 30% larger fin area compared to other water blocks from the Vector family.

Alphacool presents a new Eisblock Aurora Acryl GPX-N cooler for the RTX 3070 Founders Edition graphics cards. The block offers outstanding cooling performance thanks to the full cover design. The new backplate, which is included with the coolers, also contributes to this. This stabilizes the graphics card and ensures an even contact pressure of the cooler. The cold plates are made of solid nickel-plated copper. The coolers cover all relevant components such as voltage converters and the graphics memory.