Introduction

The next generation of graphics cards is here, and we have with us the flagship GeForce RTX 5090! We are halfway into the 2020s, and it's only fitting that 2025 sees NVIDIA introduce the GeForce RTX 50-series, what's more fitting is that a confident NVIDIA launches each new generation of GeForce RTX with its flagship product, working its way down into the value segments. Powered by the new GeForce Blackwell graphics architecture, the RTX 5090 is designed to plow through any and all gaming experiences at 4K Ultra HD, or even 8K resolutions. With average framerates in popular online multiplayer titles expected to be well above 60 FPS at 4K, this is the card to get if you want to play not just at 4K, but also high refresh rates. The RTX 50-series introduces several new technologies, and is designed to yield a leap in energy efficiency. What better way to signal this than the sleek new RTX 5090 Founders Edition, which you'll find 50% thinner than the RTX 4090 Founders Edition, despite having a larger GPU and more memory.



Today, we will unbox the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition card for you, and show you in detail what the card looks like physically. You'll have to wait just a little longer for our comprehensive product review of this card, and its various custom design siblings. While you wait, you can check out our last week's GeForce RTX 50-series Technical Deep-Dive article, where we get into the nuts and bolts of the new GeForce Blackwell graphics architecture, what sets it apart from the Blackwell AI GPU architecture that Tech billionaires are gasping for; and what the various RTX 50-series products NVIDIA is launching in Q1 2025 could be like.

The Founders Edition graphics cards by NVIDIA are a first-party custom design line, it's only a de facto reference-design, because none of NVIDIA's add-in card (AIC) partners can sell the card under their own brand like they used to. You should be able to buy this card directly from the NVIDIA website in select markets, or through select retailers. This card is designed by NVIDIA to set a high bar for design and performance standards—something challenging for the AIC board partners to keep up with.


The GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition knocked on our door in a typical cardboard shipping box which expensive international logistics companies use. We cut it open and found another brown paperboard box in place of the velvety black box past generations of Founders Edition cards came in. This was a bit surprising, because it's the kind of box you'd expect a basic laptop to ship in, with grayscale black prints on a bare paper surface, and a barcode and regulatory label on one of the sides. There is a paper tear-strip like the one you find on the boxes of Apple product. You rip this to find the node "Inspired by Gamers. Enhanced by AI. Built by NVIDIA." The "enhanced by AI" bit is a new addition with this generation, and our technical deep-dive article tells you what's behind this.

Do note the Foxconn sticker here.


The previous generation RTX 4090 Founders Edition came in a much larger box that looked big enough to fit a pair of expensive sneakers. NVIDIA says that this box is 100% plastic-free, including the pull tapes, and is part of its effort to eliminate single use plastics.