Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090: Which is the Better GPU?

The Nvidia RTX 5090 is the direct successor of the RTX 4090, with the former priced at $1,999. Here we break down the better GPU.

Picture of Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090 — Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090 (Image via MSI | GIGABYTE)

The Nvidia RTX 5090 is currently the fastest GPU on the market. This title was previously held by its predecessor, the RTX 4090. The new GPU is also significantly more expensive than its predecessor. The question is, how much of a performance uplift does the new RTX 5090 bring over the older RTX 4090, and does it justify the price increase?

These are the questions we plan to answer today, with a detailed assessment of the two GPUs. Read on to learn more.

Contents

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Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090: Detailed Comparison

The Nvidia RTX 5090 is based on the latest Blackwell architecture, while the RTX 4090 is designed on the older Ada Lovelace architecture. The former packs a higher number of shader cores, RT cores, VRAM, and clock speeds, among other features, to deliver higher performance than the latter. Let’s look at their specs to get a better idea of what they are capable of.

Specs Comparison

Picture of GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Master — GIGABYTE AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Master (Image via GIGABYTE)

Here are the specs of the Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 4090:

Specifications	Nvidia RTX 5090	Nvidia RTX 5080
Architecture	Blackwell	Blackwell
Shader cores	21760	16384
RT cores	170	128
TMUs	680	512
ROPs	176	176
Base core clock speeds	2017 MHz	2235 MHz
Boost core clock speeds	2407 MHz	2520 MHz
Memory capacity	32GB GDDR7	24GB GDDR6X
Memory bus width	512-bit	384-bit
Memory bandwidth	1.79 TB/s	1.01 TB/s
Manufacturing node	5nm	5nm
Thermal design power (TDPs)	575W	450W

The specs table confirms the specs bump that the RTX 5090 received. It has more shader cores, TMUs, ROPs, VRAM, memory bandwidth, and memory bus width than the RTX 4090. The power consumption of the new GPU is also significantly higher, and you will probably need a new PSU to handle it.

Performance Comparison

It’s time we put the specs aside and look at the actual performance differences between the Nvidia RTX 5090 and RTX 4090. Here’s how the two GPUs perform in modern titles:

Games	Nvidia RTX 5090	Nvidia RTX 4090
God of War Ragnarok	177 FPS	124 FPS
Cyberpunk 2077 (Path Tracing \| DLSS Quality)	60 FPS	44 FPS
Kingdom Come Deliverance 2	94 FPS	65 FPS
Hogwarts Legacy (RT Ultra)	77 FPS	58 FPS
Red Dead Redemption 2	160 FPS	127 FPS
Black Myth Wukong	62 FPS	47 FPS
Forza Horizon 5	188 FPS	142 FPS
Silent Hill 2 (Hardware RT)	81 FPS	63 FPS
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2	82 FPS	63 FPS
Horizon Forbidden West	125 FPS	96 FPS
Ghost of Tsushima	116 FPS	86 FPS
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (Ultimate RT)	51 FPS	40 FPS

Note: The two GPUs tested here were evaluated at a 4K resolution with High/Ultra Settings, unless otherwise specified. All the FPS numbers were sourced from the Testing Games channel on YouTube. For the tests, the two graphics cards were paired with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU.

According to the benchmarks, the Nvidia RTX 5090 delivers around 33.3% more FPS on average than the RTX 4090. Now, that’s a substantial improvement. In ray-traced titles, the former was once again around 31.2% faster than the latter. The new GPU also has 32GB of VRAM, which is more than what any game will require.

Price Comparison

Picture of MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio — MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio (Image via MSI)

The Nvidia RTX 5090 was launched at $1,999, but it is currently selling for around $2,300 to $2,599 on Amazon. On the other hand, RTX 4090 was launched at $1,599 but was actually sold for around $1,700.

However, its price came down later to its original MSRP of $1,599. If we take the average selling price of both GPUs, the RTX 5090 is around 39% more expensive.

Final Verdict on Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090

The Nvidia RTX 5090 is around 33.3% faster in rasterized titles and 31.2% faster in ray-traced titles than the RTX 4090. The former is the successor, so this performance was kind of expected. However, the RTX 5090 is also around 38% more expensive, which nullifies the performance improvements we expected from this new generation of GPU. Therefore, while the new GPU is the better choice, its pricing diminishes its value.

However, since the RTX 4090 is discontinued and no longer available for sale, you have no choice but to get the RTX 5090 if you want the best possible gaming performance. However, if you want great performance with the best values, you should get the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti instead.

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Nvidia RTX 5090 vs RTX 4090: Which is the Better GPU?