Noctua wants to create a custom GeForce RTX 5090, but there aren't enough chips

A couple of weeks ago, ASUS and Noctua's latest GPU collaboration launched with the release of the ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition. Sporting three of the company's second-generation Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 120mm fans, an advanced vapor chamber, and other high-quality thermal bits and pieces, it's reportedly one of the quietest high-end GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards on the market.

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It's also one of the largest, as putting three Noctua fans on a GPU that you'd typically associate with PC and radiator cooling means that the GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is a big boy. With dimensions of 385x151x80 mm, it's a rare quad-slot GPU. However, it also ships with a generous +115 MHz increase to the Boost Clock, so you're getting overclocked performance.

As a premium and custom GPU with cooling designed in collaboration with Noctua, if you're wondering why ASUS and Noctua didn't team up to create a custom (and near-silent) GeForce RTX 5090, the answer is simple. Getting access to the RTX 5090's GB202 chip is increasingly difficult due to shortages and the insatiable demand for high-end NVIDIA hardware for AI.

Speaking with KitGuru, Noctua's PR and Product Management head Jakob Dellinger said that the company would "love to do a 5090" and that it agrees that pairing the company's cooling and fan technology with a GeForce RTX 5090 "would be a perfect fit." However, due to supply constraints, the company is unable to make this happen. On the plus side, Jakob Dellinger added "at the moment," suggesting a possible future where we do get to see an ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Noctua Edition.

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One of the reasons why GeForce RTX 5090 hardware is difficult to source is that its GB202 chip is also being used in NVIDIA's RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell graphics card for the AI market. AI and data center hardware sell for a lot more than consumer products aimed at the PC gaming market, so NVIDIA is currently split, producing chips for both. That said, a potential ASUS GeForce RTX 5090 Noctua Edition would most likely end up being one of the more expensive custom GPUs on the market, as the ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition is currently priced at around $1500 - a 50% increase over the $999 MSRP.