ASUS launches new golden RTX graphics card at RTX 5090 prices but not performance

ASUS is known for its premium PC gaming products, with the scuttlebutt throughout the industry being that every product the company releases comes with "ROG Tax" in comparison to its competition.

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While that company's prices are certainly high compared to the competition, they do make some of the best products gamers can get their hands on, dominating multiple categories with innovative and impressively high-end variations of already established, and sometimes brand new product designs. For example, ASUS managed to squeeze an extra 10% performance out of a GeForce RTX 5090 with its 30th anniversary edition card, which also comes with a unique aesthetic and design language that is unlike any other GPU on the market.

There is also the ROG Azoth Extreme Wireless Gaming Keyboard, which we gave an Editor's Choice Award, and the recently reviewed ROG Strix OLED XG27UCDMG gaming monitor. However, sometimes ASUS decides to create a product solely for style points, and while in most cases, you can find a cheaper alternative that offers the same performance, you can't fault the company for providing a stylistic option. Introducing the ROG Astral RTX 5080 16GB Dhahab CORE.

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This newly announced graphics card is a step down from the Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC edition, which featured 6.5 grams of real Gold and was exclusively released in the Middle East region. However, the ASUS website doesn't state that the ROG Astral RTX 5080 features any real gold, leading us to conclude that this GPU doesn't actually have any real gold at all, just gold-painted metal.

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Despite the lack of real gold, the ROG Astral RTX 5080 is priced at nearly the GeForce RTX 5090 MSRP, with a staggering $1,899 price tag. The ROG Astral RTX 5080 price falls just $100 short of the RTX 5090 MSRP for the Founders Edition card, or nearly 90% higher than the MSRP for a stock GeForce RTX 5080 (~$1,000).

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For those interested in shelling out nearly 2x the price for an RTX 5080, you can buy the ROG Astral RTX 5080 from ASUS's website and Micro Center.