MSI's Liquid-cooled RTX 5090 Is the Ultimate in Desktop GPU Performance
Published: 09-16-2025
The RTX 5090 is the fastest consumer GPU in the world, there’s no arguing that even for a second. However, it’s also the most power-hungry and hot GPU in history. So if you want to integrate this beast into your system, you need to do some serious planning.
However, the engineers at MSI have put their heads together and tackled the problem of the RTX 5090’s appetite. By using an advanced liquid-cooling solution, those mad scientists have finally tamed the beast.
Image Credit: MSI
The Beast of Blackwell
At the heart of the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G SUPRIM LIQUID SOC card lies the Blackwell GB202 GPU. With 21760 CUDA cores, 32GB of GDDR7 at 28Gbps, and a 512-bit bus, there’s hardly any GPU challenge this chip can’t tackle.
We can go on about features like multi-frame generation, and the latest revisions of NVIDIA’s AI and ray-tracing cores, but all you really need to know is that there is no better performing GPU on the consumer market as of this writing. Period.
More importantly, a card like this can push the performance of a stock air-cooled 5090 even more, so it might not be an exaggeration to say that right now this specific card from MSI is the fastest GPU money can buy.
Image Credit: NVIDIA
MSI’s Cooling Solution Unpacked
The card uses a hybrid air and liquid cooling system, with an AIO (All-In-One) design. In other words, some components are cooled the traditional way using air, but the GPU itself is attached to a liquid cooling block, which in turns is hooked up to a radiator for mounting in the case. The whole system is sealed and requires no maintenance.
The radiator is a beefy 360mm unit, and MSI has implemented its high-end Stormforce fans to push air through the fins.
Image Credit: MSI
They Overbuilt This
MSI didn’t just slap a watercooler on a standard 5090 and call it a day. They really hardened components throughout the show. For example, the PCB has a thicker copper layer, which means it can dissipate heat better through the card itself. It also increases long-term reliability.
Better components have been added to filter electrical noise, to handle power distribution, and generally make the card more stable under heavy loads. Even the thermal pads are a special clay-based type, which lets even minor components move heat into the cooling system more efficiently.
Dual BIOS Magic
MSI includes two BIOS options, which allows you to either aggressively target performance, or instead target silent operation at slightly reduced performance. This means you can either use this card to get as much from a 5090 GPU as possible beyond using liquid nitrogen, or you can enjoy the power of a 5090 without the typical hurricane of fan noise.
We are extremely impressed with how much attention to detail and quality design MSI has put into this card, and can’t wait to offer it in our highest-end workstation solution.
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