ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC Edition Review: 32GB GDDR7 & 4K Gaming Benchmark

Combining quad‑fan cooling, phase‑change thermal pads, and a patented vapor chamber to maintain peak performance under sustained load

Hardware by Katmin on Jun 13, 2025

The world of high-performance graphics cards continues to evolve rapidly due to the demands of both professionals and enthusiasts. Each new generation promises gains in performance, efficiency, and cooling, and manufacturers strive to distinguish their products through innovative designs and feature sets.

The ROG RTX 5090 Astral represents one such effort: a striking example of what can be achieved when cost is no object. We'll go through how well the Astral meets expectations by evaluating its raw gaming performance, temperature, power consumption, and overall value.

ASUS, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, Edition, Review, 32GB GDDR7, 4K Gaming, Benchmark, NoobFeed

ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC Card Overview

I'll begin by noting that at its core, the Astral remains an RTX 5090. We've already explored the capabilities of Nvidia's Founders Edition, so rather than retrace every step of what a 24 GB, 202,400‐streaming‐multiprocessor GPU can deliver, we'll focus on how this custom design compares.

You'll still see smatterings of game benchmarks to ensure the Astral performs in line with what we expect for the series. Still, the real story lies in design, aesthetics, additional features, and, most importantly, cooling performance.

With a factory Boost clock of 2,580 MHz—173 MHz higher than Nvidia's reference 5090—the Astral arrives with a 7% clock‐speed uplift over the Founders Edition. We'll examine what that bump translates to in-frame rates and whether the premium you pay is justified.

What Is ASTRAL?

So, what exactly is the Astral lineup? The most obvious feature is its quad‐fan configuration—the first of its kind in ROG's arsenal. While the front sports three Axial-Tech fans, Asus's engineers added a fourth fan on the rear, claiming that it creates a vertical airflow channel to boost air pressure by up to 20%. In theory, this should reduce hotspots and help the GPU sustain higher boost clocks under load.

Of course, marketing claims abound in GPU introductions, which is why we put the Astral through rigorous testing. My role here is to hold brands accountable, and I'll share whether the 20% air-pressure uplift materializes, how it impacts thermals, and whether any of it translates into real-world performance gains.

ASUS, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, Edition, Review, 32GB GDDR7, 4K Gaming, Benchmark, NoobFeed

ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC's Design

Beyond the unique fan arrangement, Asus highlights several additional thermal innovations. The denser fin stacks enabled by the rear fan, a patented vapor chamber design that preserves pipe integrity, and a MaxContact heat spreader, which claims up to 10% improved thermal efficiency, all promise cooler operating temperatures—up to 10 degrees Celsius lower, according to ASUS.

You'll also find a phase‐change thermal pad, which changes material properties when heated to maintain better contact over time, an elegant solution that should outlast traditional thermal paste. While I'd love to compare two identical cards—one with Asus's thermal pad and one without—that experiment isn't feasible, so we'll have to take their word for it and focus on the observed results.

Interestingly, Asus opts for a more traditional circuit board size here, in contrast to Nvidia's shrunken PCB on the Founders Edition. While I'm not certain why, the choice is unconventional—it seems Nvidia's PCB shrink is about more than aesthetics. Whether it affects electrical performance or stability under overclocking remains an open question.

Aesthetically, the Astral is a showpiece. Industrial yet sleek metal framing, customizable addressable lighting, and dual BIOS switches enable you to toggle between higher performance and quieter operation, providing flexibility if noise or peak clocks are your top priorities. Two additional PWM headers provide extra cooling support, which is particularly handy if you're chasing records or running extreme workloads.

Size, Weight, and Compatibility

However, all of this innovation comes at a price: sheer bulk. The Astral measures 357 mm long, 149 mm tall, and 76 mm thick—approximately a 3.8-slot design—and weighs over 3 kg, nearly double the weight of the Founders Edition. Suppose you're building in a smaller chassis or are concerned about GPU sag; plan accordingly. Asus includes a simple support bracket, but at this tier, you might expect a more robust solution.

If compactness and ease of installation are important, the Founders Edition's dual-slot, lighter design may be a better fit for you. For those driven by absolute performance and cooling headroom, regardless of size, the Astral delivers in spades.

ASUS, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, Edition, Review, 32GB GDDR7, 4K Gaming, Benchmark, NoobFeed

How We Tested

To ensure fairness, our test bench consists of an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, 32 GB of Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5-6000 MHz CL30 memory, and a Gigabyte B650 AORUS Master motherboard, all running the latest operating system updates and Nvidia drivers. Because the 5090 sits squarely in the high-end market, we focus on 4K gaming benchmarks to assess its real-world performance.

Gaming Benchmarks

A Plague Tale: Requiem : In tribute to immersive single-player experiences, we began with A Plague Tale: Requiem. Here, the Astral outpaces the Founders Edition by 8%, a welcome uplift that elevates the already impressive performance baseline. Compared to the previous generation RTX 4090, we now sit 47% ahead, versus the 36% gain seen when upgrading from the RTX 4090 to RTX 5090 Founders.

Black Myth: Wukong : Switching to Black Myth: Wukong, the gap narrows slightly. The Astral delivers a 4% advantage over the reference card, a modest yet sufficient increase that widens the generational gap from 32% to 38% compared to the 4090-based predecessor.

Cyberpunk 2077 : Cyberpunk's demanding engine yields only a 2% frame‐rate increase—an extra two frames per second on average. When you consider the likely price premium, this modest gain feels less compelling.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle : In Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the Astral's advantage drops to just 3%, underscoring that raw clock‐speed overclocks alone don't guarantee proportional gains, especially in titles already pushing triple‐digit frame rates.

Starfield : In Bethesda's sprawling RPG, performance picks up again, with an 8% uplift, matching A Plague Tale's result. Still, for a significant price premium, an 8% gain must be weighed carefully.

ASUS, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, Edition, Review, 32GB GDDR7, 4K Gaming, Benchmark, NoobFeed

Ray Tracing Tests

Black Myth: Wukong RT : Under ray tracing, Black Myth: Wukong achieves a 4% boost, mirroring its rasterization performance. It widens the achievement gap by only 0.1%, which translates to only two additional frames per second.

Cyberpunk 2077 RT : Our worst result came with Cyberpunk's RT mode: the Astral trails the Founders Edition by 4%. Multiple retests confirmed this dip wasn't a fluke, highlighting that a higher factory overclock doesn't always survive the overhead of ray tracing workloads.

Power Consumption and Temperatures

In our hour‑long FurMark stress test, the quad‑fan cooler shines brightest. Neither the GPU core nor the memory junction temperature exceeded 67 degrees Celsius, while fan speeds remained below 1,700 RPM. Compared to the Founder Edition's 72 degrees at a similar noise level, the Astal's thermal performance is undeniably superior.

Moreover, the GPU core maintained roughly 200 MHz of additional clock speed over the reference card throughout testing, confirming that the improved cooling headroom yields tangible frequency gains under sustained load.

Power draw is equally impressive—if you own a sufficiently robust power supply. The Astral averaged 570 watts, peaking at nearly 600 watts in our stress run. This is a monumental requirement; ensure your PSU and case airflow can handle it.

Pricing and Value Proposition

So, how much will this extravagance cost you? The Astral commands $3,359.99—40% more than the Founders Edition. For $8, you get better cooling, clock-speed gains, and a premium build, but with performance uplifts ranging from 28% clock-speed improvements in Vortex mode.

Few bespoke cards offer bleeding-edge performance in this segment, so enthusiasts seeking the absolute fastest speeds may look no further. Yet, for most gamers, the reference card delivers nearly the same performance at a significantly lower price.

ASUS, ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC, Edition, Review, 32GB GDDR7, 4K Gaming, Benchmark, NoobFeed

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, the ROG RTX 5090 Astral embodies excess, offering excessive performance, cooling, and a correspondingly high price. Its quad-fan design and advanced thermal innovations ensure unparalleled temperature control and sustained boost clocks.

However, unless you plan to push the GPU to its absolute limits—through extreme overclocking or continuous heavy workloads—the benefits of a dual‑slot Founders Edition may not justify the added complexity and cost.

Size and power require nearly four slots, and demanding close to a dual-slot Founders Edition, installation and compatibility become serious considerations. If you need a showcase stem with ample room and a high-capacity power supply, the Astral will not disappoint—but it will challenge your budget.

Key-Takeaways

Cost limitations do not limit Asus's engineering skills, as evidenced by the ROG RTX 5090 Astral. By pushing the boundaries of cooling and build quality, it consistently increases clock speed under load. The topic of whether we need boundaries pushed this far is also brought up.

The Founders Edition is still the better option for anyone who respects effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and pragmatism. But suppose you are an enthusiast who refuses to compromise and pursues the ultimate in thermal performance, such as factory overclocking. In that case, the Astral delivers grandly—albeit at a premium that few but the most dedicated will be willing to accept.

Also, check our other hardware articles: