First Look: The Asus ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090 brings Liquid Metal to the 4090.

TAIPEI—Asus’ current Matrix editions of high-end video cards are rare birds. The last GeForce RTX 20 showed its PCB face in the days of the series, and the company kept something secret and limited edition around them. Of course, these high-end cards with a limited customer base are more aspirational than practical for most buyers. You admire a Ferrari, but you buy a Ford.

If you don’t consider yourself a “majority buyer,” then it’s time to be a little impractical…and prepare your wallet for some damage. Asus has teased the Matrix version of Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, dubbed the ROG Matrix GeForce RTX 4090, ahead of Computex 2023’s official launch.

Asus didn’t announce pricing at first, and the assembled press had only a few minutes to shoot the card during a trip to Asus headquarters in Taipei. So let’s get down to the few pixels…

(Credit: John Burke)

Matrix is ​​a liquid cooled RTX 4090 card with the difference of using liquid metal on the GPU die. As Asus reps explained, using liquid metal on a body that’s oriented and can be used in one of several directions presents a challenge like installation. (In contrast, it’s safe to assume that a laptop that uses liquid metal is only used at full tilt, more or less parallel to the desk.) It needs to be “confined” in place to prevent liquid metal from spilling. When it’s hot (obviously a bad thing).

(Credit: John Burke)

As a result, Asus had to apply a special adhesive barrier, visible above and below in these PCB shots, to hold the metal around the GPU as it flows. Also, the PC can mount the card vertically, horizontally, or on its edge. The latter is not uncommon in some small-form cases.

(Credit: John Burke)

This Matrix card is paired with a triple fan radiator using three 120mm fans and the product is pre-assembled and pre-filled, similar to all-in-one liquid coolers you buy for CPUs. It is connected to a 2.5-in wide video card through the drain hoses.

(Credit: John Burke)

The pump mechanism is attached to the PCB. In the outer edge of the card, a strong metal circle makes the card look like art hanging in the frame.

(Credit: John Burke)

(Credit: John Burke)

The card, according to the Republic, should hit the power limit of 600 watts. It should also have the highest GPU boost clock found in the RTX 4090, a claim Asus reps have confirmed with Nvidia. Liquid metal on the GPU, as well as a large copper cooling plate, contribute to this card’s peak performance.

(Credit: John Burke)

The fans on the radiator are daisy-chainable and magnetic. Asus Aura Sync handles lighting adjustments, though we couldn’t see anything but blue on the radiator fans during our brief time with the Matrix. Display-output connectors on the port plane consist of three DisplayPorts and two HDMIs, one more than usual.

(Credit: John Burke)

The card is 28cm long, although Asus recommends 35mm clearance to allow a fairly gentle arch/bend for the liquid cooling tubes. We’ll update this piece with pricing and availability as soon as we can pick it up. In the meantime… admire the view.