Nvidia RTX 4090: It may be time to invest in a personal powerhouse

With each new generation, Nvidia GPUs get performance and the RTX 4090 is no exception. Only, so much power requires a parallel, which is usually done in power consumption.

Announced with an initial total power of 850 watts (TBP), the latest rumors indicate that the AD102 GPU will have 600 watts (even larger) TBP. This represents a further 150 watts increase compared to the RTX 3090 Ti. For its part, the RTX 4080 is expected with 450 watts (or more) of TBP.

Value for basic structure

Apparently, this value is estimated for the basic version of Nvidia. Partners who want to offer a more powerful version may show more TBPs. So, given the 450 watts, the RTX 3090 Ti can go up to 516 watts for the custom model.

Such powers raise two issues. First cooling. Nvidia should stick to fan usage (perhaps with a fourth coming), but rumors are rife about the use of AIO among allies to move to hybrid cooling.

Another problem is the size of the power supply. Such a power outage would require electricity capable of feeding the monster. Many leaks estimate that the RTX 4090 will require 1000 watts of 80+ gold power, adding a large-scale processor to keep up with the GPU (and the rest of the components). Others are not surprised and believe that 1000. 1200 watts of power will be the new standard for next generation hardware.

Workstations do not escape

The next line of professional cards is also expected to be updated with the AD102 GPU. The higher end model RTX L6000 or RTX L8000 should increase its TBP to 320 or 375 watts.

Although it is much smaller than the RTX 4090, it is 25% higher than the previous model.

Obviously, it is better to be cautious with the announced figures, unless the company officially discloses the characteristics. If you plan to switch to the RTX 4000, it seems safer to be mentally prepared to change the PC’s power supply.