MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z Unboxing & Closeup
NVIDIA launched its flagship GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card based on the Blackwell GPU architecture last year in January. The graphics card took the performance capabilities to new heights, and also added various new technologies, including support for next-gen AI capabilities such as Neural Rendering, Neural Shaders, DLSS 4, and DLSS MFG. The latter two technologies have been updated to DLSS 4.5 and MFG6X modes, offering even better image quality and smoother gameplay.
As the software side for Blackwell RTX 50 GPUs continues to improve, so does the hardware, but not from NVIDIA but rather its partners. At CES 2026, NVIDIA's partners unveiled their latest designs for the flagship RTX 5090, & MSI was among them who have worked with NVIDIA in designing what looks like the fastest GeForce RTX 5090 custom model to date.
Today, we will be testing out this model which is part of MSI's iconic Lightning series, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z. This limited model only has 1300 units ever produced and is positioned as an ultra-enthusiast and premium model with pricing way past the MSRP which have already hit $5000 US even on standard models so you can expect paying much more than that for the Lightning. With that said, the MSI 5090 Lightning aims to offer a superb design, going big on the cooling side with an AIO implementation, & a PCB that has already broken several OC world records. Now, it's our time to try out this beast and see just how fast it is versus the Founders Edition that NVIDIA itself designed.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Gaming Graphics Cards
With Blackwell, NVIDIA is going full-on into the AI segment with loads of optimizations & AI-specific accelerators.
The Blackwell GPU does many traditional things which we would expect from a GPU, but simultaneously breaks the barrier when it comes to untraditional GPU operations. To sum up some features:
- New Streaming Multiprocessor (SM)
- New 5th Gen Tensor Cores
- New 4th Gen RT (Ray Tracing) Cores
- AI Management Processor
- Max-Q Mode for Desktops & Laptops
- New GDDR7 High-Performance Memory Subsystem
- New DP2.1b Display Engine & Next-Gen NVENC/NVDEC
NVIDIA GeForce GPU Segment/Tier Prices
| Graphics Segment | 2025 | 2023-2024 | 2022-2023 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2019-2020 | 2018-2019 | 2017-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titan Tier | GeForce RTX 5090 | GeForce RTX 4090 | GeForce RTX 4090 | GeForce RTX 3090 Ti GeForce RTX 3090 | GeForce RTX 3090 | Titan RTX (Turing) | Titan V (Volta) | Titan Xp (Pascal) |
| Price | $1999 US | $1599 US | $1599 US | $1999 US $1499 US | $1499 US | $2499 US | $2999 US | $1199 US |
| Ultra Enthusiast Tier | GeForce RTX 5080 | GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER | GeForce RTX 4080 | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 Ti | GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | GeForce GTX 1080 Ti |
| Price | $999 US | $999 US | $1199 US | $1199 US | $1199 US | $999 US | $999 US | $699 US |
| Enthusiast Tier | GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER | GeForce RTX 4070 Ti | GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB | GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB | GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER | GeForce RTX 2080 | GeForce GTX 1080 |
| Price | $749 US | $799 US | $799 US | $799 US | $699 US | $699 US | $699 US | $549 US |
| High-End Tier | GeForce RTX 5070 | GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER GeForce RTX 4070 | GeForce RTX 4070 GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GeForce RTX 3070 | GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GeForce RTX 3070 | GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER | GeForce RTX 2070 | GeForce GTX 1070 |
| Price | $549 US | $599 $549 | $599 US $499 US | $599 $499 | $599 $499 | $499 US | $499 US | $379 US |
| Mainstream Tier | GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GeForce RTX 4060 | GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GeForce RTX 4060 | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GeForce RTX 2060 GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER GeForce GTX 1660 | GeForce GTX 1060 | GeForce GTX 1060 |
| Price | $429 US $379 US | $449 $299 | $399 US $299 US | $399 US $329 US | $399 US $329 US | $399 US $349 US $279 US $229 US $219 US | $249 US | $249 US |
| Entry Tier | GeForce RTX 5060 | RTX 3050 8 GB RTX 3050 6 GB | RTX 3050 | RTX 3050 | GTX 1650 SUPER GTX 1650 | GTX 1650 SUPER GTX 1650 | GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1050 | GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1050 |
| Price | $299 | $229 $179 | $249 US | $249 US | $159 US $149 US | $159 US $149 US | $139 US $109 US | $139 US $109 US |
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is as high-end as Blackwell gets for gamers. This graphics card is a beast and a powerhouse solution for content creators and gamers alike. NVIDIA has gone to great lengths to design this engineering feat, so let's see what you get for a hefty price of $2000 US, the biggest-ever price bump for a GeForce GPU.
Updated with the new Blackwell GPU architecture, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 GPUs utilize next-gen hardware technologies such as 5th Gen Tensor Cores, new streaming multiprocessor units, and 4th Gen ray tracing cores. The new architecture also supports FP4 algorithms for even faster AI processing capabilities that can be leveraged by technologies such as DLSS 4.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Graphics Card Specifications
Starting with the details, we first have the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, which will be the top GPU of the lineup. The graphics card is expected to feature the PG144/145-SKU30 PCB design and will incorporate the GB202-300-A1 GPU core. The GPU will have 170 SMs enabled out of the total of 192 SMs and will feature 21,760 cores instead of the total of 24,576 cores. This marks an 11.4% reduction, slightly more than the -11.1% reduction of the RTX 4090 versus its full AD102 die.
On the memory side, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 will be a beast with 32 GB of GDDR7 VRAM capacity running across a 512-bit interface. The VRAM will operate at 30 Gbps speeds for up to 1792 GB/s of bandwidth, plus a bigger L3 cache, and new memory compression techniques will also boost the overall bandwidth available to the GPU.
The card will come with a 575W TBP rating, though it should be mentioned that the TBP value shouldn't be compared with actual real-world or gaming power consumption, as that ends much lower. The graphics card will come with the latest technologies, such as PCIe Gen 5.0 support, and also get DisplayPort 2.1b UHBR20 (8K 165Hz) support to utilize those newer QD-OLED panels that are being rolled out.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Graphics Card Performance
In terms of performance, NVIDIA is showing over 2x faster performance for the GeForce RTX 5090 versus the RTX 4090, and that's using DLSS 4 in games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Black Myth Wukong, while standard titles such as Far Cry 6 will feature around a 30-40% uplift while not leveraging DLSS.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Graphics Card Available, Founders Edition & Custom Designs
In terms of design, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition goes for a dual-slot and dual-fan cooling solution, which makes use of a double flow-through design with two intake fans on the front and a very compact nature versus the RTX 4090. The FE model will feature 304mm in length and 137mm in height while leveraging liquid TIM and a 3-layered PCB, a first of its kind for a GeForce GPU. The card will also be available in custom flavors from board partners.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 GPU Specs (Official):
| Graphics Card Name | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Name | Blackwell GB202-300 | Blackwell GB203-400 | Blackwell GB203-300 | Blackwell GB205-300 | Blackwell GB206-300 | Blackwell GB206-250 | Blackwell GB207-300 |
| GPU SMs | 170 | 84 | 70 | 48 | 36 | 30 | 20 |
| GPU Cores | 21760 | 10752 | 8960 | 6144 | 4608 | 3840 | 2560 |
| Clock Speeds | 2017 MHz (Base) 2407 MHz (Boost) | 2295 MHz (Base) 2617 MHz (Boost) | 2295 MHz (Base) 2452 MHz (Boost) | 2325 MHz (Base) 2512 MHz (Boost) | 2407 MHz (Base) 2572 MHz (Boost) | 2280 MHz (Base) 2497 MHz (Boost) | 2317 MHz (Base) 2572 MHz (Boost) |
| Memory Capacity | 32 GB GDDR7 | 16 GB GDDR7 | 16 GB GDDR7 | 12 GB GDDR7 | 8-16 GB GDDR7 | 8 GB GDDR7 | 8 GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 512-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 192-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit |
| Memory Speed | 28 Gbps | 30 Gbps | 28 Gbps | 28 Gbps | 28 Gbps | 28 Gbps | 20 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 1792 GB/s | 960 GB/s | 896 GB/s | 672 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 448 GB/s | 320 GB/s |
| Power Interface | 1 12V-2x6 (16-Pin) | 1 12V-2x6 (16-Pin) | 1 12V-2x6 (16-Pin) | 1 12V-2x6 (16-Pin) | 16-Pin or 8-Pin | 8-Pin | 8-Pin |
| Launch | 30th Jan, 2025 | 30th Jan, 2025 | 20th Feb, 2025 | 4th March, 2025 | 16th April, 2025 | 19th April, 2025 | 1st July, 2025 |
| TBP | 575W | 360W | 300W | 250W | 180W | 145W | 130W |
| Price (MSRP) | $1999 | $999 | $749 | $549 | $379-$429 | $299 | $249 |
The MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z came within a massive package. The one shipped by MSI was a standard cardboard box, which weighed almost 15 kgs, and that housed another box, which was part of the main Lightning packing. That houses three packages: the GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z itself, which comes in the biggest box alongside two smaller boxes that hold the accessories and the graphics card holder.
The packaging has put a large emphasis on the RTX side of things, as the first feature enlisted by AIBs will be NVIDIA Blackwell architecture, Ray Tracing & DLSS support. NVIDIA has bet the future of their gaming GPUs on Ray Tracing support, as these are the first cards to offer support for the new feature. There's also a focus on GeForce.com on each AIB card through which users can download the latest drivers and the GeForce Experience application, which is a must for gamers to access all feature sets of the new cards.
The back of the box is very typical, highlighting the main features and specifications of the cards. The main box offers a unique unboxing experience. Instead of going the traditional route, the box opens up sideways to reveal the GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z sitting in the center in a vertical manner with its massive 360mm AIO cooler sitting right behind it. Right off the bat, MSI is making a statement that this isn't your typical graphics card.
Once again, the sides of the box greet us with the large GeForce RTX branding. There's also the mention of 32 GB GDDR7 (RTX 5090) memory available on the card.
As for the accessories, MSI includes a "Thank You" plate signed by its General Manager, Jeremy Liaw, a Lightning NFC Portal Card along with a keychain, two magnetic stickers, and a miniature version of the MSI 5090 Lightning Z, which is super cool. Underneath these are even more accessories, such as a single 16-pin adapter with four 8-pin connectors, a guidebook, and an anti-sag bracket.
One additional accessory that MSI ships with its GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z graphics card is a graphics card holder, which features a PCIe x16 slot that can be plugged into the motherboard using the pre-equipped PCIe extension cable. This allows users to showcase the graphics card in its full glory, and also makes things easier for testers/overclockers. Definitely a solid add-on from MSI.
After the package is taken care of, I can finally start talking about the card itself. MSI seems to have really outdone itself with the latest Lightning model.
The MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z graphics card itself isn't huge. In fact, the shroud and the main card are very compact. What makes this graphics card massive is the 360mm AIO cooler, which needs the extra space within your PC. So if you're running a 360mm AIO cooler already on your CPU, you will have to ensure that your PC case supports another 360mm radiator to install the RTX 5090 Lightning properly.
So in terms of dimensions alone, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z measures 260x151x61mm for the card itself, while the radiator measures 394x120x56mm. It is a 2.5 slot design, so once again, you will need to ensure a decent amount of space within your PC case.
The first MSI Lightning graphics card was the GTX 260 Lightning, and these custom designs continued to utilize a dual-fan cooling solution until 2013, when MSI introduced the GTX 780 Lightning. MSI went on to launch the 980 Ti Lightning, 1080 Ti Lightning, and the 2080 Ti Lightning. After the four triple-fan variants, MSI is now introducing the first Lightning graphics card with an AIO cooling solution, further elevating its cooling capabilities.
The new MSI Lightning design looks beautiful. It features a glossy front-facing frame, which also embeds the massive 8" LCD, features gold textures on the side skirts, and also comes with a carbon-fiber texture on the backplate. We can also see the full-copper / full-cover coldplate sticking out on the sides, which is a testament to MSI's engineering expertise that they have added to their Lightning graphics cards.
MSI says that the Lightning was forged in Carbon Fiber, making it durable, light, and beautiful. There are also Lightning patterns on the sides, which look great.
The back of the card features a solid metal backplate with carbon fiber textures. This is a continuation from the 2080 Ti Lightning, which also went with a carbon fiber approach. We can also see the Lightning logo and several Lightning patterns on the backplate.
In terms of cooling, MSI has embedded a full-cover coldplate that covers the GPU, VRAM, and MOSFETs, and a next-gen pump that delivers higher pressure and precision-optimized coolant flow.
The fact is that MSI has kind of been showing off its cooling expertise at various tradeshows for quite a while. At Computex, before the RTX 3090 Ti was released, MSI showcased several new cooling solutions, such as a full-coverage baseplate, waterblock, new coolant flow technologies, and improved channeling solutions. They have kept on showcasing advanced thermal solutions at Computex 2024, Computex 2025, and all of that made one thing clear: while MSI was going to use some of that tech in upcoming GPUs for each gen (RTX 30/40/50), the real work was being done for the revival of the Lightning series. MSI also teased quad-fan Lightning models back at CES 2025, though it looks like the AIO cooling solution made it to the final pick for a retail-ready premium offering.
On the sides, you can see the "GeForce RTX" and "Lightning" logos. The sides come with a RGB emitting accent plate with a Lightning design. There's also a faceplate that reads the number of your graphics card. Only 1300 units of the Lightning are ever going to be produced, and we got the 0016 model of this limited card.
The other side exposes the aforementioned cooper baseplate, which looks meaty and gives off that premium feel.
Moving on to the radiator, it comes with a hybrid-fin design in which the fin structure alternates between dense and sparse sections. This creates distinct hot and cold zones that help enhance heat exchange.
As for the cooling fans, these are MSI's latest Lightning fans, which feature a 120mm design and utilize aerodynamic blades (9 blades each). These are designed to ensure maximum pressure and airflow while running really silently. Ofcourse, MSI's 0dB technology is still present, which ensures that the fans don't spin under light workloads or when the temperature doesn't exceed a specific threshold.
The massive 8" LCD looks amazing and offers real-time monitoring of the GPU. It is fully functional, and can also be used as a secondary desktop screen, or you can display GIFs, Pictures. It is the biggest screen that we have seen on a graphics card so far.
The tubing for the graphics card has a good length and features top-notch sleeving. The best part is that the graphics card doesn't require you to plug in extra 4-pin or ARGB connectors for the radiator fans, etc., since all of those are embedded within the sleeve.
I/O on the graphics card sticks with the reference scheme, which includes three Display Port 2.1b & a single HDMI 2.1 port.
There's also a dual-BIOS switch on the card, which comes pre-configured with OC & Extreme modes. The standard OC mode sets the power limit to 800W by default, with clocks boosting up to 2730 MHz, while the Extreme BIOS sets the power limit to 1000W. Users can also increase the maximum boost clocks to 2775 MHz through the MSI Center app. That's a 368 MHz overclock advantage you are getting from just a simple 1-click OC.
There's also a dual-BIOS switch on the card, which comes pre-configured with Silent & Gaming modes. The BIOS doesn't affect the clock profiles but rather affects the maximum power limit, enabling higher fan speeds for better cooling and more stable clocks.
According to MSI, the GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning has been co-developed with NVIDIA, which means that they have the green light to offer the flagship RTX 5090 graphics card with such a top-level PCB that packs 40 VRM phases. The card is officially rated to support up to a 1000W TDP, while XOC BIOS enables up to 2500W. The card packs dual 16-pin connectors and will also come with extreme clock speeds that we've not seen before.
The following is a look at the cooling technologies implemented within the new MSI Lightning graphics cards:
The graphics card is powered by dual 16-pin connectors. Although you can get the card running on a single 16-pin connector, for overclocking, it is recommended to use both power connectors for stable performance.
The good thing is that MSI sent us their brand new MPG Ai1600TS PSU, which comes with their new GPU SafeGuard+ technology, which is compatible with MSI's Afterburner application. With real-time monitoring, the app ensures that the graphics card and its 16-pin connectors are running within the safe limits, and also offers additional protection through features such as GPU power undervolting, etc.
We used the following test system for comparison between the different graphics cards. The latest drivers that were available at the time of testing were used by AMD, Intel & NVIDIA on an updated version of Windows 11. All tested games were patched to the latest version for better performance optimization for NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD GPUs.
WCCFTECH GPU Test Bench (2025):
| CPU | Intel Core i9-13900K @ Default |
|---|---|
| Motherboard | MSI MEG Z790 ACE |
| Video Cards | GALAX RTX 5080 HOF Gaming White MSI GeForce RTX 5080 EXPERT OC ASRock Radeon RX 9070 XT Taichi OC PNY GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Stealth OC GALAX GeForce RTX 5070 1-Click OC MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Gaming Trio OC Colorful GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Battle NX MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Vanguard SOC MSI GeForce RTX 5080 SUPRIM SOC GALAX GeForce RTX 5080 1-Click OC White MSI GeForce RTX 5090 SUPRIM SOC NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 FE Palit GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GamingPro OC NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 FE Colorful GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER BattleAx NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER FE ASRock Radeon RX 7800 XT Phantom Gaming ASUS GeForce RTX 4070 Ti TUF Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 FE NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti FE MSI GeForce RTX 4060 Gaming X ASUS RX 7900 XTX TUF Gaming OC ASRock Radeon RX 7900 XT Phantom Gaming |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB Series 32GB (2 X 16GB) CL38 7200 Mbps |
| Storage | Teamgroup T-Force A440 Pro 2 TB Gen 4 |
| Power Supply | MSI MEG Ai1300P 1300W PSU |
| OS | Windows 11 64-bit (24H2) |
| Drivers | AMD Radeon Adrenalin Edition 25.6.3 NVIDIA GeForce 576.52 WHQL Intel 6913 WHQL |
- All games were tested at 3840x2160 (4K) resolution.
- Image Quality and graphics configurations are provided with each game description.
- The "reference" cards are the stock configs except where mentioned otherwise.
Speed Way
Developed with input from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, and other leading technology companies, Speed Way is an ideal benchmark for comparing the DirectX 12 Ultimate performance of the latest graphics cards. 3DMark Speed Way’s engine is assembled to demonstrate what the latest DirectX API brings to ray-traced gaming, using DirectX Raytracing tier 1.1 for real-time global illumination and ray-traced reflections, coupled with new performance optimizations like Mesh Shaders.
3DMark Speed Way Graphics
Firestrike
Firestrike is running the DX11 API and is still a good measure of GPU scaling performance. In this test, we ran the Extreme and Ultra versions of Firestrike, which run at 1440p and 4K, and recorded the Graphics Score only since the Physics and combined scores are not pertinent to this review.
3DMark Firestrike Extreme Graphics
3DMark Firestrike Ultra Graphics
Time Spy
Time Spy is running the DX12 API, and we used it in the same manner as Firestrike Extreme, where we only recorded the Graphics Score, as the Physics score records the CPU performance and isn't important to the testing we are doing here.
3DMark Time Spy Graphics
3DMark Time Spy Extreme Graphics
Port Royal
Port Royal is another great tool in the 3DMark suite, but this one is 100% targeting Ray Tracing performance. It loads up ray-traced shadows, reflections, and global illumination to tax the performance of the graphics cards that either have hardware-based or software-based ray-tracing support.
3DMark Port Royal Score
3DMark Pure Ray Tracing Feature Test
Doom Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to Earth with the Vulkan-powered IDTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay consistent.
DOOM Eternal (Nightmare)
Red Dead Redemption 2
Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most visually stunning open-world games I've played to date. It is backed up by a rich story set about the protagonist, Arthur Morgan. The game is based on the RAGE engine, which features an insane amount of graphics fidelity but also requires much power to run maxed out. For this test, we set the graphics settings to Ultra with AA turned off.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (4K Maxed)
Wolfenstein: Youngblood
Wolfenstein is back in The New Colossus and features the most fast-paced, gory, and brutal FPS action ever! The game again puts us back in the Nazi-controlled world as BJ Blazkowicz. Set during an alternate future where Nazis won World War II, the game shows that it can be fun and can be brutal to the player and to the enemy, too. Powering the new title is, once again, id Tech 6, which is much acclaimed after the success that DOOM has become. In a way, ID has regained its glorious FPS roots and is slaying with every new title.
Wolfenstein
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 sets you up in a horror thriller between two dimensions and lets you play as two different protagonists, Alan himself and Saga, who once again have to find a way to fix the darkness that erupted in Bright Falls.
Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. The story occurs in Night City, an open world in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customizable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The game uses CD Projekt Red's in-house Red Engine, one of the most visually breathtaking and graphics-intensive engines designed to date.
Alan Wake 2 (Maxed Out / Rasterized)
Atomic Heart
Atomic Heart is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union achieved incredible technological breakthroughs thanks to Dr. Sechenov, who invented a liquid programmable module called Polymer that links robots in a so-called Kollektiv network.
Atomic Heart (Maxed)
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefield titles to date.
Battlefield V (Maxed)
Baldur's Gate III
2023's GOTY is well-deserved of its title. The creation from Larian Studios is a turn-based RPG with gorgeous interiors and exteriors shown through a bird's-eye top-to-bottom view. You can sink countless hours into the game, and if you're a fan of the D&D playstyle, then this epic is just for you.
Baldurs Gate III (Maxed Out)
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. The story occurs in Night City, an open world in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customizable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The game uses CD Projekt Red's in-house Red Engine, which is one of the most visually breathtaking and graphics-intensive engines designed to date.
Cyberpunk 2077 (Maxed Out)
Dead Space (Remake)
Remaking Dead Space was a bold choice, but I would say that the team at EA Motive nailed every bit and piece of this horror classic. The remake makes the USG Ishimura twice as scarily beautiful. The gore, endless corridors of terror, and the void of space all look incredible while the game remains true to its core, to the original Dead Space formula. Modern cards can run the game well, but can also be demanding if you crank the settings to the max with ray tracing enabled.
Dead Space Remake (Ultra / No RT)
Death Stranding
Sam Porter Bridges has delivered one of PS4's most anticipated games to the PC community and opened a new world of possibilities. This was the first game to feature the Decima Engine on PC and unarguably did it the best. Death Stranding may not feature ray tracing effects, but it does showcase that DLSS can be used effectively even when RT isn't around. We tested this one just like in our launch coverage with DLSS enabled.
Death Stranding DLSS/FSR/XeSS (Quality)
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 carries on the open-world racing tradition of the Horizon series. The latest DX12-powered entry is beautifully crafted, amazingly well executed, and a great showcase of DX12 games. We use the benchmark run while having all the settings set to non-dynamic with an uncapped framerate to gather these results.
Forza Horizon 5
Halo Infinite (DX12 Highest)
Next up, we have the latest entry in the Halo franchise, Halo: Infinite, which uses the brand new Slipspace engine (although there are rumors it will be ditched in the future for Unreal Engine) based on the DX12 API. The game rocks some incredible environments for Master Chief to visit on the Halo ring.
Halo Infinite
Hitman III (DX12 Highest Settings)
Hitman III is the highly acclaimed sequel to the 2016 Hitman & 2018 Hitman II, a redesign and reimaging of the game from the ground up. With a focus on stealth gameplay through various missions, the game again lets you play as Agent 47. The game runs on the IO Interactive Glacier 2 engine, which has been updated to deliver amazing visuals and environments on each level while using the DirectX 12 API.
Hitman III
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues Artyom's journey through Russia's nuclear wasteland and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners.
Metro Exodus Extreme Preset
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is the latest in the horror franchise that was wonderfully rekindled with RE7 and onto the RE2 Remake. But now the RE Engine is back and better than ever with Ray Traced Reflections and Lighting that makes the world just come to life, unironically. The game was tested in the center of the village itself with all graphical settings maxed out and with ray tracing enabled.
Resident Evil Village (Maxed)
Resident Evil IV Remake
The remake of the beloved and highly acclaimed Resident Evil IV is here, boasting the latest RE engine, which adds stunning visuals and even better ray tracing effects. The game looks just as incredible as it plays.
Resident Evil 4 Remake (Maxed)
Starfield
Bethesda's latest RPG epic is set in space and takes place across a vast universe, filled with lots of planets to explore. Based on the latest iteration of the Creation Engine, Starfield offers a great amount of visual fidelity, whether you are exploring an abandoned base or just roaming a planet on which you have just set foot.
Starfield (DirectX 12 / Max)
Crysis Remastered (DXVK RT)
Crysis is back with a vengeance to reclaim its title of the graphics crown. The remastered version of the game uses the DX11 API but has Vulkan extensions on top, which enable Vulkan Ray tracing. That's also something that the original game didn't offer. DXVK, along with improved textures and visual effects, leads to higher performance demand, making us question once again, "Can It Run Crysis?"
Crysis Remastered (4K Native RT SMAA2TX)
Doom Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to Earth with the Vulkan-powered IDTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
DOOM Eternal (Nightmare 4K / RT)
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 sets you up in a horror thriller that takes place between two dimensions and lets you play as two different protagonists, Alan himself and Saga, who once again have to find a way to fix the darkness that erupted in Bright Falls.
Alan Wake 2 (Max / PT / No Frame-Gen)
Alan Wake 2 (Max / PT / FSR/DLSS Frame-Gen)
Note - FSR Frame-Gen mod applied across all GPUs. DLSS 3.5 has been applied to RTX 50/40 GPUs.
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefield titles to date.
Battlefield V Raytracing DLSS/FSR (Quality)
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. The story occurs in Night City, an open world in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customizable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The game uses CD Projekt Red's in-house Red Engine, which is one of the most visually breathtaking and graphics-intensive engines designed to date.
Cyberpunk 2077 (Max / PT)
Cyberpunk 2077 (Max / PT / DLSS 3.5 / FSR 3)
Dead Space (Remake)
Remaking Dead Space was a bold choice, but I would say that the team at EA Motive nailed every bit and piece of this horror classic. The remake makes the USG Ishimura twice as scarily beautiful. The gore, the endless corridors of terror, the void of space, all of it looks incredible while the game remains true to its core, to the original Dead Space formula. Modern cards can run the game well, but it can also be demanding if you crank the settings to the max with ray tracing enabled.
Dead Space Remake (Ultra RT / FSR2/DLSS2 Quality)
Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy, as the name suggests, is set in the world of Hogwarts and retains its landscape true to the books and the movies. The game looks visually stunning, although it can be a total hog when running at the highest settings with all visual candy enabled.
Hogwarts Legacy (RT Ultra)
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
The sequel to Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider Raytracing DLSS/FSR/XeSS (Quality)
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues Artyom's journey through Russia's nuclear wasteland and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners.
Metro Exodus Raytracing DLSS (Quality)
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village is the latest in the horror franchise that was wonderfully rekindled with RE7 and onto the RE2 Remake. But now the RE Engine is back and better than ever with Ray Traced Reflections and Lighting that makes the world just come to life, unironically. The game was tested in the center of the village itself with all graphical settings maxed out and with ray tracing enabled.
Resident Evil Village Raytracing (Maxed / RT High / FSR 2 Quality)
Resident Evil IV Remake
The remake of the beloved and highly acclaimed Resident Evil IV is here, boasting the latest RE engine, which adds stunning visuals and even better ray tracing effects. The game looks just as incredible as it plays.
Resident Evil Village Remake (Maxed / RT High / FSR 2 Quality)
Stray (That Cat Game)
Stray is a 2022 adventure game developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactive. The story follows a stray cat who falls into a walled city populated by robots, machines, and mutant bacteria, and sets out to return to the surface with the help of a drone companion, B-12. The game uses Unreal Engine 4, but DX12 Ray tracing can be enabled by adding the "-dx12" extension to the game.
Stray (Maxed With DXR)
No graphics card review is complete without evaluating its temperatures and thermal load. All of the graphics cards that we tested were running their default 'Performance' BIOS, and the results are below:
Temperatures
Fan Noise
I compiled the power consumption results by testing each card under idle and full stress when the card was running games. Each graphics card manufacturer sets a default TDP for the card, which can vary from vendor to vendor depending on the extra clocks or board features they plug into their custom cards. The default TDP for the RTX 5090 is rated at 575W.
Power Consumption
To say that MSI has done a brilliant job with the new Lightning would be an understatement, as it delivers much more. The card has already broken extreme OC world records, and even in our testing, it ended up faster than the already fast RTX 5090 FE model.
So starting with the performance figures, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z graphics card is speedy. It is around 5% faster on average with the standard 800W mode, around 8-10% faster with the Extreme 1000W mode, and with manual overclocking, it yields an impressive 15-25% lead over the RTX 5090 FE. These are seriously impressive figures. The manual OC performance almost makes it a new card, kind of like a 5090 Ti.
MSI has also done a fantastic job with the cooling solution. Sure, it isn't as compact as a standard triple-fan air-cooled model, but the addition of a 360mm AIO design ensures superb temperatures. The card hardly went past 50C even with our manual overclock, when the card was consuming 1000W of power. The AIO cooler also runs very silently, and delivers sub-45 °C temps under standard OC and Extreme Bioses.
Plus, the fact that the card looks amazing with its carbon fiber texture, ARGB Lighting, and the massive 8" LCD, it's a unit, and a powerful one at that. From its expertly crafted design to its marvellous 40-phase PCB solution, MSI has knocked every other RTX 5090 out of the park by a huge margin.
Things we liked about the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z:
- The fastest RTX 5090 Ever Made
- Upto 25% Faster than RTX 5090 FE With Manual OC
- Upto 1000W Extreme Power Limit & 2500W with XOC BIOS
- Gorgeous New Lightning Design
- Beast Cooling with 360mm AIO
- Massive 40-Phase PCB
- No Cable Clutter
- Built for 4K 240Hz gaming monitors
- Designed With Next-Gen Neural Rendering
- Good Raster & RT Improvement
- Next-Gen Blackwell Architecture With Several AI Additions
- Massive 32 GB GDDR7 Memory
- DLSS4 Offers Better Image Quality
- DLSS4 MFG Offers 4x FPS Boost
- Very low noise output with 0db operation
- Next-Gen Video Encode/Decode Engines
- DP2.1b (UHBR20) support
- PCIe Express 5.0 technology
- Added Accessories are a bonus
Things we would have liked about the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z:
- Lower Price Point
- Design that suits compact PCs
- Lower temps for GDDR7 memory
The card will require two 16-pin connectors if you are going for the Extreme Mode or Manual OC, and it utilizes that power well, as showcased in the performance uplifts. While you would be worried about running two 16-pin connectors, MSI has gone a long way in enhancing the safety features for its Lightning series, whether in the MSI Afterburner application or through its new GPU SafeGuard+ technology on its latest AI PSUs.
In terms of pricing, the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z comes in at a shocker, over $6000 US, as seen in Taiwanese markets. This is unfortunately due to the current market situation and not something that MSI itself can control.
With that said, MSI has truly delivered with the GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z graphics card. It's the epitome of excellence, crafted with a powerful PCB, strong cooling, and a beautiful design. And I am happy to see the return of the Lightning series from MSI in such exquisite fashion.
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About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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