Nvidia has gone super granular with its latest information dump of the upcoming RTX 50-series graphics cards. The AI companyβs Blackwell chips have had their die sizes revealed, and while we already knew the RTX 5090 die size was big, we now know just how colossal is this new chip.
Despite this step up in chip size, though, one of the most remarkable features of Nvidiaβs own RTX 5090 FE card is that its PCB and cooler are incredibly small, making the future best graphics card king the smallest in three generations.
GB202 is the internal name for the RTX 5090βs GPU, and it comes in at a size of 750mmΒ². The last time Nvidia had a die this big was back under its Turing architecture in 2018. The TU102, which came to market as the RTX 2080 Ti graphics card, came in at 754mmΒ². Outside of that chip, though, it has never had a larger consumer gaming GPU.
However, the rest of the RTX 5000 series lineup tells a different story.Β Going down the stack, the GB203 (RTX 5080 and 5070 Ti) comes in just a hair smaller than its previous generation counterpart. It is measured at 378mmΒ² versus the 379mmΒ² GPU of used in the RTX 4080, 4080 Super, and 4070 Ti Super.
GB205, which will be found in the RTX 5070, is also smaller than the previous generation. Measuring 263mmΒ², itβs a decent amount smaller than the RTX 4070 and Tiβs die, which comes in at 295mmΒ². Everything is smaller this generation, except the RTX 5090βs die. Thatβs despite Nvidia sticking with TSMCβs 4nm manufacturing process.
However, despite being the biggest die in the stack, the RTX 5090 is one of the smallest flagship reference cards for an Nvidia flagship in some time. At CES 2025, the company claimed that its Founders Edition could fit in a svelt, small form factor, or mini ITX PC case, thanks to a clever flow-through cooler design and tiny PCB.
Nvidia has put the RTX 5090βs guts on a βhigh-density PCBβ. Essentially this packs all the core pieces of the flagship GPU into a tight package and allows Nvidia to build a smaller housing for the card.
Few previous generations havenβt been fit into these small, desk-friendly cases before, with Nvidiaβs own RTX 4090 not living up to its own SFF-Ready programβs requirements. Online, there are plenty of examples of RTX 4090s being crammed inside such cases, but not without some extra effort. This is Nvidiaβs first real attempt to cater to that audience with such a high-end card.
Nvidia launched its SFF Ready program last year, with it aiming to introduce a vetting system for small PC builds that would ensure buyers know if a certain case and card are compatible with each other.
After the CES 2025 reveal of its RTX 5000 series cards, only Nvidiaβs own Founders Edition 5090 is rated for fitting in a small form factor case, with other cards from partners such as MSI, Palit, PNY, and AsusΒ using coolers that are much larger. Instead, compatibility for those manufacturerβs cards so far tops out at the RTX 5080, with a handful of options using this GPU able to squeeze into the SFF-Ready restrictions.
