Do you enjoy having great graphics? Or maybe just gaming with friends? A new line of electronic computer parts has been released to make your experience as enjoyable as ever! With today’s growing advancements in technology, there have been rapid releases of new GPUs (graphics processing units) recently, especially from the electronics company NVIDIA. With the release of the RTX 30 series GPUs in 2020 and the release of the RTX 40 series in 2022, it is rumored that the all-new 50 series will be released at the end of 2024. This is a brand-new lineup of the best graphics processors for PC gamers and enthusiasts. With the 40 series having DLSS 3.5 AI frame generation powered by NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture, the community is wondering what new features the 50 series cards will have. New versions of DLSS could mean AI is the future of gaming and graphic design as well. Many gamers and enthusiasts alike are itching to get their hands on these new cards, but there is still plenty of time until the new 50 series is released.
How are graphics cards made?
Simply put, graphics cards are rectangular pieces of silicon that have many tantalum and palladium resistors (GPUs are the square-shaped processing chips that go in the center). All NVIDIA graphics cards are made from rare materials like copper, cobalt, tungsten, and boron, which are found in Africa and Southeast Asia. They are conflict-minerals harvested through unjust practices like child enslavement, which is a huge problem. There are many podcasts regarding this issue as well. All GPUs are built with a PCI-E x16 connector for connection to the motherboard, they also have one 8-pin connector for the power supply. When the graphics card is finished, a heatsink is added to draw heat away from the GPU, and an outer “shell” with one or more fans is placed around the inner PCB, and is then sold by many different companies. NVIDIA has their own line of “Founder’s Edition” cards that are sold by NVIDIA themselves rather than companies like Gigabyte and Asus.
Pre-release predictions
The long-anticipated RTX 5090 is rumored to cost anywhere from $1599 to $1999, which is relatively cheap for such a high-end piece of technology. The 5090 has approximately 34% more CUDA cores and is equipped with 33% more (GDDR71) VRAM, ~32 gigabytes, than the 40902. All of this being said the 5090 would most likely be unable to reach its full potential until a new line of processors is released due to CPU bottlenecks. Some would ask if the new 5090 would be able to run high-demand games at high frame rates on maximum graphics settings. According to a local tech expert and Blair Academy graduate (who asked to remain anonymous), the 4090 cannot achieve high frame rates on games like Ark: Survival Ascended with maximum graphics settings even with 24 gigabytes of dedicated VRAM. Due to the release of this new lineup, AMD will most likely release a few new GPUs to keep up with NVIDIA.
GPU Market and Price Growth
The new processors, especially those from NVIDIA, have been growing in value over the past couple of years, with many of the high-end and enthusiast GPUs costing well over $1200. To add to that, the cost of GPUs and other electronic parts has seen a price spike in the past few years due to the COVID-19 outbreak; the pandemic caused material supply to shorten, and thus material prices to skyrocket. This trend is also partially caused by inflation. People are already saving money to purchase the new components as well. Sources show a large increase in GPU market size in the next decade. Also, it is prevalent that NVIDIA’s market share goes up as AMD’s goes down, and vice versa.
The gaming community is very excited to see what new features will appear at the end of 2024. The new 5090 will boast an extraordinary leap in performance over the 4090 and will cost much less as well. It will also feature new advancements in DLSS AI generative technology and may be able to run high graphics on modern AAA titles at over 60 FPS. Nevertheless, the future of gaming is just within the grasp of players across the world because of the hard-work of companies like NVIDIA.
Works Cited
Hayton, Phil. “Everything we know about the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.” Games Radar, 19 March 2024, https://www.gamesradar.com/nvidia-geforce-rtx-5090-everything-we-know/. Accessed 20 March 2024.
Willetts’s, Samuel. “Here’s what to expect from the Nvidia RTX 5090 after new GPU reveal.” PCGamesN, PCGamesN, 19 March 2024, https://www.pcgamesn.com/nvidia/geforce-rtx-5090-tsmc-4n. Accessed 21 March 2024.
