As the Senior Analyst, Graphics at Tom's Hardware, Jeff Kampman covers everything to do with GPUs, gaming performance, and more. From integrated graphics processors to discrete graphics cards to the hyperscale installations powering our AI future, if it's got a GPU in it, Jeff is on it.\u00a0 ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-13/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Jeffrey Kampman Senior Analyst, Graphics As the Senior Analyst, Graphics at Tom's Hardware, Jeff Kampman covers everything to do with GPUs, gaming performance, and more. From integrated graphics processors to discrete graphics cards to the hyperscale installations powering our AI future, if it's got a GPU in it, Jeff is on it.
JarredWaltonGPU At this price, you might as well just go whole hog and buy and RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition. Sure, it's going to be slower in games because the RAM and GPU don't clock quite as high… but it's only about 80% more money for triple the VRAM! LOL (And yes, I'm being sarcastic… sort of. Really, $5090 for an RTX 5090 is firmly into the land of stupidity as far as I'm concerned.) Reply
Notton So… I guess the 6090 Lightning Z will be $6090? Although, depending on inflation, that might be cheaper than $5090 in 2026. Reply
ezst036 Perhaps they meant the RTX 5090 Fireball Z. :ROFLMAO: Twice the 12VHPWR, twice the chance of burning electronics!!! It's exciting! Reply
redgarl I am sorry, but no matter how good the hardware is, you cannot justify recommending a 5000$ GPU… it is insanity! I would rate this 1.5* / 5*. It is 150% over MSRP! No amount of cooling can justify that. An enthusiast AIO cost 300$ at max… not 3000$! Without taking value as a factor, the review means nothing beside being an advertisement and an encouragement for companies to keep pushing the limit of the market. This behavior should be denounced, not encouraged Jeff! Reply
endocine Not sure where the value proposition is with this, who has that kind of cash that wouldn't just go get a PRO with more VRAM, and who has that kind of cash for a gaming GPU and is willing to spend it on that, must be a very limited market Reply
JayGau endocine said: Not sure where the value proposition is with this, who has that kind of cash that wouldn't just go get a PRO with more VRAM, and who has that kind of cash for a gaming GPU and is willing to spend it on that, must be a very limited market It's a limited edition of 1300 units, so yeah, it's for a limited market by design. Reply
thestryker JarredWaltonGPU said: At this price, you might as well just go whole hog and buy and RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition. Sure, it's going to be slower in games because the RAM and GPU don't clock quite as high… Roman tested one and it's a fair bit faster than the 5090 due to the additional cores so I'm not sure even this Lightning would be faster at their respective stock operation. Reply
ViperThrall thestryker said: Roman tested one and it's a fair bit faster than the 5090 due to the additional cores so I'm not sure even this Lightning would be faster at their respective stock operation. I AGREE….$$$$ For this price just get an RTX Pro 6000. If your running software models or AI programs this would be a much better proposition without the stupid power draw of the Lightning Z. These "Z's" are currently running $7800 for a single card. For a gaming card someone just needs to state emphatically "yahh nooo"… My Pro 6000 cost $8900 and I can work and game with crazy performance in 4K without the crazy power draw of over 800 watts.. Reply
YSCCC the recent PC power draw is going into complete nuts relam, when could devs go back to optimization and not RT the crap out and pumping massive waste heat all over… Reply
Murgler I'm pretty content with my 9070 XT. Thanks, though! Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/msi-geforce-rtx-5090-lightning-z-review#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.