In a fascinating experiment, Jayztwocents pushed the limits of the GIGABYTE RTX 5090 AORUS Master by flashing it with a custom 1000W BIOS, initially designed for the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090. This endeavor not only tests the capabilities of this powerful graphics card but also highlights the growing trend of manually overclocking GPUs to enhance their performance.
GIGABYTE RTX 5090 AORUS Master: Enhanced Performance Through Custom BIOS
The GeForce RTX 5090 typically operates at a default Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 600W. However, for enthusiasts engaging in manual overclocking, the GPU often exceeds this limit under full load. By flashing a custom BIOS, users have the potential to unlock a TDP that surpasses 1000W. Despite the availability of a limited number of custom BIOS options, most are currently tailored for the discontinued Chinese GeForce RTX 5090 D model.
Other models, such as the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 D and the GALAX RTX 5090 HOF, have recently received unofficial BIOS upgrades, enabling them to operate at these higher settings. Notably, the ROG Astral RTX 5090 (non-D) also features a custom 1000W BIOS designed to increase wattage. Jayztwocents has demonstrated that certain modifications can enable this BIOS to work on different graphics card models, including the GIGABYTE RTX 5090 AORUS Master as well as the ZOTAC RTX 5090.
However, this BIOS flash brought about several issues, including the failure of one of the GPU’s fans. Jay resolved this by replacing it with a custom fan for enhanced airflow. Despite his best efforts to run stress tests at 1600W—achievable through the MSI Afterburner’s XOC BIOS settings—the GPU required him to revert to the default 1000W power rating for stable performance.
When operating at stock clock settings, the card could pull up to 800W but yielded only marginal performance improvements. On the other hand, with strategic overclocking, he achieved a 10.3% increase in performance on the 3DMark Port Royal test, landing him in the top 100 global rankings.
Interestingly, simply unlocking the 1000W power limit wasn’t sufficient to ensure enhanced performance for the GIGABYTE card since the BIOS did not automatically adjust core and memory clocks. With additional cooling support from an air conditioning unit and manual overclocking, the GIGABYTE RTX 5090 AORUS Master was able to realize a 10% performance uplift, albeit at a 900W power draw—a substantial increase from its standard TDP.
This custom 1000W BIOS, originally designed for the ASUS Astral RTX 5090, performs well on that device and functions surprisingly effectively even at 1600W. Conversely, the GIGABYTE RTX 5090 AORUS Master utilizes 50A power stages compared to the 80A power stages found on the Astral edition. This discrepancy partially accounts for the AORUS Master’s inability to handle the additional power. Hence, while increasing the power limit may seem promising, it’s important to set realistic performance expectations, as GPUs tend to hit thermal and electrical limits sooner than anticipated.
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