Acer RTX 4090 Predator is hot and loud
Acer demonstrated its brand new RTX 4090 design at Computex, but there was no sign of this model reaching the actual market until now.
KitGuru has an exclusive first review of the Acer Predator RTX 4090 GPU. This is the first high-end model from this company, who only entered the GPU market last year. Worth noting that Acer already offers its Radeon RX 7600 and Arc A770/A750 cards through the DIY market at a really good price. At Computex the company revealed it will also launch Radeon RX 7900 and RTX 4090 designs at some point.
Unfortunately, it appears that RTX 4090 Predator is not available as a standalone product market, rather, this GPU model is locked to gaming prebuilds from Acer. The media have obtained a sample of Predator Orion-X system, who decided to make a separate video specifically about this new graphics card.
The Acer Predator RTX 4090 GPU is a very unique design. We have seen various implementations of hybrid cooling, involving full water blocks and air cooling, or all-in-one liquid solutions with external radiators. The Acer GPU builds upon this concept, but instead of using external components, all parts of the liquid cooling loop are integrated into the card itself. This means that the pump and radiator are actually hidden inside the cooler.
RTX 4090 Predator, Source: KitGuru
The card is a bit smaller than NVIDIA RTX 4090 Founders Edition, it maintains a 3-slot design and dual-fan design. It also requires one 16-pin power connector. The card is a bit lighter though as it features a plastic shroud instead of metal (1.8 vs 2.2 kg). Under the hood the Predator RTX 4090 features 14 phase VRM design and a similar custom board design to the NVIDIA reference design.
According to the reviewer, the heatsink measures 160 mm and 29 mm dimensions with a pump integrated on one side and a power and speed cable that attaches directly to the card and can be measures through GPU-Z.
RTX 4090 Predator, Source: KitGuru
KitGuru have provided a full review of this GPU and compared it to all RTX 4090 that they tested in the past. Worth noting that some data is based on older test system (which is why some charts is grayed out); however, this should have minimal impact on thermal and acoustic data. What immediately stands out was the relatively low clock speed for this GPU, which was the lowest from any RTX 4090 that was tested (2644 MHz vs. 2683 MHz on Founders Edition).
RTX 4090 Predator (GPU Clock), Source: KitGuru
What might have contributed to lower clocks was the thermal design of this unique cooler. Out of all RTX 4090 tested, the Acer Predator model was running at the highest GPU temperature of 75.8°C and 85.0°C hotspot, which is about 10°C worse than most popular air-cooled RTX 4090 models, notes the reviewer. The memory temperature was even worse with Acer card showing the worst results of 96°C, which is 12°C hotter than Founder Edition (thus far the worst model in this particular test), and 30°C hotter than Gaming OC from Gigabyte.
Adding salt to the wound is the acoustic test showing 44 dBa noise level when playing Metro Exodus after 30 minutes. This is the loudest design of RTX 4090 tested by Kitguru. In noise-normalized test, the card encountered thermal throttling and memory temperature above official GDDR6X specs.
RTX 4090 Predator (Temperatures), Source: KitGuru
RTX 4090 Predator (Acoustic test), Source: KitGuru
For such a unique design, those results are very disappointing to say the least. It may explain why the card has never been released for DIY market, despite the first teasers appearing in April. The company could still improve the cooler by using different thermal pads and adding some to the backside, as noted by Kitguru.
The Orion-X PC with RTX 4080 costs $3,799 while RTX 4070 Ti PC can be found for around €2,299. What this means is that Acer has a full lineup of high-end Predator GPUs which might be released at any moment if Acer decides to. For more information, check the full review below.
Source:
[KitGuruTech] Acer’s Custom Liquid-Cooled 4090 – thermals, acoustics & more (5,620 views)
Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
