Asus revised the liquid metal application on its $4,000 ROG Matrix RTX 5090 cards — der8auer says retail versions come with ‘much more professional’ spread

Share Share by:

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Reddit
• Flipboard

Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google

Last month, reports of Asus’ hyper-expensive ROG Matrix RTX 5090s being recalled started popping up, with the company saying that “product optimizations and enhancements” were in order. At the time, the leading theory pointed toward subpar liquid metal application on the GPU core, as called out by Roman ‘der8bauer’ Hartung, which has now been confirmed in his latest video. He takes the card apart to find a different spread that should hold up much better over time.

After Recall Rumors: ASUS Secretly Changed RTX 5090 Matrix Liquid Metal – YouTube Watch On

The sample variant of this GPU had the liquid metal applied, rather poorly, in an uneven ring shape. It performed fine thermally but appeared as a manual hack job rather than something coming off a production line. These ROG Matrix cards are Asus’ flagship offering for enthusiasts, so perhaps a handmade touch might actually seem more luxurious, but not in this case.

Liquid metal is a competent thermal interface material, but if it leaks from the application area, it can short out the surrounding components, causing havoc in an instant. Therefore, cautionary measures need to be put in place to prevent that from happening. On these recalled cards, Asus did that by adding a new thermal paste pattern around the perimeter of the core.

You may like

• Asus ROG Matrix RTX 5090 shipments halted due to QC issue

• $4,000 Asus ROG Matrix Platinum 5090 already sold out

• Asus tempts fate, unleashes 800W “XOC” vBIOS for its $4,000 ROG Matrix RTX 5090

As you can see above, the liquid metal now essentially hugs the thermal paste on the substrate, with two more lanes of it blocking the metal from ever coming out. There are cutouts in the application to ensure breathability and facilitate thermal expansion when the GPU is actually running. Apart from the thermal paste application, the liquid metal itself behaves a bit differently on this card, too.