Update 09/14/2022 1:20 pm PT
Later in the day, wxnod (opens in new tab) published images of Lenovo Legion GeForce RTX 4090's cooling system. Indeed, the cooler is as sophisticated as it looks. It features two massive heatsinks with dozens of fins made of anodized aluminum that dissipate heat from 13 heat pipes. To put the number into context, GeForce RTX 3090/3090 Ti graphics boards featured 8 – 10 heat pipes, depending on the model. That said, we can speculate that the upcoming GeForce RTX 4090 indeed has higher power consumption and heat dissipation than the existing Nvidia flagship.
Original Article
As the expected launch date for Nvidia's first GeForce RTX 40-series graphics cards draws nearer — our best graphics cards list is about to get some new entrants — new leaks reveal more details about the latest GPUs. Meanwhile, alleged images of Lenovo's Legion GeForce RTX 4090 have appeared online, with subtle pixilation hiding the model number, but we can just make out a familiar font. The RTX 40-series news is bolstered by alleged specifications also surfacing. All this information comes from unofficial sources, so apply your usual does of skepticism and pull out a salt shaker. Regardless, it looks like Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 is really getting close. We should learn more at the GeForce Beyond event on September 20.
Lenovo Saver Suspected of 4090 New Machine https://t.co/Voqp52nIPN pic.twitter.com/kvSL2RtNwjSeptember 14, 2022
Lenovo's Legion graphics boards are designed primarily with the company's own gaming PCs in mind, but these cards sometimes find their way to retail as well. As Lenovo looks to be getting ready to roll out its Legion gaming rigs with Nvidia's upcoming flagship, one of those systems with a purported GeForce RTX 4090 inside was pictured and those images were published by nga.178.com and then republished by @wxnod.
Based on the most recent leaks of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 specifications by @kopite7kimi and VideoCardz, the board will feature the AD102 graphics processor with 16,384 CUDA cores and operating at up to 2520 MHz, 24GB of 24Gbps GDDR6X memory, and a 450W~660W power consumption. Such extreme power consumption requires a formidable cooling system, something that we see in the images of alleged GeForce RTX 4090 cards.
Elsewhere, there are rumblings of Nvidia releasing two versions of GeForce RTX 4080, one with 12GB and the other with 16GB, but we still have our doubts about the 12GB model. Wouldn't a card with fewer cores and less memory and memory bandwidth make more sense as an RTX 4070?
Rumored Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-Series Specifications
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | GPU | FP32 CUDA Cores | Boost Clock | Memory Configuration | Default TGP | Max TGP |
| GeForce RTX 4090 | AD102 | 16384 | 2520 MHz | 24GB 384-bit 21 GT/s GDDR6X | 450W | 660W |
| GeForce RTX 4080 | AD103 | 9728 | 2505 MHz | 16GB 256-bit 23 GT/s GDDR6X | 340W | 516W |
| GeForce RTX 4080 | AD103 | 7680 | 2610 MHz | 12GB 192-bit 21 GT/s GDDR6X | 285W | 366W |
| GeForce RTX 4070 | AD104 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
Lenovo's supposed Legion GeForce RTX 4090 board features the signature Legion design with straight lines and a grey aluminum shroud, coupled to a triple fan cooling system. The alleged GeForce RTX 4090 marking on board has been pixelized, though we still see that we are dealing with a '90' card, so we cannot guarantee that this is indeed Nvidia's top-of-the-range board. However, there are other signs that we are dealing with something new and not just a rehash of RTX 3090.
The 12+4-pin 12VHPWR auxiliary PCIe Gen5 power connector implies this is a next-generation graphics card, as so far just a few graphics cards with such power plug have been released (e.g., EVGA's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Kingpin, Gigabyte's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Gaming OC 24G, etc.). Meanwhile, some of Lenovo's previous-generation graphics boards used Nvidia's 12-pin power connector, whereas others relied on the proven two 8-pin power plug approach.
Another thing to note about Legion's alleged GeForce RTX 4090 board is the lack of NVLink connectors. Keeping in mind that this card is designed primarily for pre-built PCs, if Lenovo does not plan to offer multi-GPU systems to gamers, there is no need for NVLink connectors. Or perhaps Nvidia is finally taking the last step and ended SLI support completely with Ada? That would be an interesting change, and we've long since stopped recommending dual GPUs for gamers.
Other images published by @wxnod depict a box of Gigabyte's GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with a picture of the board itself on the back of the box. The card looks to feature a massive quad-slot cooling system that is identical to one used by the company's GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Gaming OC 24G. While the package resembles Gigabyte's current style, it has brand-new artwork, which might be an indication that this is indeed intended for Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090.