GIGABYTE has just confirmed that a few of its new GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs will be using liquid metal instead of metal composite grease, with the RTX 5090 Xtreme AORUS Waterforce, RTX 5080 AORUS Xtreme Waterforce, and RTX 5090D AORUS Xtreme Waterforce graphics cards.
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In an update to its website, GIGABYTE has explained that the Waterforce-branded cards that come in both AIO and WB (waterblocks for custom-loop water-cooled systems) will feature liquid metal. The regular AORUS Xtreme Waterforce graphics cards come with a 360mm AIO liquid cooler with an integrated pump, while the “WB” variants are designed to work with a custom-loop water-cooled PC.
The company explains on its website that removing the cooler could see performance drops, requiring professional reassembly to get them back to normal working order. GIGABYTE is taking many precautions with its journey into liquid metal, with the process being fully automated to prevent any problems during liquid metal application.
GIGABYTE uses an aerospace-grace PCB coating, UV resin, and a dual-level fence to ensure the utmost safety and durability. GIGABYTE isn’t the only one using liquid metal, with NVIDIA’s new in-house GeForce RTX 50 Founders Edition graphics cards also using liquid metal, with NVIDIA using a special protective frame around the chip itself.
NVIDIA has said that its new GeForce RTX 50 Founders Edition graphics cards are tested under multiple stress tests, including mounting the cards in multiple orientation and scenarios, including graphics card movement and accidentally dropping it, to make sure the liquid metal doesn’t spill and damage your expensive new GPU.
Liquid Metal Models:
- GV-N5090AORUSX W-32GD / GV-N5080AORUSX W-16GD / GV-N509DAORUSX W-32GD
Metal Composite Grease Models:
- GV-N5090AORUS M-32GD / GV-N5090AORUS M-32GD / GV-N5090AORUSM ICE-32GD
- GV-N509DAORUS M-32GD / GV-N509DAORUSM ICE-32GD
- GV-N5080AORUS M-16GD / GV-N5080AORUSM ICE-16GD