If you’re looking for a new extreme graphics card and you have a big budget, then you might want to consider an NVIDIA RTX 3090. In this guide, we’ve compared some of the best RTX 3090 graphics cards to help you find the right option for your needs.
Even with the release of the new RTX 4090, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is still one of the most powerful gaming GPUs available.
Alongside improvements over 2000-series GPUs in video memory, this Ampere-powered GPU features third-generation tensor cores 2X the throughput with structural sparsity and advanced AI algorithms such as DLSS—offering a phenomenal raytracing (RTX ON) experience.
If you’re looking to bag yourself a new high-end GPU, this guide will explore some of the best RTX 3090 cards on offer right now.
NOTE: For a prebuilt gaming PC option, check out our recommendations for the best RTX 3090 prebuilt gaming PCs.
Table of Contents
– Best RTX 3090 Graphics Cards
1. ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3090 OC (Top Pick)
2. EVGA KINGPIN RTX 3090 HYBRID (AIO Option)
A Quick Look at the Best RTX 3090 Video Cards
Below is a table of our picks for the best RTX 3090 graphics cards currently available.
| | NAME | SPECS | RATING | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOP PICK |  | ASUS ROG Strix OC |
| /10 | |
| w/AIO |  | EVGA KINGPIN HYBRID |
| /10 | |
| CHEAPEST |  | ZOTAC Trinity |
| /10 | |
| COMPACT |  | EVGA XC3 Black |
| /10 |
*If you want to read our full overview on each of the RTX 3090 graphics cards listed above, click on the “Read Review »” and you’ll be taken to our write-up on it.
1. ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3090 OC
Best RTX 3090 for the money
- 1890 MHz Clock Speed
- 24GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Triple Fan Cooling
- 12.5-inches Long
For our top pick, this powerhouse of performance, clock speed, and cooling is the ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3090 OC. This behemoth is ASUS’s flagship card, and it comes with undeniable flagship specs.
As with all RTX 3090s on the market, the ROG STRIX OC comes with 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM. The ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3090 OC packs a whopping 10496 CUDA cores, nearly double the count as compared with NVIDIA’s RTX 3070 GPU.
Also Read: Best RTX 3070 Graphics Cards Right Now
This power is kept in check by ASUS’s beefy triple axial-tech fan design—tuned for maximum air-cooling performance with the center fan configured backwards for airflow. With its 2.9-slot design, ASUS has increased the surface area to give this card even more thermal headroom.
The OC in this card stands for overlock, and with a boost clock speed of 1890MHz, this card truly delivers. You can tweak this card’s performance with ASUS’s excellent GPU Tweak II overclocking tool.
So how does it perform? Its theoretical performance tops 39.67 teraflops, only fractionally behind the EVGA KINGPIN HYBRID for the highest TFLOP count in any RTX 3090 GeForce GPU (and a whopping 4 teraflops ahead of the stock NVIDIA Founders Edition 3090).
According to GPU Monkey, this card churns out an average of 118fps in Battlefield 5 in their 4K benchmark—again only behind the EVGA KINGPIN. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the ROG STRIX OG delivers an average of 95fps in the 4K benchmark. Not bad at all, ASUS!
Overall, this GPU is the second-best performer on the market—but offers the best combination of value and performance—only beaten by the even more pricey EVGA KINGPIN. If you’re looking for one of the best performing GPUs on the market—the ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3090 OC will never disappoint.
2. EVGA KINGPIN RTX 3090 HYBRID
Top RTX 3090 with an AIO cooler
- 1920MHz Clock Speed
- 24GB GDDR6 VRAM
- 360mm AIO Cooler
- 11.9-inches Long
If you’re looking for unrelenting performance, top notch specs and best-in-class cooling, the EVGA KINGPIN HYBRID is the pick for you. Even the name sounds menacing, with EVGA assigning this card with the name of one of the most afeared comic book villains.
It’s a fitting name, as EVGA have made exactly zero compromises with this card. The KINGPIN packs 10496 CUDA Cores and clocking up to a maximum 1920 MHz Boost Clock. As standard, the KINGPIN is powered by 24GB of 19500 MHz GDDR6X VRAM.
This power is kept in check by a massive 360mm AIO cooler—making use of both air cooling with its front fan and featuring an Asetek 360 closed-loop water radiator. This is what allows EVGA to push the Ampere silicon to its absolute limits.
The results are seen in the card’s benchmark performance. Its theoretical compute performance reaches 40.3TFLOPS. This is the highest single-precision FP32 benchmark score seen in any RTX 3090.
Other benchmark results include 119fps in Battlefield 5 4K and 158fps in Shadow of the Tomb Raider’s 4K benchmark.
The EVGA KINGPIN HYBRID is a seriously impressive card. If you’re able to get your hands on this beast, you’ll be handling the most powerful RTX 3090 available. However, that performance comes at a cost—both in price and in availability.
3. ZOTAC RTX 3090 Trinity
The cheapet (lol) RTX 3090 right now
- 1710 MHz Clock Speed
- 24GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Triple Fan Cooling
- 12.5-inches Long
Budget and the RTX 3090 don’t usually fall in the same sentence. But if you’re looking to jump into the RTX 3090 without spending more money on beefy coolers or stock overclocks, the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity 24GB is a great pick.
Coming in at a boost clock of 1695 MHz, and with a CUDA core count of 10496, this card is by no means a slouch. With an impressive triple-fan IceStorm 2.0 Advanced Cooling and Active Fan Control with FREEZE Fan Stop, this card keeps plenty cool for gaming sessions.
For aesthetics, the card features a small RGB logo on the metal backplate, alongside a full RGB logo on the side of the card.
So how does this card perform? In the FP32 single-precision benchmark, the ZOTAC Trinity delivers a theoretical performance of 35.58 TFLOPS—on par with the reference ‘Founders Edition’.
According to GPU Monkey, this card performs an average of 111fps in Battlefield 5’s 4K benchmark. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the ZOTAC Trinity delivers an average of 91fps in the 4K benchmark. You’re not giving up too much performance by saving a couple of bucks.
If you’re looking to save a few bucks but still need the memory and power of the RTX 3090 chip, the ZOTAC Trinity is a great choice. However, if you are looking to save as much as possible without losing extreme performance, it may be worth looking at NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 Ti, 3080, or 3070 cards, instead.
Also Read: RTX 3070 vs 3080: Which NVIDIA GPU is Best for Gaming?
4. EVGA RTX 3090 XC3 Black
A smaller RTX 3090 for compact systems
- 1695 MHz Clock Speed
- 24GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Triple Fan Cooling
- 11.2-inches Long
With the immense power of the RTX 3090, it can be quite difficult to fit these cards in to small form factor systems. While it’s virtually impossible to find an RTX 3090 that is truly small enough for a compact system, there does exist 2 slot RTX 3090 cards for smaller cases. Our pick for a 2-slot RTX 3090 is the EVGA XC3 Black.
Also Read: Powerful Small Form-Factor Gaming PC Builds
EVGA is able to offer such a thin card by foregoing the metal backplate in the ordinary XC3. However, this thinness doesn’t come at too much of a cost for performance. Packing in 10496 CUDA cores, and clocking in at a boost clock of 1695MHz—this card delivers 35.58 TFLOPS.
According to GPU Monkey, the EVGA XC3 BLACK gives 111fps in the Battlefield 4K benchmark. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the average is 91fps at 4K. That’s similar—if not exact—performance to the reference Founders Edition cards, but at a thinner form factor.
If you’re looking for a card to fit your 2-slot case—or if you need some extra headroom for another PCIe expansion card, the EVGA XC3 BLACK is a fantastic pick.
Is an RTX 3090 Right for You?
Well, there you have it, four of the best RTX 3090 graphics cards. It’s important to note that the newer RTX 3090 Ti and RTX 4090 (and soon, the RTX 4080) will offer more power than the RTX 3090. However, they come at a premium and so there is still a case to be made for an RTX 3090 if it lines up with your budget.
Also, if you’re not up for building your own gaming PC, you may want to consider a prebuilt or custom gaming PC to get an RTX 3090. Click on this link to check out our recommedations of the best RTX 3090 gaming desktops.
