Talha Amjad
As opposed to the manufacturer’s Aorus brand which targets gamers, Aero is primarily aimed at content creators. For motherboards, this might entail the addition of a Thunderbolt interface but it makes very little difference when it comes to the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Aero OC and other graphics cards.
What might be more important to PC builders is the white and silvery theme of the product, because the Aero OC is more or less a white version of the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Gaming OC.
As such this card competes with other, similarly-priced air-cooled RTX 4090 variants, such as Gigabyte’s own Gaming OC or Aorus Master, or the Asus TUF RTX 4090. On the AMD side, there are no competitors with the same performance, the closest one being AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX cards like the XFX Speedster Merc 310 RX 7900 XTX or Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse.
Specifications
| Specifications | Gigabyte RTX 4090 Aero OC | Gigabyte Gaming RTX 4090 OC | Gigabyte RTX 4090 Windforce V2 | Nvidia RTX 4090 Founders Edition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | AD102 | AD102 | AD102 | AD102 |
| Shading Units | 16384 | 16384 | 16384 | 16384 |
| GPU Clock: Base/Boost | 2235 MHz / 2535 MHz | 2235 MHz / 2535 MHz | 2235 MHz / 2520 MHz | 2235 MHz / 2520 MHz |
| FP32 Theoretical Performance | 83.07 TFLOPS | 83.07 TFLOPS | 82.58 TFLOPS | 82.58 TFLOPS |
| Dual BIOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Memory Configuration | 24 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6X | 24 GB GDDR6X |
| Memory Clock (Effective) | 1313 MHz (21 Gbps) | 1313 MHz (21 Gbps) | 1313 MHz (21 Gbps) | 1313 MHz (21 Gbps) |
| Memory Bandwidth (Bus Width) | 1,008 GB/s (384-bit) | 1,008 GB/s (384-bit) | 1,008 GB/s (384-bit) | 1,008 GB/s (384-bit) |
| Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |
| TDP | 450 Watt | 450 Watt | 450 Watt | 450 Watt |
| Recommended Power Supply | 1000 Watt | 1000 Watt | 850 Watt | 850 Watt |
| PCIe Power Connectors | 1x 16-pin | 1x 16-pin | 1x 16-pin | 1x 16-pin |
| Slots | 3.7-Slot | 3.7-Slot | 3-Slot | 3.1-Slot |
| Dimensions (Length/Width/Height) | 342 mm (13.5 in) 150 mm (5.9 in) 75 mm (3 in) | 340 mm (13.4 in) 150 mm (5.9 in) 75 mm (3 in) | 331 mm (13 in) 136 mm (5.4 in) 56 mm (2.2 in) | 304 mm (12 in) 137 mm (5.4 in) 61 mm (2.4 in) |
Gigabyte offers a full lineup of cards based on Nvidia’s flagship GPU from the Ada Lovelace architecture, the RTX 4090. Other than the Aero OC model, there are also two varieties of the RTX 4090 Gigabyte Windforce, Gaming OC, Aorus Master, and the water-cooled Aorus Extreme Waterforce.
Like all other cards with the same GPU, the Gigabyte RTX 4090 AERO OC 24G features 16384 CUDA cores, 512 Tensor Cores, and 128 RT Cores. The Tensor Cores enable DLSS 3.0 AI image upscaling for improved performance in games that support the feature, while the RT cores enable ray tracing.
There is also 24GB of GDDR6X VRAM that runs at 21 Gbps via a 384-bit memory interface. It requires a single 16-pin power connector, and Gigabyte recommends a 1000 W power supply unit (PSU). An adaptor is included in the box for older PSUs. For video output, you get a single HDMI 2.1 port and three DisplayPort 1.4 ports.
The card’s boost clock is identical to the Gaming OC model and it also shares mostly the same dimensions. However, the cooler comes in white with silver accents, making it ideal for an all-white PC setup.
Design
The triple-fan cooler on the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Aero OC features a fan in the middle that spins in the opposite direction compared to the others – a common solution to reduce turbulence and increase airflow. Gigabyte uses graphene nano lubricant for the fans, which supposedly increases their lifespan.
Additionally, the graphics card has a backplate with a cutout that increases airflow and adds rigidity to the board. The large form factor also houses a vapor chamber and a large heatsink with 10 copper heat pipes to keep the thermals in check. Gigabyte does include a support bracket with the card to support it and prevent GPU sag.
There is minimal RGB lighting on the graphics card, which is reasonable as the intended audience is unlikely to be interested in colorful effects. The RGB-lit logo can nevertheless be controlled via GIgabyte’s software if you want to sync it with your other PC parts. It also has a BIOS switch that allows you to switch between OC and Silent modes. This does not boost performance, but it does tweak the speed of the fans.
Reviews
No reviews of the Gigabyte RTX 4090 Aero OC were available at the time of writing. For now, prospective buyers might be interested in reviews of the Gaming OC model, which is very similar.
