Here’s the RTX 5090 you can water chilly without worrying about damaging your $2,000 graphics card

For most, what continues to draw attention to the Nvidia RTX GeForce 5090 Founders Edition graphics card is either its impressive performance or its nearly $2,000 MSRP. But if you’re a true hardware geek, your eyes are only looking at the three-piece circuit board under the hood. This multi-layer PCB is quite a unique piece of hardware design, allowing not only for cleaner signal routing, but also a neat little place for a hot drink.

To be clear, I’m not recommending opening up your extremely pricey GPU and turning its pricey innards into a drinks coaster (although I bet it would look gross). Instead, I suggest you take a look at Printables user jq910’s products and 3D print yourself RTX 5090 FE PCB drink stand (By Graphics card). Even if you don’t own a 3D printer yet, I bet it’s a cheaper craft than opening a two-thousand-dollar card.

All main PCB components are accurately reproduced in 3D printing files. However, jq910 writes that they chose to omit the power connector “because it would get in the way with larger cups and would also make the stand irritating when stacking.” As such, the PCB representation in jq910 is somewhat simplified, and also much flatter than it actually is – otherwise would the selected drink be at the top?

While I can still imagine numerous stories of an already eye-wateringly pricey GPU receiving a hideous gold-plated makeover, there’s something charming about one developer’s whim to turn this card into a socket. The Jq910 version also looks much better than Intel’s attempt at 3D printing for the Panther Lake chip – I mean, just look at it.

It’s just a shame there’s no electronics design to match the Jq910 print files; Imagine plugging in a 5090 PCB socket to keep your drink hot!

For more information on the GPU’s technical specifications, be sure to read Dave’s review of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 FE – and there’s a reason why it’s our top pick for best high-end card. However, there are at least several reasons why this is not the final solution. For one the recent teardown of the Northridge Fix YouTube channel suggests that the Founders Edition RTX 5090 in particular is arduous to repair, at least in part due to its diminutive circuit board. In particular, this version of the GPU has an internal connector that cannot be replaced or sourced if damaged (via Tom’s equipment).

Secondly, if you think the $2,000 asking price is too high anyway, our guide to the best graphics cards has some other suggestions that will be much better for your wallet; currently, the $350 AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is the cheapest graphics card, and the $250 Intel Arc B570 is the most affable card for stricter budgets.

Best graphics card 2025