An Nvidia graphics card partner in China has created a unique selling point for a custom GeForce RTX 4090, one of the best graphics cards. 51RISC has launched a model with spirit level functionality built into the top bar. The twin green fluid-filled capsules next to the backlit GeForce RTX logo don’t look so much out of place because the style is like two liquid-cooled reservoir tubes, but, of course, on closer inspection, they aren’t have anything to do with liquid cooling.
Beyond the spirit level appeal, the 51RISC design is pleasing enough and mixes Harley Earl and Colonial Marines design flair. However, we could complain that a graphics card that ‘cares’ about being level doesn’t come with any bracket or support in the box. Also, what do you do if you live in a house or room where the floor isn’t level, or your desk is leaning one way or another? In that case, the spirit level bubbles being off-center may be a nagging reminder of the structural flaws of your home.
In other specs from the Aliexpress (opens in new tab) retail page, unearthed by VideoCardz (opens in new tab), you can see this is a pretty middle-of-the-road air-cooled GeForce RTX 4090, with stock GPU, memory spec, and so on. Yes, it is very long and chunky, like all RTX 4090 cards, but at least it remains within three slots of thickness – not edging 3.5 or 4 slots like some competitors.
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So far, so good, and you might think that a relatively unknown brand such as 51RISC would be selling its wares at the cheaper end of the market. It isn’t cheap, though, even for a GeForce RTX 4090, with its price of approx $2,830. Ouch – go and buy a discrete spirit level.
Suppose the undeniable charms of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 attract you. In that case, you are probably better off sifting through the launch roundup of various models from brands we put together in September. We covered all the big brands like Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte and offerings from smaller names like Palit, PNY, and Zotac.