GALAX GeForce RTX 4090 20th Anniversary GPU Incorporates HDMI Retimer For Long-Distance Signal Integrity

GALAX's GeForce RTX 4090 20th Anniversary GPU comes with a "Signal Enhancement chip" that retains HDMI connectivity over long distances.

The GALAX GeForce RTX 4090 20th Anniversary Edition GPU initially surfaced a few weeks ago, when it was disclosed that the manufacturer would be the first AIB to employ the top-down cooling mechanism, similar to what's found in NVIDIA's Founders Edition designs. The company intends to celebrate its two-decade anniversary in style, with the company showcasing a "distinctive" model of NVIDIA's flagship Ada GPU.

Expanding on the new model, GALAX has now given a closer look at its 20th Anniversary Edition of the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card which adopts a massive quad-slot cooler with a triple-fan configuration.

The front of the card features two fans while the third fan is featured on the backside of the card and pushes air out of the exhaust vents that are located where you would usually find the third fan on a triple fan design. Adopting the "top-down" cooling design, the GPU features a 100mm fan at the back as well, which aids in thermal dissipation, and makes it stand out from others. The card is gigantic, as evident in the pictures, measuring  344m in length with a 60mm thickness.

Moving on to the more interesting bits, it is said that GALAX's 20th-anniversary GeForce RTX 4090 features a "detachable" acrylic board at the front, which does hint that GALAX wants consumers to "play around" with customization on this particular product. Moreover, the use of acrylic enhances the overall look as well, which makes it a win-win.

The backplate of the GALAX GeForce RTX 4090 20th Anniversary Edition GPU features the "20th Anniversary" branding all over, as well as the front of the fans. Moreover, the connector placement by GALAX is something to entice, since it is apparently hidden by a "magnetic cover" that uses a sliding mechanism to reveal the 12VHPWR power connector. Most GPU makers are now adopting their own tricks to hide power connectors on the back of the PCBs and underneath the backplate so we are going to see innovations in this department as we move forward allowing for neater cable management.

Another factor that is intriguing about GALAX's GeForce RTX 4090 20th Anniversary GPU is the use of HDMI Retimer in the form of the "Parade PS8419" chip, the first in the industry. An HDMI Retimer is a chip that improves and stabilizes the transmission of HDMI signals over longer cable lengths or through complex signal pathways, which makes using the GPU through long-distance wires much more effective. Although the consumer use for this particular feature will be limited, The retimer also supports the full HDMI 2.1 bandwidth which has limited functionality on all other 4090 cards.

it is always a plus to see an "innovative" addition to a GPU. If you are someone who has his PC running in a different room and wants to extend a cable connection to say your living room then the retimer chip can definitely be of use as signal integrity could be lost over wide distances.

The PS8419 is an HDMI retimer that removes jitter and fully supports HDMI 2.1 by supporting up to 12Gbps FRL data rates, as well as TMDS™ data rates up to 6Gbps. The device integrates a jitter tolerant FRL/TMDS receiver and a jitter-cleaning retiming transmitter for HDMI repeater applications. It removes both the data and clock jitter and the timing skew between the data and clock channels to deliver a compliant and very low jitter HDMI output.

GALAX hasn't revealed anything about global availability or pricing, but since the GPU is sort of an "exclusive" entrant in the company's overall portfolio, it will definitely be a limited production run, making it a "collector's item". We look forward to seeing how GALAX's 20th-anniversary GeForce RTX 4090 is seen in the industry, but by the looks of it, it is a great addition.

News Sources: GALAX China (Weibo), Product Page