MSI's RTX 5090 Lightning storms in at a thunderous $5,200 — limited edition GPU shatters everything from world records to your bank account

MSI just announced a lottery for the chance to buy its limited-edition RTX 5090 Lightning GPU in Taiwan. According to the company [machine translated], it will offer 10 users the privilege to purchase its most powerful GPU for NT$165,000, or approximately US$5,220 at the current exchange rate. MSI unveiled this legendary GPU at CES 2026, featuring dual 12V-2x6 connectors that deliver up to 1600 watts of power. This provides such power that the graphics card has already shattered several world records before launch, underscoring the potency of MSI’s top-of-the-line GPUs.

The Lightning GPU isn’t intended to be a mainstream graphics card, even for those with deep pockets, as the company has said it’s limiting production to just 1,300 units. Instead, the more than $5,000 graphics card is designed for overclockers willing to risk thousands of dollars to push CPU and GPU technology to the limit. Still, the specter of exclusivity has got some people wanting to get their hands on the unit, even if they do not intend to push it to its limits.

Although the MSRP on the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning is already a significant chunk of change, it’s still not the most expensive one you can buy, despite being the most powerful one yet. This award goes to the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhabab Edition, which the company made for the Middle Eastern market and is priced from $6,700 to $10,600, depending on the country of sale.

One user even made a custom golden Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090D, but instead of just replacing select parts with gold, they used it on the majority instead, with the GPU’s final weight hitting 7.6kg (16.8 pounds), 5kg or 11 pounds of which is gold (versus the Dhabab Edition’s 6.5g or 0.25 ounces of gold). Although they intended to put it up for sale at a charity auction, a private collector bought it outright for half a million US dollars.

Other high-end RTX 5090 GPUs with eye-watering prices include the Asus ROG Matrix Platinum RTX 5090, with an 800-watt TDP, a nearly $4,000 SRP, and only 1,000 units produced. This graphics card reportedly sold out as soon as it was released, but some buyers encountered quality-control issues. There’s also the upcoming Gigabyte Aorus RTX 5090 Infinity, which is expected to be priced at a premium, although we still do not know when it will arrive.

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