GeForce RTX 5090 SE rumour raises more questions than answers after closer inspection

Apparently, the CES 2027-bound GeForce RTX 50 Super refresh isn't the only GPU Nvidia has lined up. A new rumour  from GameGPU claims Nvidia is preparing to expand its Blackwell desktop graphics lineup with the GeForce RTX 5090 SE. As its name implies, it sits between the GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090-essentially undercutting the putative RTX 5080 Super.

According to the leak from GameGPU, the GeForce RTX 5090 SE will use a cut-down GB202 die with 14,080 CUDA cores, 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 384-bit memory bus, a 500 W TGP and a suggested retail price of US$1,500. This is said to replace the non-existent GeForce RTX 5080 Ti. In contrast, the RTX 5080 Super is slated to arrive with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus.

The alleged RTX 5090 SE, however, raises immediate questions. For starters, a 384-bit memory interface requires twelve 32-bit memory channels. Using present-day 2 GB GDDR7 memory packages yields a total of 24 GB of VRAM, while newer 3 GB packages, the ones that Nvidia plans to use on the RTX 50 Super refresh, would increase capacity to 36 GB. That scenario also creates another problem: a 36 GB RTX 5090 SE would end up with more VRAM than the 32 GB RTX 5090, an unusual hierarchy for what is clearly a lower-tier SKU.

Furthermore, the RTX 5090 SE would represent an entirely new naming convention while also sitting awkwardly between the flagship RTX 5090 and the considerably cheaper RTX 5080. Given that the GB202 GPU already powers the RTX 5090, a cut-down variant would more naturally fit under RTX 5080 Ti or RTX 5080 Super branding.

The RTX 5090 SE can technically exist, but will Nvidia actually make one?

That said, Nvidia has been known to throw in odd letters or two in product names. The RTX 5090D and RTX 5090D V2 (formerly known as RTX 5090DD) are China-only SKUs that are essentially weaker RTX 5090 variants. Therefore, it is not entirely implausible for an RTX 5090 SE to launch as a region-specific card, but its specs will probably be different from the ones listed above.

Furthermore, Nvidia is no stranger to mixing and matching memory modules, as confirmed by the GTX 550 Ti, which paired one 512 MB chip with two 256 MB chips to reach 1 GB on a 192-bit interface. In the GeForce RTX 5090 SE's case, it will need eight 3 GB and four 2 GB GDDR7 modules to get 32 GB of VRAM on a 384-bit bus. The question is, however, whether Nvidia will go through the trouble of designing such a GPU for the GeForce segment. Only time will tell.