The high-end graphics card segment anticipates the return of MSI’s renowned Lightning brand, potentially at CES 2026. Although MSI has not made an official announcement, social media teasers hinting at “thunder and lightning” for the first day of CES, combined with newly discovered record-breaking benchmark submissions, strongly suggest an upcoming RTX 5090 Lightning reveal.
Overclockers have submitted benchmark results on HWBot, explicitly mentioning the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning. Noteworthy submissions come from TSAIK, Lucky_n00b, and littleboy. TSAIK achieved multiple world records, including GPUPI v3.3 1B (1-core), 3DMark Port Royal, 3DMark Time Spy GPU, 3DMark Wild Life Extreme, 3DMark Speed Way, and Geekbench 6 Compute. This overclocker also set a new world record for RTX 5090 GPU frequency at 3,742 MHz. Lucky_n00b secured a world record in Geekbench 5 Compute, while littleboy achieved records in 3DMark Solar Bay and Solar Bay Extreme.
Image credit: HWBot (littleboy)
The GPU itself seems engineered for extreme performance. Leaked information and initial technical details suggest a substantial 40-phase VRAM power delivery system. Its power demands are further highlighted by dual 12V-2×6 power connectors, which effectively double the potential power input compared to typical high-end graphics cards.
Additionally, Lucky_n00b revealed a potential maximum power limit of 2500W in the BIOS for the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning. The overclocker mentioned that the sample provided was an “OCER” version, featuring a bare PCB and a test heatsink, rather than a complete cooling solution.
The Lightning brand has not been applied to a flagship Nvidia card by MSI since the RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z in 2019. Its reintroduction for the Blackwell architecture suggests MSI’s renewed focus on the extreme engineering that characterized previous Lightning generations, such as the GTX 1080 Ti and Radeon R9 290X. While these benchmark records highlight the silicon’s ultimate potential rather than typical consumer performance, the RTX 5090 Lightning aims to be the top choice for enthusiasts seeking the highest possible performance.
