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In brief: Seeing graphics cards selling way above their MSRP is a frustrating reminder of the current market situation. Things are even worse on auction sites like eBay, which have listings for RTX 5090 cards well over $5,000. An upcoming auction featuring the Blackwell flagship will likely surpass $16,000, but in this rare case, that’ll be a good thing.
Asus revealed the ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC graphics card in early February. As the name suggests, the card is a special edition of the regular ROG Astral designed specifically for the Middle East – it features Arabic calligraphy, images of skyscrapers, and motifs representing strength, courage, and unity. The whole thing’s a little ostentatious, with an almost entirely gold finish and a turquoise, stone-style design.
As reported by TechPowerUp, Asus’ Director of Marketing at the firm’s North American branch, Ernest Cheng, posted a photo from GTC yesterday of a ROG Astral RTX 5090 Dhahab OC model with a unique feature that makes it even more expensive: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s signature, alongside the RTX On! slogan.
Asus hasn’t yet revealed the price of the Dhahab card. Considering that the standard ROG Astral RTX 5090 had a $2,800 price at launch and is now $3,359 on Newegg, buying one of these special editions is going to cost a small fortune. With Jensen’s signature on this model, expect it to go for a five-figure sum.
Thankfully, Asus says it will be donating the proceeds of the card’s auction to charity, supporting relief efforts for the California wildfires in Los Angeles.
As for how much it will sell for, a ROG Matrix RTX 4090 Platinum card also signed by Jensen Huang had a winning bid of $16,000 in 2023. The winning bidder was none other than famed overclocker der8auer. The money went to Make-a-Wish International, a charity that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses.
There are currently several ROG Astral RTX 5090 cards listed on eBay. They range in price from around $5,000 to $10,500.
Asus is one of several AIB partners to have raised their graphics card prices recently, by quite a margin, in some cases. Companies often point to the Trump administration’s new China tariffs as an excuse for this behavior, but many say they are exploiting them for their own benefit.
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