MSI is reviving its legendary Lightning brand with the GeForce RTX 5090 Lightning Z, showcased at CES 2026. This card is engineered for extreme performance, featuring a liquid-cooled AIO system with a 360 mm radiator and dual 12V-2x6 power connectors. These connectors support a combined 1600W power delivery, but the standout feature is a specialized XOC VBIOS allowing a staggering 2500W power budget for record-breaking overclocking.

The design includes a 40-phase power delivery system, a reinforced PCB, and a large front-mounted display for real-time monitoring. Elite overclockers are already using this variant to hit record clock speeds of 3,742 MHz on HWBOT, utilizing Samsung GDDR7 memory overclocked to 36 Gbps. While the retail version utilizes an AIO cooler, the extreme power limits and robust VRM design confirm MSI's intent to reclaim the top spot in the high-end GPU market for enthusiasts.