The GeForce RTX 4090 is a generation older than the new Blackwell 50 series GPUs, but this doesn't change the fact that it's still one of the most powerful cards out there, eclipsing the GeForce RTX 5080 or RTX 4080 Super or the Radeon RX 9070 XT or RX 7900 XTX. Only one GPU performs better - the RTX 5090 - and you'll need to use up a lifetime of luck to find one that isn't marked up by hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
Because the RTX 4090 has been discontinued, it's getting harder to source as well. Fortunately, Dell has two prebuilt gaming PC models that can be equipped with a 4090 GPU, and at reasonable prices. One is the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC, which starts at $3,299.99. The other is the Dell Tower Plus gaming PC, which starts at $2,849.99. These are currently the best prices we see for an RTX 4090 equipped laptop, and many other manufacturers - including Lenovo and HP - no longer carry RTX 4090 prebuilt gaming PCs at all.
Alienware Aurora R16 RTX 4090 Gaming PC
This Alienware Aurora R16 gaming PC is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. The processor can also be upgraded up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. If you're getting system with a focus on gaming, then the upgrade is unnecessary. Gaming at higher resolutions is almost always GPU bound, and besides, the default Intel Core Ultra 7 265F is a solid processor with a max turbo frequency of 5.3GHz and a total of 20 cores. It's cooled by a robust 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler and the entire system is powered by an 1,000W 80PLUS Platinum power supply.
Dell Tower Plus RTX 4090 Gaming PC
The other option looks more unassuming, but it's what's inside that really matters. The Dell Tower Plus gaming PC is equipped with very similar specs - an Intel Core Ultra 7 265F CPU, GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 16GB of DDR5-5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB NVMe SSD. In this particular instance, I'd recommend upgrading the processor to the Intel Core Ultra 7 285K for $100. Not only is it a superior processor, but it automatically upgrades the CPU cooling from "standard air cooling" to "advanced air coling", which is a more robust tower heatsink fan that is rated for 125W TDP instead of 65W TDP. The entire system is powered by an 1,000W 80PLUS Platinum power supply.
How does the RTX 4090 stack up against current cards?
The RTX 4090 is the most powerful RTX 40 series GPU on the market. Compared to the new Blackwell cards, only the $2,000 MSRP RTX 5090 is superior in performance. This card will run every game comfortably at 4K resolution; you should be hitting 60+fps even with all settings turned to the max and ray tracing enabled, doubly so if DLSS is supported. The only setting that the 4090 (as well as every other GPU) struggles with is path tracing, but no one really ever turns this on except during benchmark tests or social media flexing. The RTX 5090 might be faster, but for the vast majority of people out there, it's just wasted power since the 4090 already excels at pretty much all things gaming.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Prebuilt Alternatives:
New AMD Ryzen 9070 / 9070 XT Prebuilt Alternatives:
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
