ASUS is selling a gold-plated ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 for over US$7,000, because why not?

ASUS has unveiled its most opulent graphics card to date – the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dahab Edition. This eye-catching and very high-end GPU is a statement piece designed for those with deep pockets and an almost laughable appreciation for the extravagant. Priced at over US$7,000 (around S$9,400 at the current exchange rate), it’s clear ASUS is targeting the Middle Eastern market with this luxurious release, where the gold-plated design is a nod to regional opulence.

The Dahab Edition, named after the Arabic word for gold, is adorned with 6.5g of real 999-fineness gold. According to gold price, that’s more than US$700 worth of gold right there, without even accounting for the rest of its components – including the emerald accents that decorate the card’s shroud. It’s definitely an exercise in indulgence, a far cry from your typical gamer’s upgrade path, but ASUS seems to know its audience well. The Middle Eastern market has a known appetite for ultra-premium electronics, and the Astral Dahab Edition seems tailor-made for it.

Underneath its lavish exterior, the GPU is still very much an ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 (you can read our review here), boasting the same specifications that’s made it the flagship of the ROG family 50 Series graphics cards. So it’s more than just a pretty face, for sure. But it's hard to ignore the mind-boggling price premium slapped onto it purely for the sake of exclusivity. In markets where it’s available, the card is reportedly being sold for anywhere between US$7,100 to US$10,600, a staggering amount for a GPU, even in this era of inflation-driven tech pricing.

But perhaps that's the point, isn’t it? Why just game when you can game in gold? After all, when you’re dropping upwards of ten grand on a graphics card, those extra few frames per second must taste a bit sweeter when they’re plated in 24-karat. And when its silicon eventually joins the ranks of obsolete tech, at least you'll have a nice chunk of gold to keep as a memento of your fleeting, gilded frame rates. Who says gaming isn’t an investment?

Oh, and if you have to ask where to buy this card, well, then clearly you're not the intended customer.

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