These new dual-slot Nvidia RTX graphics cards from PNY are a throwback to a simpler time of sensibly-sized GPUs

Hard to believe but there was a time when graphics cards weren't the size of an SUV and cost as much as a house. As if to prove it, here comes PNY addressing at least one half of that equation with a new range of dual-slot Nvidia RTX GPUs. Odds are, however, the pricing will remain distinctly 2026.

We give you the GeForce RTX 50 Series Slim from PNY. Available in RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5070 configurations, PNY says the cards, "combine cutting-edge performance with space-saving innovation that’s ideal for compact PC builds."

Of course, it's also true that while third-party add-in boards based on Nvidia RTX chipsets tend to be 2.5 or three-slot designs, the official Founders Edition card for each GPU from Nvidia is also a dual-slot solution. PNY concedes this much when it says the new Slim family are, "among the most compact enthusiast cards currently in market, alongside NVIDIA Founders Edition."

Nvidia's Founders Edition boards for the RTX 50 family came with a fairly full on sales pitch regarding the engineering required to achieve dual-slot cooling, and also notably offered very good overclocking headroom. PNY likewise is leaning heavily into the thermal design of these new cards, which includes two large 120mm fans, a massive vapour chamber and enhanced acoustic performance via ultra-quiet fan operation.

It's notable that while the standard versions of the new Slim cards all offer specifications that match Nvidia's reference designs in terms of clockspeeds, PNY is also offering OC versions that run at higher frequencies.

Thus, the RTX 5080 Slim OC runs at 2,730 MHz instead of 2,617 MHz, the RTX 5070 Ti Slim OC is clocked at 2,572 MHz versus the reference 2,542 MHz and the RTX 5070 Slim OC hits 2,587 MHz versus 2,512 MHz.

Obviously, these are pretty modest factory overclocks for the OC versions. But the simple fact that PNY is offering OC models based on this thermal design is fairly reassuring, and particularly so for the stock-clocked versions. It implies there's a little headroom to spare.

For now, PNY isn't providing any pricing, perhaps because the whole PC industry is in flux on account of volatile memory pricing thanks to the AI boom. So, we'll have to wait until February, when the cards go on sale, to see exactly how expensive they are. But on this first reckoning, they look like potentially interesting alternatives to Nvidia's own Founders Edition boards if you're after something sensibly sized.