MSI confirms return of legendary Lightning line with GeForce RTX GPUs at CES 2026

The weather forecast for CES 2026 indicates an electrical storm in the high-performance segment. After a hiatus of several generations, the Taiwanese manufacturer published a teaser that points directly to the launch of the long-awaited MSI Lightning RTX CES 2026.

The official revelation must take place on January 5th, date reserved for the company’s media event in Las Vegas.

The published material consists of a fictitious weather graph, covering the period from December 30th to January 5th. While the starting days show sun or clouds, the ending date displays the lightning storm icon, a classic visual reference to the line Lightning.

This series is historically known for delivering the most robust and overclockable models in the brand’s portfolio, focusing on breaking world records.

The return would mark the end of a long fast for hardware enthusiasts. The last time the company made a model in this category available was in 2019, with the GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Lightning Z.

Since then, the Ampere (RTX 30) and Lovelace (RTX 40) architectures of NVIDIA did not receive variants of this family, leaving a gap in the market for ultra-premium components.

What to expect from the new RTX 5090 Lightning

Although final specifications remain under wraps until the CES presentation, previous leaks and prototypes shown indicate the use of the GPU GeForce RTX 5090.

The expectation is that the card will arrive in two different cooling variants to deal with the heat generated by the top-of-the-line Blackwell chip.

Preliminary images suggest an air-cooled version with a fan system Stormforceoccupying three slots and using five fans to maximize airflow.

There is also an image of a liquid-cooled model (AIO), equipped with dual 120mm radiators and the MSI HydroCool system, designed to keep temperatures under control even at high frequencies.

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Focus on overclocking and unlocked features

The hallmark of the Lightning series has always been the ability to fine-tune for advanced users. Alexey Nicolaychuk, known as Unwinder and developer of MSI Afterburner software, indicated that he received samples of cards with voltage control extended.

This suggests that the new GPU will offer aggressive tools for overclockers looking to squeeze the most performance out of the silicon.

With the imminent confirmation, the dispute for the graphics performance throne should intensify at the beginning of 2026. It remains to wait for the full conference to confirm prices and availability, but the scenario points to a niche product, aimed at those who do not accept restrictions on their computer setups. games.

Fonte(s): MSI Gaming (X)