This one-of-a-kind GPU is actually an entire prebuilt PC in disguise—with a memorable codename and everything

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a tech journalist in possession of any amount of experience can always enjoy the simple pleasure of ‘thing that looks like other thing.’ It is also known that said hardware hounds will want to crack that bad boy open if given half the chance. Thankfully, Gamers Nexus are often only too happy to oblige.

Makers of Star Trek-themed accessories, Borg cube PC cases, and more, CherryTree Computers presented hardware review channel Gamers Nexus with a one of a kind, itty bitty prebuilt machine housed inside a video card. The ‘RTX 5027 POS Custom Mod‘—where POS here totally means ‘Piece of ROPs’—will never be destined for a wider retail release, instead fated for a good, old fashioned Gamers Nexus teardown.

The especially small PC was once a Gigabyte Aorus GeForce RTX 2070 Super that took a tumble via FedEx. Cherry Tree salvaged and hollowed out the shroud, diligently removing all Gigabyte logos before popping a dinky little Asus NUC 13 PCB inside. Gamers Nexus editor-in-chief Steve Burke paraphrases a conversation the team had with Cherry Tree, asking “But why?” only to be told words to the effect of “Because fun!” Can’t argue with that.

In that same spirit of fun, this PC can slot inside a larger desktop machine. When installed like a GPU via the PCIe slot, the RTX 5027 POS doesn’t draw power or otherwise interact with the host machine it’s clinging onto like a barnacle (or, if you’re a marine life sicko, like a fish-tongue parasite). Instead, this little guy has its own independent socket for a barrel style plug, fashioned from the remains of an eight pin connector. Cursed, but no less compelling.

Well then, how does it run? Nowhere near as well as its GeForce RTX 2070 Super forebear, that’s for sure—though as the name suggests, that’s also the punchline. Containing an integrated chip all of its own, you can actually game on it, with Cherry Tree itself briefly demonstrating the far from beastly PC running Quantum Break in not entirely abysmal fashion on their own YouTube channel.

If you hadn’t guessed by all the not so gentle ribbing throughout the video, the source of inspiration for this eccentric, small form factor PC was the Nvidia RTX 5060. If you’ve been on the hunt for a new 50-series card, you’ll know what a mission it has been to find one at a reasonable price. Some folks joke that you could pick up a reasonable PC for the same kind of money you’re expected to put down on a graphics card these days—hence, a GPU that’s also an entire PC inside.

There’s also a little more to it than that, with Gamers Nexus having made their displeasure clear about how Nvidia handled the release of the RTX 5060 card at the time. Our Dave also touches on the situation for reviewers in his Nvidia RTX 5060 review—namely the lack of drivers right up until launch day. That aside, if you’re looking for something affordable specifically, our best graphics card guide has you covered. And if you’re looking for one of the best mini PCs, we’ve got a guide for that too.