Note this whole discussion is in the context of the 4090. If you're an enthusiast, soldering the GPU to the mobo forces you to spend $200-$700 more every time you upgrade your GPU because you also have to buy a new mobo and possibly a new CPU if the socket changed.
The GPU is also one of the easiest components to swap today. That's not something I want to give up unless I see performance improvements. Cooling doesn't count because I already have an external radiator attached to my open-frame "case".
I went through 3 GPUs before changing motherboards and I'm still bottlenecked on my 3090, not my 5800X3D. After I get a 4090, I expect to upgrade it at least once before getting a new mobo.
Having had a few GPUs go bad on me over the years, I would hate to have to disassemble the entire thing to extricate the mobo/gpu combo for RMA'ing, rather than just removing the GPU and sending it off.
The GPU is also one of the easiest components to swap today. That's not something I want to give up unless I see performance improvements. Cooling doesn't count because I already have an external radiator attached to my open-frame "case".
I went through 3 GPUs before changing motherboards and I'm still bottlenecked on my 3090, not my 5800X3D. After I get a 4090, I expect to upgrade it at least once before getting a new mobo.