Last week, Andreas Schilling, a technology journalist based in Germany, posted a thermal image on X that may burn Nvidia's reputation among customers as bad as the RTX 5090 graphics card could burn anyone who touches it.
Schilling, an editor at Hardware Luxx, shared thermal images of an Inno3D GeForce RTX 5090 Frostbite and his PC's PSU (power supply unit). The images show extreme hot spots where the power cable connected to the GPU and PSU. According to Schilling's readings, those hotspots reached more than 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit) — hot enough to cause third-degree burns. Sites worldwide reported on the image.
According to Schilling, the 12-volt 2x6-pin cable connecting the GPU to the PSU peaked at over 150 degrees Celsius (or about 300 Fahrenheit). This is unusually hot and potentially dangerous for users and their PC hardware.
"150+ degrees [Celsius] is way too much. The plastic might not have started to melt, but this can get dangerous very quickly," Schilling tells Laptop Mag via email.
Temperatures that high could damage your GPU, PSU, and other PC components. So, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on an RTX 5090, you would be wise to take extra precautions regarding the power cable you use for your GPU and how you connect it.
"At the moment my advice to every owner and buyer of the GeForce RTX 5090: You should use the 8-pin to 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 adapter," Schilling tells Laptop Mag.
He also clarified that this issue is not unique to the specific RTX 5090 model he was testing, explaining: "It’s not a problem of the specific graphics card (in this case the INNO3D GeForce RTX 5090 Frostbite) or any other vendor. I’ve seen uneven distribution of the currents with a few different models of the GeForce RTX 5090 with different cables and PSUs.
Not to the extremity with 150+ degrees, but definitely out of spec. It’s a general problem [with] the GeForce RTX 5090 (and GeForce RTX 4090) pushing the 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 [power connector] to the limits."
Should gamers avoid buying Nvidia's RTX 50-series graphics cards?
Schilling's temperature readings come just a few weeks after users began reporting similar thermal issues with the RTX 5090, including a Reddit user whose RTX 5090 was ruined by a melted PSU connector. Schilling's thermal images appear to confirm that the RTX 5090 has serious heat management and power draw issues. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we've seen something like this.
Nvidia's RTX 4090 also had similar issues when it launched in 2022, including seemingly the exact same excessive power draw problem that led to melting power cables. To Nvidia's credit, user error was found to play a role in that issue and Nvidia honored warranty replacements for users who had damaged RTX 4090 GPUs. However, there is clearly a pattern emerging here.
There's no doubt Nvidia has led the way in the GPU market for years now, making strides with AI and DLSS. That makes it all the more disappointing to see yet another generation of powerful, pricey graphics cards face many issues at launch. After all, it's tough to appreciate DLSS 4 when your RTX 5090 no longer runs because the power cable melted in its socket.
For now, gamers are probably better off saving their money, especially considering it's still quite challenging to find the RTX 5090 in stock at retailers. Even the less-powerful RTX 5080 faces issues with some units missing ROPs, resulting in poorer performance than units without the defect.
Besides, Nvidia has hinted that it may bring Multi Frame Generation, the most significant new feature in DLSS 4, to older 40-series and 30-series GPUs down the line. Considering those GPUs are less expensive and easier to get your hands on, they are probably still the best buy for most gamers.
Keep in mind, AMD is also an excellent alternative, especially for mid-range gamers. AMD just launched its own new generation of GPUs last month with the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, both of which are hundreds or thousands of dollars less than Nvidia's RTX 5080 and RTX 5090.
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