Nvidia's RTX 50-series GPUs are finally here, but their turbulent launch is resurrecting a glitch from the RTX 4090.
Nvidia launched the GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 on January 30, 2025, after plenty of fanfare at CES. The company's latest flagship graphics cards bring a suite of upgrades, including support for a new version of DLSS and stronger AI performance.
Unfortunately for gamers, the RTX 50-series launch is off to a rough start. The RTX 5090 has been notoriously difficult to find in stock at retailers and now one of the lucky few who got their hands on an RTX 5090 claims an old defect from the RTX 4090 has returned to plague the 50-series GPUs.
Nvidia's RTX 50-series troubles heat up
On Sunday, a user on the Nvidia subreddit shared a post titled "RTX 5090FE Molten 12VHPWR," which showed the user's GPU critically damaged... by a melted power cable.
According to the user, "ivan6953," they had "lucked out" and gotten their hands on an RTX 5090 Founders Edition. However, after installing the GPU, the user ran into an infamous issue last seen on the RTX 4090 graphics cards:
"I am not distant from the PC-building world and know what I'm doing. The cable was securely fastened and clicked on both sides (GPU and PSU). I noticed the burning smell playing Battlefield 5. The power draw was 500-520W. Instantly turned off my PC - and see for yourself..."
RTX 5090FE Molten 12VHPWR from r/nvidia
Below, "ivan6953" shared photos of the power cable for their GPU and the power connector on the GPU, both badly melted, rendering the rare, pricey graphics card unusable. It's worth noting that this user had their GPU connected with a third-party cable, so it's possible that cable caused the melting issue, but this isn't the first time users have reported this specific issue.
Luckily, it sounds like this Reddit user's GPU will be replaced under the warranty. We reached out to ivan6953 who tells Laptop Mag, "Asus, ModDIY and Nvidia all reached out to me and offered RMAs."
Even so, this is a worrying issue. Other users have also shared pictures of the same thing happening with the GeForce RTX 4090. The odds of every incident like this being caused by the same third-party power cable are low, especially since it's affecting multiple generations of Nvidia GPUs.
The issue could be the result of heat spikes that exceed what the power cable and connectors on the GPUs can handle, causing the plastic to melt. YouTuber Gamers Nexus even tested top-rated power cables and had them sent to a failure analysis lab to investigate the issue when it appeared on the RTX 4090 back in 2022.
Interestingly, Gamers Nexus found that two of the top three causes of this issue were user errors with design flaws playing a smaller role. In spite of that, Nvidia still ensured Gamers Nexus that it would honor warranty replacements for anyone who experienced the melting power cable issue on the RTX 4090.
Luckily, it sounds like the same policy will apply for RTX 50-series GPUs presenting this same issue, but it's still frustrating to see this problem persist from last generation's flagship graphics cards.
Are the RTX 50-series GPUs still worth it after melting issue?
Given the return of this infamous issue on the RTX 5090, gamers might be wondering if it's even worth trying to get one of Nvidia's new GPUs right now. After all, the RTX 5090 has been extremely difficult to find in stock at retailers anyway. Even the less sought-after RTX 5080 is in short supply. Now it looks like even if you do get your hands on an RTX 5090, it might end up getting ruined by a faulty power connector.
If you're thinking about upgrading your desktop GPU right now, keep in mind this issue is relatively uncommon and may be a fluke or the result of user error as Gamers Nexus found with the melting power connectors on the RTX 4090. Plus, if Nvidia maintains its policy from the RTX 4090, it looks like it will replace any GPUs that experience this issue.
So, if you have your eye on an RTX 5090 and you're lucky enough to find one in stock, you should probably still snap it up. If you don't need a new GPU right now, though, you might be better off waiting until Nvidia figures out what's causing this issue.
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