Розплавлений кабель живлення та роз'єм NVIDIA RTX 5090 FE / Reddit
Reddit user shared photo of RTX 5090 Founders Edition with a melted connector. He was using a third-party power adapter instead of the bundled one. This is not the only case.
The owner of the video card used a Moddiy cable that is compatible with ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 specifications up to 600W. The cable manufacturer writes on compliance with the 12V-2X6 standard. The gamer was allegedly playing Battlefield 5 with an estimated consumption of 500-520 watts when he smelled something burning and immediately turned off the PC. He found a damaged video card connector, the cable itself, and the power supply connector, as in some known cases with RTX 4090.
The user confirmed that the cable was fully inserted and he made sure it was securely fastened. However, we cannot completely rule out the possibility that the cable was not installed carefully or that it was not the right size. He had previously used the same cable with an RTX 4090 Founders Edition before replacing the card with an RTX 5090.
So far, there are no known cases of RTX 5090 power connectors melting with the included adapter. NVIDIA is now shipping the cards with a newer adapter that is longer and more flexible. In addition, the power connector is angled to reduce strain, particularly in small cases.
Around the same time, Spanish YouTuber Toro Tocho reported another case of cable meltdown, which was reported by El Chapuas Informatico. Interestingly, this time the damage was only on the side of the power supply, and the video card itself was not damaged and works normally. The vlogger admitted that the problem was probably caused by a poor connection and connector wear.
Website VideoCardz claims that there have been three cases of meltdowns in total (it is unclear what the third one is), but none with the included cable. It’s too early to give advice, but it’s probably best to use it.
Recently NVIDIA promised that power connectors will not melt with the new generation of video cards. Technically, this is still the case, because no video card has yet been affected by the «native» kit. But Melting cables — not the only problem with the NVIDIA RTX 50.