The NVIDIA RTX 5090 capacitor exploded and bent the radiator without gaming load

It is not necessary for the NVIDIA RTX 5090, which costs from $2000, to burn out play modern games on maximum settings. The owner and journalists vividly describe the pyrotechnic effects.

Reddit user with the nickname RoboDogRush, was editing a video at two in the morning when he heard a “firecracker explosion” next to him, which made him jump out of his chair in fright. The monitor went black, smoke and sparks poured out of the case, and the room was filled with the stench of burning electricity.

Usually, the video card did not get too hot. The owner claims that he kept a close eye on the temperature, which usually did not exceed 70°C. The RTX 5090 was in “good airflow” and was powered by a Super Flower Leadex III 1300W 80+ Gold unit via the included 12VHPWR cable. PNY technical support approved the warranty request, but only a week later they informed me that the video card would be replaced.

RTX 5090 graphics cards burn out relatively often, it has almost become a meme. The reasons are often as follows unreliable power connectors but sometimes there are also incidents on the board itself — сomponents and wiring, too barely “pull” a high current which also lacks proper distribution. In the network, the irritation and anger at the reliability of this extremely expensive device is gradually being replaced by irony.

It’s possible that the fault lies with the manufacturer, not NVIDIA, and is due to poor assembly or component selection, but it’s not certain. Blown capacitors are a common occurrence, but it’s still not something you’d expect from a modern flagship graphics card.