Veteran reviewer’s RTX 5090 Founders Edition GPU falls victim to 16-pin meltdown — user admits it could have been user error despite having tested GPUs for over 15 years

The editor-in-chief of DSOGaming, a PC gaming news website, has just suffered an RTX 5090 power connector meltdown, despite claiming that it was fully inserted into the graphics card. According to John Papadopoulos, the incident happened while he was playing Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, when he noticed a strange smell in his room. He could not determine the source of the scent until he opened his PC case and realized that it was coming from his high-end GPU.

Many PC enthusiasts are aware of the melting power connectors that Nvidia has been contending with since the RTX 40-series. However, Papadopoulos says that this is the first time he has had to deal with such an issue with an RTX 50-series GPU. Because of this, he says that he has always been careful to ensure that the connector is always fully seated in the GPU before firing it up, and that he only uses the cable that comes with it. He even goes as far as keeping the power connector attached to the GPU when removing it from his PC case, to help reduce the chance of it loosening.

Despite the many issues, Papadopoulos admits that the melted power connector could have been a user error. “I’m really testing eight different GPUs for each and every game that comes out (I’m not simulating the results). So, it’s possible the cable came loose while removing the GPU from the case. After dozens of tests, this can happen,” said the EIC. “Still, the fact that it could come loose at all, even after I made sure to press it in firmly, is a bit concerning. It’s also inexcusable for this GPU not to have a safety mechanism for when a cable is not fully seated.”

The only reason Papadopoulos realized that his RTX 5090’s power connector was melting was because he smelled it — other than that, his system ran perfectly fine without any crashes or problems. He even tested the GPU again after its connector had melted, running it at full load for over 20 minutes without any issues. Don’t try this at home, though, as this can get dangerous. If you suffer from a melted power connector, immediately shut off your computer and RMA the GPU so that the manufacturer can repair or replace it.

As for John, he’s already in touch with Nvidia, and the company is looking into what caused the power connector to melt. In the meantime, he won’t be running any gaming benchmarks on the RTX 5090.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.