One of the first credible reports of a melted power cable on the RTX 5090 has been posted on Reddit (h/t VideoCardz). According to u/ivan6953, they were playing Battlefield 5 on their gaming PC, with a power draw of 500 to 520 watts during that time, when they suddenly smelled something burning. They immediately shut off their PC, but it was too late —the damage had already been done; their RTX 5090 FE’s power connector socket and connector cable had already melted.
RTX 5090FE Molten 12VHPWR from r/nvidia
One thing to note was that they were using a Moddiy cable, not the one included in the GPU’s box. Although this is a non-official third-party cable, the company claims that it’s a 12V-2×6 cable design and is compliant with ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 specifications, up to 600 watts.
The user claimed that they’ve been using the power cable for over two years on their RTX 4090 FE GPU with no issues. They also said that they securely fastened the cable and that it made an audible click when they inserted it into the GPU power connector. On consideration, the Reddit post seems to have been penned by an experienced PC builder.
However, their Asus ROG Loki PSU was also affected, with the 12V-2×6 connector on it also melting. u/ivan6953 even said that they suspect that the problem originated on the PSU side, especially as it seems to have been more heavily damaged.
This problem is unlikely an issue with Nvidia’s RTX 5090 design, especially as the company has reassured the public that its RTX 50 series power connectors are unlikely to melt despite its higher TDP. Furthermore, Nvidia has taken steps to reduce the strain on the GPU power port by angling the connector, ensuring that there’s less stress on the interface that could cause it to overheat and melt.
Still, Nvidia’s partners, like Zotac and MSI, aren’t being complacent. They have added safety features like the 12VHPWR safety light, which prevents the GPU from powering up until the cable has been fully inserted, and a yellow-tipped 16-pin power adapter, which ensures the user that the power cable is safe and secure if they no longer see the bright yellow tip insert.
The user says that they will file warranty claims with both Nvidia and Asus to address the issue, but they’re not confident they’ll be properly served because they used a third-party cable. It could also be that there was a loose connection somewhere in there which caused the cable to overheat and melt on both sides. But, whatever the case, we wish the OP the best of luck in getting the problem sorted.