Not user error: Melted RTX 5090 power connector apparently the result of improper circuit design

Getting a RTX 5090 was nothing short of a nightmare, and of the few-odd people who did manage to snag one, one unfortunate user ended up with a really expensive piece of e-waste. The dreaded melting cables seemingly made a comeback earlier this week, with one Reddit user lamenting a dead RTX 5090. At that time, it was dismissed as user error because they were using a third-party cable.

However, Der8auer was able to get in touch with the user and examined the dead GPU and its cables. And his results paint an entirely different picture. In the attached video, you can see both ends of the connectors completely burned out. Even the cable shielding got burned due to the sheer magnitude of current flowing through it. Interestingly, this happened to only one of the wires on the 12V-2x6 cable, indicating there was more current flowing through it than the others.

Der8auer used his own cable (Nvidia supplied) and found that one cable carried nearly 260 Watts (22 Amperes) through a single cable. That figure is much higher than the recommended amount of 5-6 Amperes. This is further confirmed by thermal camera images, which show a 100 plus-degree hot spot near the PSU It means any cable, even one that an OEM provides, is susceptible to failure.

While there may be legitimate issues with how the RTX 5090 draws power from the PSU, this is only one recorded instance, and it is far too early to whip out the pitchforks. Regardless, Nvidia is yet to comment on the issue officially. It might be a while before that happens because they're probably too busy looking into black screen issues caused by a recent driver update.