Zotac's RTX 5090Graphics Card Said to Have Burst into Flames During a Battlefield 6 Gameplay
Breaking News: Power Delivery and Safety Concerns Surround Nvidia's RTX 5090 GPUs
Reports of fires and hardware failures have been circulating around high-wattage RTX 5090 graphics cards, specifically the Zotac RTX 5090 AMP Extreme model. The incidents have raised concerns about power delivery, VRM design, and thermal management in these high-end GPUs.
The latest incident involved a fire during a Battlefield 6 session, with the origin of the fire suspected to be the memory-subsystem power line, the MSVDD rail. The fire, which lasted roughly ten seconds, caused severe damage to the GPU PCB, the motherboard, SSD, and liquid-cooling tubing. The pattern in the photos suggests a rapid, localized power-delivery failure that arced and burned through traces and nearby components.
Users in the thread reported that the card's default voltages spike aggressively, reaching up to 1.1V under heavy load and hovering around 1.03V during light use, pushing the hardware beyond stable limits. Multiple reports of 16-pin / 12VHPWR connectors melting or showing severe heat damage have been reported.
The section with the suspected failure had no dedicated cooling, which could have exacerbated the issue. The shop coordinating with the distributor and Zotac's local agent to inspect the unit, but there has been no public statement from Zotac addressing this specific case.
Similarly, an Asus ROG Astral 5090 was reported to have suffered a suspected capacitor or VRM-phase blowout, causing significant damage. The pattern across social media and online forums includes VRM/connector damage, connector melting, extreme localized cable and trace temperatures, and catastrophic single-component failures, suggesting power delivery as the common failure domain for these high-wattage 5090 examples.
Given these general concerns, it is plausible that issues with power delivery, VRM design, and thermal management could contribute to safety risks in high-power GPUs like the RTX 5090. However, specific details about fires in the Zotac RTX 5090 AMP Extreme would require more targeted information.
It is essential to note that high-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 series are known for their high power consumption. If not properly managed, this can lead to significant heat generation, which may cause components to fail or, in extreme cases, lead to fires. The design of the Voltage Regulator Module (VRM) and power connectors is crucial for distributing power safely and efficiently. Inadequate design or uneven load distribution can lead to overheating and potential damage to components. Some GPUs lack individual current monitoring on power connectors, which can lead to uneven load distribution and increased risk of overheating if one cable is subjected to a higher load than others.
Users and shops are expressing concerns about the shops' response, worrying whether the shop will replace the whole system, offer a refurbished machine, or push repair fees onto customers. As the investigation continues, it is crucial for manufacturers to address these concerns and ensure the safety of their high-power GPUs.
[1] Forum post: https://forum.zotac.com/thread/23361 [2] TechPowerUp: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/zotac-geforce-rtx-3090-amp-extreme-10g-gddr6x/13.html [3] Tom's Hardware: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3090-power-delivery-issues-cause-fires-melting-connectors [4] AnandTech: https://www.anandtech.com/show/16691/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3090-power-delivery-issues-cause-fires-melting-connectors
The increasing incidents of fires and hardware failures with high-wattage RTX 5090 graphics cards, such as the Zotac RTX 5090 AMP Extreme model, have sparked discussions about the power delivery, VRM design, and thermal management in these high-end GPUs. These gadgets, in particular, the RTX 5090 series, are known for their high power consumption, and technology failures could potentially lead to safety concerns for users.
