First report of an Nvidia RTX 5080 power connector melting emerges

An RTX 5080's power connector melts, echoing earlier RTX 5090 issues.

: Reports have surfaced of an RTX 5080 power connector melting, mirroring similar issues found in RTX 5090 and RTX 4090. Redditor Ambitious_Ladder1320 discovered a melted connector on the PSU side, with the unit being an Asus ROG Loki. The incident prompted Steve Burke from Gamers Nexus to inquire about the hardware for further testing. A replication by Der8auer showed power distribution issues, highlighting the potential for overheating.

Recent discussions have raised concerns about a recurring issue with Nvidia's GPUs, particularly the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 models, both part of the Blackwell generation. This issue involves the power connectors melting—a problem that echoes previous issues observed with the RTX 4090. The latest report of a connector malfunction was shared by a Reddit user, Ambitious_Ladder1320, who provided images showing a melted 16-pin connector on the PSU end, which was supposed to power an RTX 5080 GPU.

Ambitious_Ladder1320's experience included observing a warning red light on their RTX 5080 that suggested a pin was not seated correctly. Despite the hardware appearing secure, the issue persisted with fluctuations in refresh rates and GPU settings, finally culminating in discovering the melted connector. This incident-specific connector was part of an Asus ROG Loki PSU setup. Similar cases have been reported by other users of the same PSU brand, although they didn’t clarify if they were using the 5080 or 5090 models from Nvidia.

The matter has sparked the interest of Steve Burke from Gamers Nexus, who wants to acquire the cables and GPU involved for further testing and potential Return Merchandise Authorization support evaluation. Such investigations could help unravel what's leading to these meltdowns and could eventually push Nvidia or manufacturer partners to offer fixes.

To understand the technical aspects, popular YouTuber Der8auer conducted experiments to replicate the issue using his setup. His findings were alarming as the connectors showed temperature spikes reaching 150°C on the PSU end and around 90°C on the GPU side. These temperatures were attributed to uneven power distribution, where some wires were tasked to carry excessive current, up to 20 amps, far exceeding their designed capacity of 5 to 6 amps while others carried as little as 2 amps.

The issue not only bears hardware implications but also poses a broader challenge for Nvidia in terms of customer satisfaction and reliability moving forward. Continuous monitoring, more widespread technical evaluations, and public discourse within the tech community will be crucial in addressing this pressing flaw. Long-term, resolutions may demand design changes from Nvidia or its partners to prevent similar issues in new product lines which may impact their market competitiveness.

Sources: TechSpot, Reddit, Gamers Nexus.

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