Gamer Claims GeForce RTX 5090 Went Up In Flames While Playing Battlefield 6
The GPU in question was a custom (and user-undervolted) GeForce RTX 5090 from Zotac, the AMP Extreme. The gamer realized something was wrong when they smelled something burning and the game suddenly stopped working, leading to this discovery. These type of occurrences are indeed rare, but the xx90 series GPUs have faced some issues during the last several years.
Typically, problems have stemmed from the 12VHPWR connector in other cases where fire or melting occurred. In this case, it is clearly in a different location on the GPU itself but still very concerning.
The GeForce RTX 5090 has a TDP of 575W, which is the most of any gaming GPU on the market currently. It typically has oversized air coolers that can handle the thermals, so temperatures tend to stay relatively in check. If any GPU were to malfunction like this, however, there could be similar damage. The higher power draw of the RTX 5090 may play some role, but it is still more likely some failure in its power design components that caused this.
What adds salt to the wound is the absurdly high prices that the RTX 5090 have arisen to, often exceeding its already princely $1,999 MSRP in the US. The prebuilt PC in question here looks like it came from NZXT, a brand that has had some fiery PC issues previously. While this is a completely different case, the NZXT H1 did have some problems with flames, too.
What adds salt to the wound is the absurdly high prices that the RTX 5090 have arisen to, often exceeding its already princely $1,999 MSRP in the US. The prebuilt PC in question here looks like it came from NZXT, a brand that has had some fiery PC issues previously. While this is a completely different case, the NZXT H1 did have some problems with flames, too.
At least the damage appears to be just the hardware, and no other serious result came from this fire incident for the GPU and anyone near it. It certainly brings new light to the phrase "Playing with fire" while enjoying your Battlefield 6 action.
So what exactly happened? We don't have an answer, though initial speculation is the fire originated from the MSVDD rail, possibly indicating that a MOSFET exploded.
