PNY Reportedly Denies Melted RTX 5090 Warranty Claim Over Lame Cable Rule
If you spent thousands of dollars on a flagship GeForce RTX 5090, you probably assumed that plugging it directly into a modern, high-end power supply using the manufacturer's own native 12V-2x6 cable was the safest, cleanest way to power the card. According to PNY, however, doing so might just void your warranty. Or at least that is what a user on Reddit claims happened after contacting PNY for a warranty claim on an apparently dead graphic card.
Reddit user revealed Melodic_Initial_1767 says PNY flatly rejected a warranty request on a GeForce RTX 5090 that they purchased last September, and which "died last month. Both ends of the 12VHPWR cable are melted, on the card side and on the PSU side, and the PC doesn't see the card at all now." The reason PNY gave them, according to the post, is that owners of the company's graphics cards are required to use adapter included in the box.
Here is the support message in full, as presented by the Reddit user:
"All PNY GPUs that require a 16-pin (12VHPWR / 12V-2x6) input include a PNY-approved power cable or adapter in the box. This cable is the only configuration covered under warranty. If a third-party power cable, adapter, or PSU cable is used and damage occurs - including melting, burning, overheating, or deformation of the connector - PNY cannot accept the product under warranty. Damage caused by non-PNY cables falls under the responsibility of the manufacturer of that cable or power supply."
If that is the reason PNY actually gave—and we only have one side of the story here—then the company is walking a treacherously fine line. PNY also risks damaging its reputation, regardless of whether its policy states anything close to what the support rep relayed to the unlucky user. And that's a big 'if'.
PNY denied my RTX 5090 warranty claim in writing, saying a power supply's own native 12V-2x6 cable is not covered
by u/Melodic_Initial_1767 in pcmasterrace
After digging through PNY's warranty terms and included installation documentation, the user said they found zero mention of a requirement to use PNY-branded power adapters, let alone any kind of clause disclaiming that direct PSU cables void coverage. In fact, PNY's installation guide simply instructs builders to plug an appropriate power connector from their system into the graphics card.
We don't have access to the papers included with the graphics card, but looking at PNY's warranty page, the only part that comes remotely close are terms saying PNY warrants the product from defects "when used normally." However, we don't think using a PSU's own cables falls outside of the bounds of normal use.
The situation gets even murkier after a second Reddit user opened a support ticket with PNY to clarify the policy. The user asked if it would be okay to "use the brand new 12f-2x6 power cable that came with my PSU, or will this void the warranty," to which the PNY support agent replied, "You can use it if you wish."
