New RTX 5090 Incident Calls Into Question All the Advice on Preventing Melted Cables

Another incident involving a melted connector on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards has once again caught the community's attention. This time, the case stands out because the user took practically every suggested precaution, but it didn't help.

The user didn't just install the GPU and forget about it; he regularly kept an eye on the power port's condition. Every month, he would visually and physically check how snugly the 16-pin cable was inserted, and every three months, during routine system cleaning, he would fully disconnect and reconnect the connector to "ensure a solid connection." Additionally, he capped the frame rate in games to 120 FPS to reduce power draw and heat.

He used a Corsair RM1000x 1000W power supply, and the cable itself was the original Corsair Type 4 12VHPWR that came with the PSU. The graphics card is mounted vertically, so the cable approaches the connector at a straight angle. There's about 7–9 cm of clearance from the connector to the first bend — so no critical sharp bends, which are often cited as a cause of melting.

Despite all these measures, during a routine check after about three weeks of playing Forza Horizon 6, the user discovered that the contacts on the cable had melted, and the socket on the GPU itself had blackened. According to him, average power hovered around 240W, but during scene changes or selecting cars in the garage, short spikes hit 450W. The user also specifically noted the PSU's behavior. He uses a sensor for real-time telemetry monitoring, and under a load of about 350W, the 12V line voltage would drop to 11.4V; at peak 450W, the sag reached 11.15–11.2V. He links the melting to the fact that the cable is already operating at its limit, and on top of that, the PSU can't maintain a steady 12 volts.

Some commenters pointed out another detail: frequently disconnecting and reconnecting the 16-pin connector can itself damage the contacts. Connectors of this type aren't designed for many insertion/removal cycles. This case shows that even the most responsible approach to use doesn't offer a 100% guarantee. The problem with 16-pin connectors seems to run deeper than just a loose connection or a bad cable bend.

Have you ever experienced overheating or melted power connectors on high-end graphics cards? And what do you think — is the issue with the connector design, the power supplies, or the whole approach to cabling? Share your thoughts in the comments.