One of the most horrible burning and melting cases we have ever seen on a GPU. This ZOTAC RTX 5090 edition literally caught on fire.
ZOTAC RTX 5090 Amp Extreme Infinity Turns Into Furnace; PCB Got Cooked at the Memory VRM, Leaving The PC in a Horrible State
A 16-pin melted power connector on the GPU or the PSU might not be as scary as seeing a GPU literally engulfed in flames. This might be very rare since actual fires on electronics components aren't a common thing. One user, "york4517," reports on the Gamer TW forums that his RTX 5090 GPU was burnt to death, and it wasn't a common melting or burning, but he saw actual flames for about 10 seconds. He says that the fire was coming out at the junction, where the graphics card PCB is closest to the motherboard.
Judging from the PCB, the fire that broke out appears to have occurred near the MSVDD rail, which powers the memory subsystem. As per the user, he was playing Battlefield 6 at the time when the incident happened, but the game got stuck, and the very next second, he saw the fire coming out of the computer. Obviously, this is shocking to the user as well as to us since, under International electrical safety standards, consumer electronics must not produce open flames under faulty conditions.
The components do melt, produce smoke, or char in faulty conditions, but they should self-extinguish quickly, mitigating any further risks. An actual fire could have burned his whole PC and could have likely done more damage to its surroundings. As far as the cause is concerned, @unikoshardware suggests that the MOSFETs could have exploded, which again, shouldn't cause flames, but this particular ZOTAC edition does have a flaw, which could have resulted in such a horrible accident.
The GPU teardown by @Madness727 shows that the memory VRM, aka MSVDD rail, doesn't have active cooling, which makes it difficult to dissipate heat effectively. This is one of the major CONs unveiled during the teardown, but it will require further investigation to confirm and get to the actual cause.
As of now, the user is sending the GPU to the manufacturer for further investigation, but we don't know if ZOTAC will take responsibility for this and issue an RMA. However, in such a case where the component starts producing flames, it can create some problems for the manufacturer if it's proven that the unit caught fire without any tampering.
About the author: Sarfraz Khan is a hardware reporter with a focus on PC components and the builder community. With years of experience writing about PC hardware and laptops, his work has been featured on several reputable technology publications. Sarfraz's hands-on experience is demonstrated through his first-person accounts of using and comparing different hardware configurations, providing practical and relatable insights for everyday users. His technical analysis is respected by peers in the enthusiast community and has been cited by specialized hardware sites such as Germany's Igor's Lab.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
