Nvidia has run into some problems with its new GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards. They have discovered a “rare issue” affecting a small percentage of the RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti models that causes them to perform lower than expected. On the bright side, Nvidia has assured manufacturers that they will replace the affected cards. However, the difficulty in purchasing these cards remains a challenge for many users. Reports have surfaced of cards that fail to start or, in one shocking instance, a card that actually caught fire.
For over a week, RTX 5090 owners have shared their frustrations online, claiming that some of the cards were shipped with fewer rendering units than intended. According to Nvidia’s own documentation, the RTX 5090 should come with 176 render output units (ROPs). Unfortunately, some variations of the card seem to be using the Blackwell architecture, which has fewer functioning ROPs. Over the weekend, Nvidia confirmed that about 0.5% of the RTX 5090 and RTX 5070 Ti cards sold were affected, resulting in roughly a 4% drop in graphics performance. The issue also affects the RTX 5090D model, primarily sold in China, but Nvidia has stated that the manufacturing problem has been fixed.
For now, owners must check whether their high-priced graphics card is underperforming. A website called TechPowerUp, which was instrumental in discovering the issue, reported that some Zotac RTX 5090 Solid cards were indeed underperforming. They found eight missing ROPs in one model being tested, leading to a loss of 4.5% in performance. ROPs are important for tasks like anti-aliasing and texture rendering, which means that while some users may notice a drop in performance, others could experience normal gameplay in certain games.
The RTX 5070 Ti is supposed to have 96 ROPs. However, some users have reported receiving cards with only 88 ROPs, resulting in a possible 10% performance reduction in some games. To address these issues, owners need to contact the specific manufacturers directly for replacements. Gizmodo has reached out to Zotac to find out how customers can go about getting replacements, and they will update the story once they receive a response.
This issue may extend to the Founder Edition cards as well as a variety of models from other makers like Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte. Nvidia seems unable to resolve these problems through software updates, indicating that the root of the issue lies with the design or manufacturing of some components, particularly the Blackwell GB202 chips.
The launch of the RTX 50-series has faced more hurdles than typically expected. Compared to the previous controversies surrounding the RTX 4090 launch—like issues with melting cables—these problems seem even more concerning. Users in the Nvidia community are increasingly feeling that the newest graphics cards might be pushing beyond what an average consumer PC can support.
One alarming incident reported on Reddit involved a user whose Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 caught fire after experiencing a failure while browsing the web after playing games. This model is a large, high-end card that costs over $3,000. After the user rebooted their PC, smoke began to pour out of the case, revealing burn damage on the GPU and motherboard. Although it’s uncertain why this happened, it appears the problem stemmed from the GPU’s power stage, rather than the power connector itself.
In light of these challenges, Nvidia needs to reassess its quality control measures for future launches. Reviewers typically expect some initial setbacks with new products, especially complicated ones like GPUs. During testing, some users encountered problems such as the PC booting to a black screen after being shut down or waking from sleep mode. Nvidia claimed that a recent driver update would resolve these issues, but customers continue to express their dissatisfaction on forums. The company has indicated that they are still looking into these concerns, and solutions may require software or firmware updates.