RTX 5080 power cable allegedly melts at PSU — Redditor reports another 50-series failure

melted power connector for RTX 5080 on PSU side
(Image credit: Ambitious_ladder1320 / Reddit)

We’ve seen several reports of RTX 5090 FE GPUs melting their power cables even though Nvidia has previously said that it was confident that the issue that plagued RTX 4090 GPUs was unlikely to happen again. But as we’re grappling with these melted connectors with the RTX 5090s and their 575-watt TDP, X (formerly Twitter) user HXL spotted a Redditor posting images of their Asus RTX 5080 GPU which had suffered from a melted connector during normal use.

According to u/Ambitious_Ladder1320, their RTX 5080 GPU flashed a red light while they were using their PC, which meant that a pin wasn’t seated properly. The user claimed that both GPU and CPU cables were connected properly, but to troubleshoot the issue, they switched off their computer and reconnected the GPU cable.

Does Rog Lokis molted rtx 5000 gpu 12vhpwr cable from r/ASUS

This seemingly solved the problem, as the warning light disappeared. However, the display resolution and refresh rate dropped and the graphics card switched to PCIe x3 mode. So, they decided to shut down the PC again and reconnect all cables — this was when they discovered that the GPU’s power connector had melted on the PSU side, with the GPU side remaining unaffected.

One thing the user noticed was that they were using an Asus ROG Loki PSU — the same power supply reportedly being used by some other users who were affected by melting cables with their RTX 5090s.

Although what we see could be an issue with the PSU, the melting cable problem isn't exclusive to the ROG Loki. Some users say that the 12VHPWR and subsequent 12V-2x6 were to blame for the overheating problem. If this is true and the issue lies within the cable design, it needs to be redesigned completely, as the RTX 5080 has a much lower TDP versus the RTX 5090 and even the RTX 4090, and it's also starting to see melted connectors.

At the moment, we don’t have any confirmation yet whether this was a user error or if there’s something inherently wrong with the cable design. But it seems that Gamers Nexus’ EIC Stephen Burke has taken an interest in the Redditor’s problem and has offered to buy the GPU, PSU, and cable for “testing and for RMA support probing”, even offering to “pay full retail”.

If this was indeed a design problem that’s starting to affect GPUs as they get more power-hungry, then it shows that the hardware parties involved need to upgrade the cable/connector design to avoid issues like these, especially as consumer graphics cards become more powerful. Maybe a solution like Asus’ proprietary slot that does away with the external connector would be a good alternative — but support for such a drastic change wouldn't come quickly.

Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

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  • KyaraM
    So. Problem wasn't replicatable by other testers according to another article here, but both confirmed melted cables (at least I didn't see any more credible reports) were with Loki PSUs, and that one der8auer used with the weird amp distribution?

    Which manufacturer makes those PSUs? I know many vendors just rebrand them. Could it be that it is a manufacturing defect in the PSU, at least in part, that only appears with this particular GPU series for whatever reason? Or did they bork something in the connector board of the GPU? But then, why did nobody else see the same behavior? Is it just a small batch of connectors, or more widespread. Feels like this is getting bigger every day right now.
    Reply
  • wr3zzz
    "If this was indeed a design problem that’s starting to affect GPUs as they get more power-hungry, then it shows that the hardware parties involved need to upgrade the cable/connector design to avoid issues like these"

    Or, Nvidia should focus on better power efficiency... We have already gone through this during the ghz war when CPU heat got out of control.
    Reply
  • Jabberwocky79
    Right about now is when I really need AMD to announce a new (actual) flagship GPU.
    Reply
  • dwd999
    This is going to sound way out there but with suspected problems relating to power supplies I wonder if changes in case design may be a factor. Many case designs have adopted the power supply shroud or the dual chamber design where there's very little ventilation in the power supply area. So cooling the power supply components is almost totally dependent on the power supply's fan and input/exhaust vents. If ventilation is inadequate and prevents cooling of the power supply jacks and the plugs inserted in them that might be a factor in melting at that end.
    Reply
  • Eximo
    dwd999 said:
    This is going to sound way out there but with suspected problems relating to power supplies I wonder if changes in case design may be a factor. Many case designs have adopted the power supply shroud or the dual chamber design where there's very little ventilation in the power supply area. So cooling the power supply components is almost totally dependent on the power supply's fan and input/exhaust vents. If ventilation is inadequate and prevents cooling of the power supply jacks and the plugs inserted in them that might be a factor in melting at that end.

    Yeah I don't think the general solution should be pointing fans at the PSU output, they shouldn't be getting that hot in the first place. Maybe that they need to put temperature sensors around the connectors to ramp up the internal fan, or just limit power in the first place. Though I don't imagine there are many PSUs that can pump out 600W+ without running the fan.

    And it seems like they need some current sensors and circuitry at the GPU end to balance the load. Can't expect the cable to do it.

    And that the cables need to be tested for resistance before they get sent out, not just continuity. (Though that might already happen, at least I hope so)

    Or they go back to a cable with some overhead and switch to EPS. Dual EPS for the normies and triple EPS for enthusiasts. We would be essentially back where we were with triple 8-pin and that wouldn't be too much of a burden.
    Reply
  • alceryes
    KyaraM said:
    So. Problem wasn't replicatable by other testers according to another article here, but both confirmed melted cables (at least I didn't see any more credible reports) were with Loki PSUs, and that one der8auer used with the weird amp distribution?

    Which manufacturer makes those PSUs? I know many vendors just rebrand them. Could it be that it is a manufacturing defect in the PSU, at least in part, that only appears with this particular GPU series for whatever reason? Or did they bork something in the connector board of the GPU? But then, why did nobody else see the same behavior? Is it just a small batch of connectors, or more widespread. Feels like this is getting bigger every day right now.
    Each of the 12V pins of the connector is connected to a single plane - they are one metal connector both inside the PSU and on the GPU. More amps will get pulled through the path of least resistance.

    Because the safety margins of this connector design are so horrifically (erroneously) low, we are seeing the result of those limits being surpassed until physical failure. Pins that are only rated to carry 9A are seeing 23A+ going through them. This is the direct result of a flawed design and is in no way a failure of the PSU.
    Reply
  • KyaraM
    alceryes said:
    Each of the 12V pins of the connector is connected to a single plane - they are one metal connector both inside the PSU and on the GPU. More amps will get pulled through the path of least resistance.

    Because the safety margins of this connector design are so horrifically (erroneously) low, we are seeing the result of those limits being surpassed until physical failure. Pins that are only rated to carry 9A are seeing 23A+ going through them. This is the direct result of a flawed design and is in no way a failure of the PSU.
    Well, thanks for needlessly summarizing the issue for me I guess. However, that is quite literally NOT what I was saying. And no, this doesn't proof it's not the PSU. Not one bit.
    Reply
  • alceryes
    KyaraM said:
    Well, thanks for needlessly summarizing the issue for me I guess. However, that is quite literally NOT what I was saying. And no, this doesn't proof it's not the PSU. Not one bit.
    Curious. Please explain how the PSU could be at fault.
    Reply
  • YSCCC
    How about designing the GPUs that don't need to reiinvent and replace every existing standard including case layout, cable heat dissipation and so on.

    I personally believe the Asus PSU in question have been apparing frequently likely due to the fact that it's one of the few SFF ready high power PSU rated to be able to handle 5090 power draw. and ppl are buying the 5090 found it's marketed as SFF ready so hurray, why not put it in a SFF build? and once put in the airflow is suboptimal, the card peaks out at the rated max power the PSU can handle, and maybe some cable management pulling inside the SFF case to be able to.. close the cover and bam, here you go the recipe to disaster
    Reply
  • Gururu
    They should just simplify the cables and use only a single wire.
    Reply