We have another case of a burned 16-pin cable with a GeForce RTX 5090. The affected user said that the connector on the graphics card looked normal before using it. He also decided to limit the maximum power draw of the card to 500 watts using MSI Afterburner software.
By limiting the power to 500 watts, following a tutorial, he believed he would reduce the risk of the 16-pin connector burning. However, he was not lucky, as the cable still burned. The user said the issue happened seven months after installing the graphics card. He is unsure whether this caused permanent damage to the GPU or the power supply.
GeForce RTX 5090 Cable Burns Even With 500W Power Limit
The connector burned on the lower pins, while the upper part remains almost untouched, which is a bit strange. It is not clear whether there was a mistake when connecting the cable. This cannot be ruled out, as similar cases have happened before.
The user was using the four 8-pin to 16-pin power adapter that comes with all GeForce RTX 5090 cards. This may have played a role in the final result. However, not all manufacturers agree that using a direct 16-pin cable without an adapter is always safer. Some say the level of safety is the same.
In any case, using an adapter that depends on four separate connectors always adds some risk that something could go wrong. When connecting a 16-pin cable, it is important to make sure all connectors are fully inserted and that no part is loose or poorly connected.
