테스트 결과 엔비디아의 DLSS 5 기술이 RTX 5090의 전력 소모를 600W 이상으로 끌어올려, 부하 상태에서 16핀 전원 커넥터가 녹는 현상이 발생했다.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 has faced ongoing scrutiny regarding its 16-pin power connector, a concern that intensifies when paired with software features demanding significantly higher power loads. DLSS 5 introduces a substantial increase in power consumption, creating a potentially hazardous combination. According to HardOCP forum member Erek, this dynamic resulted in a damaged graphics card yesterday while testing DLSS 5 in NBA 2K27. Ironically, NBA 2K27 remains the only title with official DLSS 5 support, with all other implementations relying on community modifications. Despite this limited native adoption, the feature reportedly caused irreversible damage to Erek’s MSI RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC, a model rated at a 575W TDP.

During the test, Erek reported that the GPU’s power draw exceeded 600W. GPU-Z telemetry confirmed the card consistently hovered above 610W, rather than experiencing a transient spike. Prior to enabling DLSS 5, the same hardware consumed approximately 450W during gameplay, indicating that the neural rendering technology added more than 150W to the baseline power requirement. While the 16-pin connector is rated to handle up to 600W, it is important to note that the PCIe x16 slot supplies an additional 75W independently. Consequently, the connector itself may not have been subjected to a total load exceeding 600W. Nevertheless, the incident escalated quickly: the RTX 5090 began exhibiting graphical instability before failing entirely. Erek detected a burning odor and discovered that the 16-pin connector had suffered severe thermal damage.

The heat generated was sufficient to melt the connector’s plastic housing, fusing it to the cable and making separation extremely difficult. Once detached, the extent of the damage was evident: at least five pins on the 16-pin cable were scorched, and the housing around one pin had completely melted away. The cable in question featured a yellow tip, a design intended to visually confirm proper insertion. Although available photographs of the GPU-side connector are blurry, the remnants of the melted yellow plastic remain distinctly visible against the surrounding black and grey components.

It cannot be definitively confirmed whether DLSS 5 directly caused the failure, as RTX 5090 incidents have become relatively frequent, often stemming from inadequate seating between the connector and cable. However, our internal testing corroborates the enthusiast’s assessment regarding DLSS 5’s power impact. In our evaluation of the MSI RTX 5090 Lightning Z variant—equipped with dual 16-pin connectors and a 1,000W XOC BIOS—the card drew 800W in Control with DLSS 5 enabled, compared to 691W without it. The disparity proved even more pronounced in Hogwarts Legacy, where power consumption jumped from 480W to 720W with DLSS 5 active, representing a 50% increase. Even the standard Founder’s Edition model, which utilizes a single 16-pin connector, saw power draw rise from 417W to 547W, a 31% increase attributable solely to the neural rendering feature.

Given that Erek’s specific model sits between these two variants and considering the documented power budget imbalance, it is reasonable to conclude that DLSS 5 played a central role in the failure. Had the hardware exhibited irregularities prior to the software update, the outcome might have differed. Regardless, the incident underscores significant engineering challenges ahead. Before DLSS 5 can be safely deployed across the broader ecosystem, including potential backward compatibility with the RTX 40-series, NVIDIA must address the efficiency and thermal management implications. Beyond raw performance gains, mitigating these safety and power delivery concerns remains a critical priority.