DLSS 5 Linked to Increased Power Draw and Melted Connector on RTX 5090
Recent testing has revealed that NVIDIA's DLSS 5 technology may be contributing to significantly higher power consumption on the GeForce RTX 5090, raising concerns about hardware safety and reliability. According to a report from Videocardz, a user experienced a melted power connector on an MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC while running DLSS 5 Neural Rendering in NBA 2K27—currently the only game with official DLSS 5 support.
Incident Details: Power Draw Exceeds Manufacturer Ratings
The user, identified as "erek," documented the incident in detail. During DLSS 5 testing, the graphics card's power draw surged from its typical 450 W to over 600 W, surpassing MSI's official 575 W rating for the card. A GPU-Z screenshot captured a sustained board power reading of 613.5 W, not just a brief spike. Shortly after reaching these levels, the card failed, and a burning odor led to the discovery that the connector's plastic had melted and fused to the socket.
Understanding the Power Draw and Connector Issues
It's important to note that GPU-Z measures total board power, which includes both the auxiliary connectors and the power supplied by the PCIe slot. This means the full 613.5 W reading does not necessarily indicate that the connector alone was carrying the entire load. However, the incident highlights ongoing concerns about the durability of the 12V-2x6 power connector, which has previously been linked to similar failures under various high-load scenarios.
While DLSS 5 appears to push the RTX 5090 to higher sustained power levels, it may not be the sole factor in this hardware failure. Melted connectors have been reported with other demanding workloads as well. The combination of a feature that maintains high power draw and a connector design that has already shown vulnerabilities could potentially increase the risk of such incidents, though more data is needed to establish a clear pattern.
Industry Response and Ongoing Concerns
As of now, NVIDIA has not issued a statement regarding this specific incident or the broader implications of DLSS 5's increased power requirements. The situation underscores the importance of monitoring power consumption and ensuring that hardware components are capable of handling the demands of advanced rendering technologies.
