● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
Nvidia RTX 5090's 16-pin power connector runs hotter than GPU die with DLSS 5 enabled
Key points
- RTX 5090 power draw peaked at nearly 650W.
- 16-pin connector reached over 90 degrees Celsius with DLSS 5.
- Connector temperature exceeded GPU die temperature.
- Reports of 16-pin connector melting persist.
DLSS 5 Increases Connector Temperatures
Korean outlet QuasarZone conducted tests on the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition, observing that with DLSS 5 enabled, the 16-pin (12VHPWR) power connector reached temperatures as high as 91.7 degrees Celsius. This temperature was recorded during a 20-minute Cyberpunk 2077 session at 4K resolution with DLSS Quality and Ultra image settings.
Without DLSS 5, the same connector registered 80.9 degrees Celsius. The increase in temperature with DLSS 5 enabled suggests a higher power draw or thermal load on the connector.
Connector Hotter Than GPU Die
The recorded temperature of the 16-pin power connector (91.7 degrees Celsius) was higher than the average core and peak temperatures of the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU die, which were 83 and 86.3 degrees Celsius, respectively, with DLSS 5 enabled. This indicates that the power connector became the hottest component on the graphics card during these tests.
Persistent 16-pin Connector Issues
User reports of 16-pin power connector melting continue to surface online, affecting both Nvidia and AMD Radeon graphics cards. This issue is not limited to new users or specific brands, with some media outlets also experiencing connector failures. The increased temperatures observed with DLSS 5 could exacerbate these existing concerns regarding the reliability of the 16-pin connector.
Comparison with RTX 5080
In contrast to the RTX 5090, the GeForce RTX 5080 Founders Edition exhibited significantly lower temperatures. Before DLSS 5 activation, its 16-pin connector temperatures were 45.8 and 47.6 degrees Celsius. This suggests that the thermal issues are more pronounced in higher-power consumption cards like the RTX 5090.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
Tests by QuasarZone indicate that enabling DLSS 5 on the GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition causes the 16-pin (12VHPWR) power connector to reach temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Celsius, which is hotter than the GPU die itself. This finding is significant because it highlights a potential thermal issue with high-power GPUs and their connectors, especially as reports of 16-pin connector melting incidents persist across different graphics card brands.