NVIDIA Reportedly Replaces Faulty Secondhand RTX 5090 Without Proof of Purchase
2026-10-19 · 3 min read · AlphaGBM
At a glance
Fast Technology reported on October 19 that a Reddit user described receiving warranty service after the power connector on a secondhand RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card melted. About one and a half months earlier, the user was running a local large language model late at night when the system crashed and an unusual smell appeared. An inspection found that the 12VHPWR power cable had melted and become stuck to the card’s connector. The report attributed to the user a preliminary theory that repeated plugging and unplugging may have loosened or worn the contacts, leading to poor contact and overheating, although the specific cause was not confirmed. The original seller could no longer be reached, leaving the user without proof of purchase, while offline repair shops reportedly said the card’s angled side-facing connector design made compatible replacement parts difficult to find. The user then submitted a fault description, connector photographs and the serial number to NVIDIA. According to the account, NVIDIA approved the warranty request, and a replacement card arrived about one week after the faulty unit was returned. The user suspected that the replacement’s appearance indicated refurbishment but said the overall outcome was satisfactory, adding that under the same undervolting configuration it consumed 50 to 80W less power than the old card and also ran cooler.
Summary
Fast Technology reported on October 19 that a Reddit user described receiving warranty service after the power connector on a secondhand RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card melted. About one and a half months earlier, the user was running a local large language model late at night when the system crashed and an unusual smell appeared. An inspection found that the 12VHPWR power cable had melted and become stuck to the card’s connector. The report attributed to the user a preliminary theory that repeated plugging and unplugging may have loosened or worn the contacts, leading to poor contact and overheating, although the specific cause was not confirmed. The original seller could no longer be reached, leaving the user without proof of purchase, while offline repair shops reportedly said the card’s angled side-facing connector design made compatible replacement parts difficult to find. The user then submitted a fault description, connector photographs and the serial number to NVIDIA. According to the account, NVIDIA approved the warranty request, and a replacement card arrived about one week after the faulty unit was returned. The user suspected that the replacement’s appearance indicated refurbishment but said the overall outcome was satisfactory, adding that under the same undervolting configuration it consumed 50 to 80W less power than the old card and also ran cooler.