A HardOCP forum user (erek) reports that their MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC stopped working while testing DLSS 5 in NBA 2K27. The incident is particularly interesting because DLSS 5 appears to push the RTX 5090’s power consumption much higher than normal. As you may expect, the flagship card is already a power-hungry component.

Erek says the graphics card typically used around 450W while gaming. After enabling DLSS 5, however, power consumption climbed above 600W. GPU-Z reportedly showed the card sitting around 610W for an extended period, rather than hitting that number for a short spike. The highest reading reportedly reached 613.5W.

That is well above the MSI RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC’s 575W power rating. It also shows why DLSS 5 is getting attention from hardware enthusiasts. Nvidia’s new 3D-Guided Neural Rendering technology is designed to improve image quality, but it also appears to come with a much larger power demand on high-end RTX 50-series cards. Performance is also affected.

The RTX 5090’s 16-pin connector was not necessarily carrying the entire 613.5W. GPU-Z measures total board power, which includes electricity supplied through the PCIe slot. The PCIe slot itself can provide up to 75W, while the 16-pin connection handles the rest. Still, the card eventually became unstable and stopped working.

Another melting connector on the RTX 5090

Erek then noticed a burning smell and checked the power connection. The plastic around the 16-pin connector had melted and fused with the cable. Several pins on the cable were reportedly scorched, with one section of the connector housing melted away.

Interestingly, the cable was an MSI yellow-tipped model. The yellow marking is designed to help users make sure the connector has been fully inserted, something that has become an important point with RTX 5090 power connections.

That said, the incident does not prove that DLSS 5 caused the connector to fail. RTX 5090 cards have suffered similar problems with other workloads, and loose or imperfect connections have previously been linked to melted 16-pin cables. However, DLSS 5 could be adding more stress to the situation.

For RTX 5090 owners, the incident is another reminder that the 16-pin connector remains something to watch closely, especially when pushing the GPU near or beyond its normal power limits.

About the Author

Abdul Haddi

Abdul is a tech writer and Editor for PC Guide, specializing in all things tech, gaming, and hardware.