RTX 5090 kicks off the Chinese New Year early with fireworks — $3,299 dream GPU upgrade becomes a fiery nightmare

As spotted by Uniko’s Hardware, one poor Bilibili user has started the Chinese New Year in the worst possible way. In an impromptu early celebration with sparks and smoke, their brand-new GeForce RTX 5090, one of the best graphics cards, appears to have suffered a short circuit, caught fire, and may be irreparably damaged.

The individual recently purchased an MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G Gaming Trio OC, one of the more premium custom models on the market, and a new power supply. Instead of a normal boot-up, the user was greeted by fire and smoke as they helplessly pressed the power button to shut down the system, hoping it would save the graphics card. The viral video, embedded below, is five seconds long and only captures the moment the premium graphics card begins to burn in real time. Many details remain a mystery.

The Bilibili user didn't share the power supply's specifications. It's anyone's guess whether it was adequate for a power-hungry graphics card like the GeForce RTX 5090. There have been cases of users selecting questionable brands or underpowered units, but we can't confirm whether this was the case with this user. Furthermore, we can't discard human error. Sometimes, a loose connection here or an overlapping power cable there can be detrimental. Surprisingly, the power supply appears to have survived the disaster unscathed. The Bilibili user confirmed there were no signs of damage to the power cables, so the 16-pin power connector didn't melt for once. The power supply was seemingly working fine with a GeForce RTX 5060.

It’s going to be an uphill battle for the unfortunate user for sure, as everything seems to be against them. First and foremost, the GeForce RTX 5090 is a sanctioned graphics card under the U.S. export restrictions, so you can't purchase it through an authorized channel in China. Nvidia has a special GeForce RTX 5090D and, subsequently, a GeForce RTX 5090D V2 for the Chinese market. There is no official warranty coverage for GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards that have sneaked their way into the black market through smuggling. Therefore, RMA is off the table for the victim.

The video footage doesn't reveal exactly which components ignited. One thing is certain, though. The short circuit appears to have originated from multiple locations simultaneously rather than from a single point. The fire left burned marks on the motherboard's chipset. If the damage is limited to the PCB, a skilled technician could probably transplant the GB202 die and the accompanying GDDR7 memory chips to another PCB. However, if the aforementioned components are damaged or completely destroyed, there is likely no happy ending for the owner of a charred GeForce RTX 5090. They won't know the extent of the damage until they can take the graphics card to a repair shop. Sadly, many shops have already closed for the Chinese New Year holidays, so they're in for an excruciating wait.

The street price for the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G Gaming Trio OC hovers around $3,299 in the U.S. market. To add salt to the wound, the Bilibili user paid the market price for the GeForce RTX 5090. The last time we checked, the market price for the GeForce RTX 5090 in China is around $4,000 to $5,000. Unless the user planned to use the GeForce RTX 5090 for AI, it was more prudent to choose the GeForce RTX 5090D V2, as gaming benchmarks have shown minimal performance difference compared to the original.

The story is a reminder of how delicate computer hardware can be, and how quickly an expensive graphics card can become a luxury paperweight.

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