News Overview
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Recall Rumors Clarified: MSI has refuted circulating rumors about a recall of its Nvidia RTX 5090 graphics cards due to potential fire hazards, attributing the confusion to miscommunication with a Dutch retailer.
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Ongoing Safety Concerns: Despite MSI’s clarification, issues such as melting power connectors and bricked GPUs persist among RTX 5090 users, prompting further scrutiny.
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Manufacturing Anomalies: Nvidia has acknowledged a manufacturing defect affecting less than 0.5% of RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti GPUs, where missing render output units lead to a 4% performance drop in graphics tasks.
Original article link: MSI squashes Nvidia RTX 5090 recall rumors over fire hazard concerns
In-Depth Analysis
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Clarification of Recall Misunderstanding:
- Incident Origin: A customer reported that a Dutch retailer, Uw Game Specialist, canceled an RTX 5090 order, citing a recall over fire hazard concerns.
- MSI’s Response: MSI refuted these claims, stating no such recall exists and criticized the retailer for misinformation, especially since Uw Game Specialist isn’t an official MSI partner.
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Persistent Safety Issues:
- Power Connector Failures: Users have reported melting power connectors, reminiscent of issues seen with the previous RTX 4090 series.
- GPU Failures: Some RTX 5090 units have experienced overheating, leading to permanent damage.
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Manufacturing Defect:
- Missing Render Output Units: Nvidia identified that certain RTX 5090 and 5070 Ti GPUs are missing one render output unit, resulting in a 4% decrease in graphical performance.
- Impact: This defect doesn’t affect AI and compute workloads, and Nvidia assures that affected consumers can seek replacements from board manufacturers.
Commentary
The GPU market is currently facing several challenges with Nvidia’s latest offerings. While MSI’s clarification addresses specific recall rumors, it doesn’t fully alleviate growing consumer concerns about the RTX 5090’s reliability. The recurrence of power connector failures and GPU overheating suggests potential design or quality control issues that warrant closer examination. Additionally, the manufacturing defect affecting a small percentage of GPUs, though minor in performance impact, adds to the list of recent challenges for Nvidia. Consumers considering high-end GPUs like the RTX 5090 should stay informed about these developments and monitor official communications from manufacturers.