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The launch of the Nvidia RTX 50 series is not going smoothly. The Nvidia RTX 5090 and 5080 were the first RTX 50 series GPUs to arrive in January, followed by the RTX 5070 Ti in February.
However, the 12V-2x6 connector melting issue started cropping up in Reddit threads before the launch of the Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti. Subsequently, more reports surfaced, including missing ROPs, the ASUS Astral RTX 5090 card catching fire, and more.
In this article, we will analyze some of the glaring issues plaguing the launch of the RTX 50 series and help users understand the situation.
Multiple issues have left the Nvidia RTX 50 series launch in murky waters
The RTX 50 series issues first started with the 12V-2x6 melted connector. Multiple users posted photos of their RTX 5090's melted connectors on Reddit, which indicated this was not an isolated incident. Soon, reports surfaced online about more RTX 50 series issues, including instability concerns, missing ROPs, and more.
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Let's start with the most obvious one:
The 12V-2x6 cable melting issue
On February 9, 2025, a user posted photos of their RTX 5090's melted connectors on Reddit. However, as he was using a third-party cable, Reddit users believed it was probably due to that cable and probably a one-off case.
Soon after, EL Chapuas Informatico, a Spanish tech news site, reported another melted connector issue. A Spanish YouTuber, Toro Tocho, suffered the same fate, but only the PSU side of the connector melted for him, not the GPU side.
More reports followed soon, clarifying that it was far from an isolated issue. In case you forgot, the RTX 40 series connector melting problems also started similarly, so it is disappointing to see the same issue return.
Missing ROPs
TechPowerUp first reported the case of missing ROPs in the RTX 5090. The CPU-Z application reported the Zotac GeForce RTX 5090 Solid GPU having only 168 ROPs as opposed to the full 176 stated in its specifications.
For those unaware, ROPs are short for Render Output Units/Render Output Pipelines. They are responsible for pixel data calculations, texture rending, blending, antialiasing, and more; so a lower ROP count can have a performance impact, and it certainly did.
TechPowerUp reported the Zotac GPU to be around 5.6% slower than the Founder's Edition and 8.4% slower than the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 OC Edition.
Speaking to The Verge, Nvidia has confirmed the missing ROPs case on the GeForce RTX 5090/5090D, RTX 5080, and 5070 Ti GPUs.
ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 caught fire
Redditor u/Impossible-Weight485 reported that their PC with ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 shut down out of the blue. Upon restarting their PC, flames and smoke emerged from the GPU. The user posted pictures of both the graphics card and the motherboard, and there were burn marks on both the GPU PCB and the motherboard.
All RTX 50 series "Blackwell" GPUs lack 32-bit PhysX processing capabilities
When a user reported that PhysX wasn't working on the RTX 50 series at Nvidia forums, it prompted a response from Nvidia staff. Manuel@NVIDIA at Nvidia forums came forward and confirmed that the RTX 50 series lacks the 32-bit PhysX processing capabilities, and it was like by design.
Games that used PhysX physics simulations, such as Borderlands 2, Mirror’s Edge, Batman: Arkham City, and more, will run terribly on RTX 50 series GPU when those effects are applied. For context, PhysX has been part of the Nvidia graphics cards for almost two decades.
We are still days away from the launch of the Nvidia RTX 5070 and possibly months away from the announcement of the RTX 5060 series graphics cards, and so many issues have cropped up already. The launch of the RTX 50 series is marred by multiple problems and the lower supplies aren't helping the case.
