New report finds GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs affected by PCB hotspots that can reach 107 degrees

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Igor's Lab has just released a new in-depth report that uncovers a potential 'hotspot issue' affecting all GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, unrelated to the GPU chip or the latest GDDR7 memory. The hotspots have been recorded in the power delivery systems on the PCB, which Igor's Lab says could affect the longevity of affected graphics cards built using NVIDIA's reference designs.

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GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070 with PCB hotspots of 80 and 107 degrees, image credit: Igor's Lab.

Igor's Lab tested a range of GPUs from NVIDIA partners like Palit, PNY, MSI, and others. It describes the issue as "heat nests" located below the power supply that aren't often actively or otherwise cooled. And the issue seems to be worse on lower-tier cards like the GeForce RTX 5070, as the shorter and smaller PCB means these sections are more densely packed between the GPU and the display outputs.

Looking at a PNY GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5070, the former records a hotspot measuring 80.5 degrees Celsius, while the RTX 5070 reports a hotspot of 107.3 degrees Celsius. In the case of the RTX 5070, this is with a GPU temperature of 69.7 degrees.

A PCB is an intricate system of copper layers, power planes, voltage converters, and components like FETs. On the plus side, Igor's lab mitigated the issue by applying thermal pads or putty to the affected areas, which dropped temperatures by around 10 degrees.

However, as the issue affects all models, including the recently released GeForce RTX 5060 Ti, it sounds serious.

"The thermal behavior is not a direct function of the TDP or number of phases, but an expression of the layout geometry, the choice of materials, and the mechanical coupling," Igor Wallossek concludes. "Without targeted measures for backside heat dissipation - such as thermally active backplates or heatpad connections - this class of problems remains systemic."

Igor's Lab contacted "all manufacturers" before publishing the report and findings, but didn't receive a response. Be sure to head over to Igor's Lab to read the full report.