ZOTAC RTX 5090 reportedly 'blew up' after playing Black Flag Resynced for five minutes

A ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090 SOLID reportedly failed catastrophically while its owner was playing through the Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced tutorial, according to a post on the r/pcmasterrace subreddit. While the user's description of the card "blowing up" is a bit of an exaggeration, they claim to have heard a loud pop and crackling noise about five minutes into the game, followed by a cloud of smoke, and the system shut down immediately.

This one is peculiar because of where the damage actually is. The 16-pin 12V-2x6 power connector, the usual suspect in RTX 5090 failures, came through untouched. Instead, the burn marks are concentrated around the PCIe interface, both on the card's gold fingers and around the main PCIe slot on the owner's MSI MAG X870E Tomahawk motherboard.

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The card had reportedly been running fine for about a year with no hardware changes, and the only recent change was NVIDIA's GeForce 610.74 driver, released July 7, with support for Black Flag Resynced. There's no evidence tying that driver to the failure, and a software issue causing this kind of physical damage would be unusual on its own.

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Of course, RTX 5090 failures aren't new; we've covered several melted 12V-2x6 connectors at this point, including one where ASRock's TempGuard safety feature failed to prevent the damage as well. However, this case looks different since the connector itself is fine. It's closer to the exploded capacitor reported on another RTX 5090 last year, or the ROG Astral card that caught fire with burn marks on both the GPU and motherboard, both PCB-level failures rather than cable issues.

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The leading theory right now points to a crack in the PCB near the PCIe connector. The RTX 5090 is a big, heavy card, and sustained sag over a year of use can stress the board enough to fracture copper traces, especially if the card wasn't seated perfectly straight or fully supported.

A similar mod gone wrong on another 5090 shows how easily these boards can suffer PCB-level damage once something is wired or stressed incorrectly. Whether this specific case was avoidable is hard to say without a proper teardown; it could be a manufacturing defect, installation stress, or just a slow-growing crack that finally gave out.

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Frequently Asked Questions

TweakBot answers common questions about this news using TweakTown's own coverage from this page and related content from our archive. Tap a question to reveal the answer, or type your own below.

Question #1

What specific symptoms did the owner report before the ZOTAC RTX 5090 failed (noises, smoke, shutdown) and how long into gameplay did they occur?

The owner reported a loud pop and crackling noise about five minutes into gameplay, followed by a cloud of smoke, and the system shut down immediately.

Answered

Question #2

Could the July 7 NVIDIA GeForce 610.74 driver that added support for Black Flag Resynced be responsible for this physical PCIe/PCB failure?

There is no evidence tying the July 7 GeForce 610.74 driver to this failure, and the article says a software issue causing this kind of physical damage would be unusual. The leading theory instead points to a crack in the PCB near the PCIe connector from board stress or sag, not the driver.

Answered

Question #3

What evidence supports a cracked PCB near the PCIe connector as the likely cause of this failure?

The burn marks are concentrated around the PCIe interface, visible on the card’s gold fingers and the motherboard’s PCIe slot, while the 16-pin 12V-2x6 power connector was undamaged. That pattern points to a PCB-level failure rather than a power-connector fault, and the article notes that sustained sag from the RTX 5090’s weight can stress the board and fracture copper traces near the slot. The piece also cites a prior example where PCB damage occurred from a botched mod, illustrating how easily these boards can suffer fractures and related failures.

Answered

Question #4

What precautions or hardware (anti-sag brackets, seating checks) does the article recommend to prevent similar PCIe/PCB damage on heavy cards like the RTX 5090?

The article recommends using an anti-sag bracket that supports the front of the card, not just the back. It also advises making sure the card is seated flat and straight before powering on and avoiding forcing it into the slot at an angle. If you notice new coil whine, burning smells, or visible board flex, shut down and inspect before continuing to use the system.

Answered

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If you're running a 5090 or any similarly heavy card, an anti-sag bracket that supports the front of the card, not just the back, is worth having. Make sure the card is seated flat and straight before powering on, avoid forcing it into the slot at an angle, and if you ever notice new coil whine, burning smells, or visible board flex, it's worth shutting down and inspecting before you keep gaming on it.