A GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card ignited on first boot in China, captured on Bilibili. Learn about the incident, causes, and implications for high-end GPUs.
© Bilibili
A dramatic incident in China saw a GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card catch fire during the system's first boot. Footage of the event surfaced on Bilibili, showing the installed MSI RTX 5090 sparking and igniting inside the PC case as the computer started.
According to the video's uploader, the card was being installed for the first time, and the recording captured the initial power-on after a power supply unit (PSU) replacement. The system was using a new 1,300 W power supply with its original cables. The owner states that the wiring was not damaged and that after swapping the video card for an RTX 5060, the computer continued to operate normally. However, one photo reveals darkening on the motherboard area near the PCIe slot.
It is specifically noted that the issue has been recognized as a fault of the video card itself. Meanwhile, the standard RTX 5090 is not officially sold in China—only the RTX 5090D and RTX 5090D V2 variants are available on the local market. The affected card was purchased through a third-party, so it has no official warranty in the region. For repairs, the owner will likely have to send the device abroad.
This incident follows recent reports of issues with other high-end NVIDIA models, including cases of overheating and smoking from RTX 4090s. The new episode may heighten user concerns about the power consumption and reliability of next-generation flagship graphics cards.