RTX 5090 prebuilt's power connectors melt after a year in the box

A Digital Storm prebuilt with an RTX 5090 melted its own power connectors after sitting unopened for a year, according to Tom's Hardware. The buyer powered on the $5,245 system for the first time and promptly got smoke and melted plastic.

Digital Storm is pointing at PNY's GPU warranty. PNY is pointing back, claiming third-party power cables (the ones Digital Storm installed) caused the failure. Both are refusing the claim. The buyer is out a GPU and potentially a power supply.

This looks like a 12V-2x6 connector issue — the same kind that plagued early RTX 4090 cards when cables weren't seated correctly or were bent too aggressively near the plug. The RTX 5090 uses the same connector. If the builder shipped the card with a marginal cable seat and it sat for twelve months, thermal cycling or contact degradation could've pushed it over the edge.

The kicker is the one-year gap. Most component warranties start ticking the day you buy, not the day you unbox. If you're sitting on a high-end prebuilt for any length of time, power it on within the first month just to surface DOA issues before the clock runs out. And when you do, check that 12V-2x6 connector yourself — make sure it clicks fully, with no gap, and that the cable has slack before any bend.

Run a hardware checkup if you've got a 50-series card sitting in a box. Better to catch a bad cable now than after the smoke starts.