A Reddit user posted a picture of an RTX 5090 as a birthday gift, accompanied by a small precautionary kit. This refers to the current issues that Nvidia is experiencing with their new 50 series cards.
What a gift! A user posted on Reddit a picture of his NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 as a birthday gift for his son, accompanied by the words: “Safety first!”.
The picture shows alongside the graphics card a thermometer, a fire extinguisher, and the sticker “Fake Frames – Real Flames.” The user explained that he had signed up for about 30 waitlists for various 5090 models when the card was released. Only one of the models arrived in time for his son’s birthday.
Fake frames, but real flames
This is what the gadgets are about: The picture features fire extinguishers, thermometers, and a sticker. These refer to the well-known heat problems with Nvidia graphics cards. Especially the 12VHPWR power connectors have been problematic in the RTX 40 series. Under load, the connectors became excessively hot and in some cases even melted. This issue is also reoccurring with the 50 series (via Reddit).
The thermometer is meant to monitor the temperatures of components and cables. Meanwhile, the fire extinguisher stands by as a precaution for the worst-case scenario. The user himself, an engineer, explains:
“That’s a lot of amperes running through a small, mechanically secured connector. I can imagine that most cards are completely safe, but it just seems reasonable to check the temperatures under load and have an emergency solution at hand.”
What does the sticker mean? The sticker says: “Fake Frames – Real Flames”. It refers to the “fake frames” generated by AI-assisted multi-frame generation. Artificially generated images are created that increase the actual frame rate. Critics label this as “fake,” because they are not genuinely calculated by the GPU. The words “Real Flames” refer to overheating issues and that real flames can arise from that.
The RTX 50 series has a rocky start
These problems are causing discussions: In addition to overheating issues and known supply shortages of the 50 series, Nvidia faces further hurdles. Another topic includes the ROP issues with some RTX 5000 models. The ROPs are responsible for displaying the image calculated by the GPU on the screen.
In certain variants of the RTX 5090, 5070 Ti, and 5080, fewer ROP units were delivered than expected. This can lead to a performance loss of about 4 percent. Nvidia has confirmed this issue, but it only affects a small percentage of the cards. Affected users must identify and report the issue themselves.
Additionally, there were initially driver problems that sometimes caused black screens, or that the PC wouldn’t start at all. However, this problem was also resolved through alternative means.
The RTX 50 series, despite the supply shortages and some issues with the cards, is highly sought after. If you want to get an RTX 5090 or already own one, you should keep in mind some safety considerations. Because a leading power supply expert strongly advises against using adapters or extensions for the RTX 5090.
