MSI RTX 5090 Melts Twice; User Reports Connector Melting With MSI’s Yellow Tip Adapter
Reports of melting power connectors continue to plague NVIDIA’s high-end GPUs, and this time, an MSI GeForce RTX 5090 owner has experienced the issue not once, but twice. A Reddit user shared their experience on the PCMasterRace subreddit, explaining that the GPU’s 16-pin connector melted two separate times within a span of just a few weeks.
The user, known as u/Deja_, reported using an MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio powered by a Corsair SF1000 PSU, alongside MSI’s yellow tip 4x8-pin to 16-pin adapter rather than the native 12VHPWR cable included with the power supply. According to his post, the first GPU melted in July, after which he received a replacement through RMA in August, only for the issue to repeat itself less than two months later. The MSI yellow tip adapter, designed to convert four 8-pin connectors into a single 16-pin connection, has been known to create load-balancing issues under high current draw. Even when properly seated, with the yellow tip fully inserted, the adapter can still experience uneven current distribution across the pins, leading to overheating and eventual melting.
The Redditor claimed to have ensured a proper fit before each use, but the same result occurred twice. While user error is often cited in melting connector cases, this situation highlights ongoing design flaws and potential compatibility issues when mixing adapters with certain PSUs.
The Corsair SF1000 is an ATX 3.1-compliant unit that ships with a native 12VHPWR cable, which theoretically should have been the safer choice. However, since the user opted to use the MSI-supplied adapter instead, it’s possible that the combined stress of the adapter’s limitations and the PSU’s compact form factor contributed to the failure.
Connector melting has been a recurring issue since the debut of NVIDIA’s 12VHPWR and now 12V-2x6 power standards. The RTX 5090, with its extreme power demands, pushes these connectors to their limits, especially when paired with adapters instead of native cabling.
Community speculation suggests that in this particular case, a combination of poor adapter design and PSU-related factors may have led to the repeated melting. While MSI’s yellow tip adapters are designed for broad compatibility, they are also among the most frequently reported culprits in such incidents due to their susceptibility to uneven current flow.
For now, users are advised to avoid multi-pin adapters whenever possible and instead use native 12VHPWR or 12V-2x6 cables directly from their PSU to the GPU. Proper seating and cable bending angle should also be double-checked, as small misalignments can result in high resistance and heat buildup.
Have you experienced similar issues with RTX 40 or 50 series GPUs? Do you think GPU makers should stop including these adapters altogether?
