Updated
Updated · Zamin · Jun 20
Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Overheats, Damaging Motherboard Heatsink as Power Draw Nears 1,000W
Updated
Updated · Zamin · Jun 20

Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 Overheats, Damaging Motherboard Heatsink as Power Draw Nears 1,000W

3 articles · Updated · Zamin · Jun 20

Summary

  • A Taiwanese user reported an Asus ROG Astral RTX 5090 degraded the chipset heatsink coating on an Asus ProArt X870-E Creator WiFi motherboard after about six months of AI workloads.
  • The damage appeared during maintenance, when discoloration on the motherboard heatsink showed prolonged exposure to extreme heat from the GPU.
  • The RTX 5090 draws about 700W under full load and can spike to roughly 1,000W, levels experts said can overheat nearby components if case airflow is poorly managed.
  • The case has revived concerns about high-end GPU thermals, adding to earlier reports of melting 16-pin 12VHPWR power connectors on similar cards.
  • Experts say buyers of top-tier GPUs may need stronger cooling layouts and 1,200-1,500W power supplies, underscoring rising system-level demands beyond the card itself.

Insights

When a GPU damages a motherboard, who is liable: the user or the manufacturer?
Has the race for GPU power officially broken the standard PC form factor?
Are we just cooling a power inefficiency problem instead of fixing the source?