RTX 4090’s 16-pin power connector erupts in smoke in shocking live footage — GPU melts during Marvel Rivals gameplay

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"Guys, is this bad?" asks the streamer.

Melting RTX 4090 caught on video
(Image credit: jessick on X)

Just a month into 2026, we may have our first melting of the RTX 4090, one of the best graphics cards, with many more likely to follow given these GPUs' track record. This incident was a bit special, though, as the meltdown was caught on camera live during a gaming session (embedded below). A streamer by the name of "jessick" was playing Marvel Rivals when her MSI RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio suddenly erupted in smoke.

As the video below shows (click the X post to expand), the 16-pin power connector is burning in real time, with smoke and embers visible. The rightmost wire of the 16-pin cable seems to be the culprit, as its shielding has completely melted away, and you can see the bare copper underneath. The connector's plastic has also liquified and conjoined with the molten cable.

Despite this horrific sight, the streamer didn't immediately shut off their PC for some reason. It goes without saying —if you see (or smell) something burning in your computer, you should cut power to it right away. There's no telling how much damage one faulty component can cause in a chain reaction, and a melting GPU carrying up to 600W of power should be the last risk you should take.

The GPU we're looking at is an RTX 4090 MSI Gaming X Trio variant with a 450W TGP and an 850W recommended power supply rating. We can see the streamer used a custom white cable to power the card, which likely failed to insert correctly. 16-pin power connectors, especially first-gen 12VHPWR units, are extremely picky during installation.

The slightest bit of looseness or bending can become catastrophic before you know it. If one of the connector pins isn't in complete contact with the cable, the others will bear its load, causing the connector to overheat. The moment even one pin or wire starts to get hot, trouble follows, just like in our streamer's case. We hope jessick turned off the GPU immediately after filming her video and promptly submitted an RMA.

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Hassam Nasir
Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Jabberwocky79
    Can you imagine the backlash if this percentage of a certain make of vehicle was catching fire? We're going on 3 years now of these shenanigans occurring on a weekly basis, and nothing is admitted or changed.
    Reply
  • LordVile
    What’s really the advantage of 12VHPWR aside from manufacturing costs for the card maker?
    Reply
  • TheyStoppedit
    Another day, another melted connector. I wonder how many more cards have melted where the user hasn't discovered it yet
    Reply
  • FunSurfer
    I bet $1000 that the user didn't lubricate the connector with CRC 2-26 as I suggested...
    Reply
  • Skramblr
    Jabberwocky79 said:
    Can you imagine the backlash if this percentage of a certain make of vehicle was catching fire? We're going on 3 years now of these shenanigans occurring on a weekly basis, and nothing is admitted or changed.
    Checkout Hyundia/Kia ICCU. Their EVs have a similar issue with the 12V DC-DC converter burning up the FETs and we see daily, yes daily, reports from customers on failures. Yet they've been cranking these faulty ICCUs out for almost 5 year with no software or hardware fix that has stopped it.
    Reply
  • ezst036
    No consumers should have to "know how to deal with this" - nor should any consumers have to face this issue while on a live stream or not.

    It's just bad customer service that this wasn't canceled years ago and proper connectors put on these cards.
    Reply
  • Skramblr
    LordVile said:
    What’s really the advantage of 12VHPWR aside from manufacturing costs for the card maker?
    These connectors themselves are MORE expensive, not less. The advantage is the conn can handle 600W of power, where the original connector is only rated for 225W. And buy using 1 conn instead of 3 of the old ones, they gain a large amount of real-estate on the card (takes much less room).
    Reply
  • Skramblr
    One thing I did notice is there was no actual 'fire' as the title claims. I watched the video twice and also didn't see any embers. But maybe I'm blind?
    Reply
  • QuarterSwede
    Jabberwocky79 said:
    Can you imagine the backlash if this percentage of a certain make of vehicle was catching fire? We're going on 3 years now of these shenanigans occurring on a weekly basis, and nothing is admitted or changed.
    The crazy part is we know why it’s happening and they still don’t update the connector and wiring gauge to support the increased current. Breakers exist mostly to prevent over current heating the wire up and melting the insulation. The math is known. Get with it GPU makers!
    Reply
  • TryRebooting
    Skramblr said:
    One thing I did notice is there was no actual 'fire' as the title claims. I watched the video twice and also didn't see any embers. But maybe I'm blind?
    Loosest definition of on fire is if something burns and emits smoke, but most definitions require it to be a exothermic reaction or visible flames which the connector is incapable of due to fire retardants. So it's really a argument of pedantics and I don't blame the author for using the loosest definition of smoke = fire. It's not clickbait as anyone knowledgeable in the subject would know flames are unlikely and that people say that when they see smoke.
    Reply