$5,245 prebuilt RTX 5090 PC's connectors melt after sitting boxed for a year
When one gamer's prebuilt PC had a GPU and power cables burn up, they didn't know where to turn: the system builder or the GPU manufacturer. It turned into a headache of differing policies and warranties.
Anthony DeMarco recently discovered melted and fused connectors on his Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, Power Supply, and power cables after receiving a pre-built Digital Storm Corsa PC from his father. The system, purchased in May 2025, cost $5,245 and included high-end components like an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X CPU, Kingston Fury RGB RAM, and a Crucial T700 Pro SSD.
DeMarco tested and initially packed the computer for his new job, only to find the issue two weeks later when he noticed a burning smell and flickering screen. The damage extended beyond the GPU, with the most severe being the melted power supply and fused cables. Digital Storm, the PC builder, and PNY, the GPU manufacturer, both offered warranties, but the one-year warranty for Digital Storm had already expired.
PNY's warranty required the use of their cables, which were not used in this case. DeMarco attempted to return merchandise authorization (RMA) the GPU through PNY but was informed that unsupported third-party cables were not covered under warranty. He then filed a report with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
