ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 GPU “caught on fire” Redditor claims

ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 GPU “caught on fire” following apparent capacitor blowout

A user on Reddit called “Impossible-Weight485” (via Videocardz) has claimed that their ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 graphics card has “caught on fire” after a gaming session.

The user claims that their system suddenly shut down while browsing the internet. This was after being “done” with a gaming session. After turning on the system again, “the GPU caught on fire, and smoke started coming out.” After taking out their GPU, there were burn marks on their GPU and their motherboard. The damage can be seen below.

(Burn damage on the user’s GPU and motherboard)

Note that this incident is unrelated to the reports of melting 16-pin GPU power connections on RTX 50 series graphics cards. “Impossible-Weight485” posted images of both their GPU’s power connector and power cable, and both were “pristine.”

It looks like this GPU has a blown capacitor. Currently, it is unknown why this GPU’s capacitor blew or why the damage occurred when the GPU wasn’t heavily loaded. Remember, this system shut down while browsing the web.

(Note that this GPU’s 16-pin power connector is undamaged)

So far, this appears to be an isolated incident. There are no other reports of ROG Astral GPUs that have had the same issue. Regardless, this isn’t a good look for Nvidia or ASUS. The RTX 5090 launch has been mired in controversy, with reports of melting power connectors, black screen issues, and missing ROPS being commonly known by PC enthusiasts. Add on Nvidia’s RTX 50 series supply issues, and it is easy to see why a lot of gamers aren’t happy with Nvidia right now.

You can join the discussion on an ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 catching fire after a capacitor blew on the OC3D Forums.