MSI Yellow 12V-2×6 cable turns black when used with RTX 5090

User reports charred MSI 12V-2×6 power cable when used with RTX 5090 SUPRIM

Unlike other manufacturers, MSI uses distinct yellow tips on their 12V-2×6/12VHPWR cables. These custom cables are designed to be safer to use than standard cables, as their yellow colouring makes it easier for users to see if their cables aren’t fully seated. Sadly, this hasn’t prevented this cable from getting charred when using with an RTX 5090 SUPRIM.

A user over on Quazer Zone (via @Harukaze5719) has reported that their RTX 5090-powered gaming system bluescreened after two hours of gameplay. After this bluescreen, the user checked their system and found that their GPU’s power connector was charred.

The image above shows the damage to the 12V-2×6 cable. All of the GPU’s power pins are charred. However, they are not completely melted, and the graphics card’s power connector does not appear to have suffered major damage.

(We reviewed MSI’s RTX 5090 SUPRIM SOC GPU earlier this year)

Below we can see the user’s RTX 5090 SURPIM graphics card. Note that the central line of six pins appears darker than the pins below it. This suggests that some smoke from the charred cable may be on this GPU’s power pins. Currently, it is unclear if the GPU is damaged or if the damage is restricted to the GPU’s power cable.

Hopefully, this user can get their graphics card replaced by MSI through an RMA. The user claims that they used a 1300W Superflower PSU to power their system, and that the power adapter they used was provided by MSI. Since this issue only affects MSI’s GPU and its provided power cable, this is clearly MSI’s problem to fix.

You can join the discussion on MSI’s included 12V-2×6 splitter cable burning on an RTX 5090 GPU on the OC3D Forums.