News Igor's Lab uncovers 'hotspot issue' affecting all RTX 50-series GPUs — says it could compromise graphics card longevity

[Admin]

Igor's Lab has discovered extremely high hotspot temperatures on most (if not all) RTX 50-series AIB partner cards around the power delivery area that could compromise graphics card longevity.

Igor's Lab uncovers 'hotspot issue' affecting all RTX 50-series GPUs — says it could compromise graphics card longevity : Read more

 

[TheyStoppedit]

Heh, just when we thought the 50 series already had enough problems, we find out multi-flame generation is available on all 50 series cards, not just the 5090 and 4090, Ooooohh the 50 series, the GPU gen we all can't wait to just leave behind, learn from, forget about and move on from. I can't wait to tell my grandchildren about that one long-lost GPU gen around the fire pit on halloween night.

 

[chaz_music]

Good find for this article.

Wow, very basic mistakes. The power connector issue and now the on board PSU section. I did not see in the article if that PSU layout is a reference design from Nvidia. With the PNY board getting to 107 deg C! Unless PNY is using an expensive PCB material, that is getting very close to the glass transition temperature for the PCB resin. D'oh! What's that smell?

In essence, they did not do a thermal image check before they shipped. On a product that has high density heating. And expensive. Shameful. The PSU area heating will also contribute to the ongoing connector issue. The near term fix is to use lots of airflow. A fan creating that much air will relegate a gamer to using a headset.

 

[CelicaGT]

I'd like to see some thermal images of equivalent, 30 and 40 series cards as a control. The 4090 is mentioned, but no real world data. Still, very interesting about the thermal design guide.

 

[DRagor]

Yeah, like, who needs the GPU to survive for long? Certainly not Ngreedia. They will eagerly welcome you to buy their new card after current one burns out just after warranty.

 

[SkyBill40]

I'd like to see some thermal images of equivalent, 30 and 40 series cards as a control. The 4090 is mentioned, but no real world data. Still, very interesting about the thermal design guide.

Same. I'd be interested to know how my EVGA 3080 FTW 3 is hot spotting (if at all) so I can see about trying to reduce any heat concerns.

 

[User of Computers]

lmao. They hid hotspot temps to hide this issue probably. What a joke of a product.

 

[edzieba]

Whether this is an issue depends on component and substrate selection. 100°C board temperatures could be cooking parts (e.g. basic FR-4, bargain-bin passives) or a complete nothingburger (e.g. RO4000 and high temp spec passives).

 

[Tom Katt]

If you think hotspots are a problem, wait until all that liquid metal starts leaking out...

The 50 series is doomed.

 

[thestryker]

Same. I'd be interested to know how my EVGA 3080 FTW 3 is hot spotting (if at all) so I can see about trying to reduce any heat concerns.

I pulled apart mine to change paste and switch from pads to putty and can say everything is well spread out and covered with thermal pads. The power delivery on those cards is also way overbuilt since they have a standard 400W profile and support 500W IIRC. I think the only thing you might be concerned with is just standard material degrading over time.

 

[aberkae]

Yeah, like, who needs the GPU to survive for long? Certainly not Ngreedia. They will eagerly welcome you to buy their new card after current one burns out just after warranty.

Nvidia loves one time use graphics cards. 🤪

 

[Tom Katt]

Yeah, like, who needs the GPU to survive for long? Certainly not Ngreedia. They will eagerly welcome you to buy their new card after current one burns out just after warranty.

The EVGA 1080 in my work box says hi lol

 

[CelicaGT]

The EVGA 1080 in my work box says hi lol

Ah yes, Pascal and EVGA. End of an era, and Pascal was a mistake NVIDIA will not likely make again. Great card btw, hold onto it.

 

[Tom Katt]

Ah yes, Pascal and EVGA. End of an era, and Pascal was a mistake NVIDIA will not likely make again. Great card btw, hold onto it.

Yeah - I considered selling it once, but it's impossible to find a GPU with an equivalent ROI, especially in current market conditions. That 1080 does everything I need it to do with power to spare, and EVGA build quality means it's still got quite a bit of life left. Probably the best component investment I've ever made.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I have an ASUS TUF RTX 5080 and I was playing MSFS 2024 which pushes both CPU and GPU pretty hard. The 5080 topped out at 68c and memory was just a tad lower. I will keep an eye out again.

 

[hotaru251]

"are allegedly prone to high-temperature hotspots"

nvidia: "thats impossible as we dont allow you to read hot spot temps!"

 

[DRagor]

The EVGA 1080 in my work box says hi lol

Bro, let me introduce to your 1080 his grandpa, my GTX660, running 12 years daily and refusing to die 😉

 

[Pierce2623]

Good find for this article.

Wow, very basic mistakes. The power connector issue and now the on board PSU section. I did not see in the article if that PSU layout is a reference design from Nvidia. With the PNY board getting to 107 deg C! Unless PNY is using an expensive PCB material, that is getting very close to the glass transition temperature for the PCB resin. D'oh! What's that smell?

In essence, they did not do a thermal image check before they shipped. On a product that has high density heating. And expensive. Shameful. The PSU area heating will also contribute to the ongoing connector issue. The near term fix is to use lots of airflow. A fan creating that much air will relegate a gamer to using a headset.

As long as you’re sporting that Auburn logo, I’ll continue to Roll Tide! you.

 

[Tom Katt]

Bro, let me introduce to your 1080 his grandpa, my GTX660, running 12 years daily and refusing to die 😉

Somewhere in a drawer is his grandad, the Geforce 2 GTS - the first gpu nvidia gpu I ever bought (not counting IBM Hercules cards lol)... And I bet it still works if I had a pci slot.

 

[CelicaGT]

Yeah - I considered selling it once, but it's impossible to find a GPU with an equivalent ROI, especially in current market conditions. That 1080 does everything I need it to do with power to spare, and EVGA build quality means it's still got quite a bit of life left. Probably the best component investment I've ever made.

I had an EVGA built 1080 Founders card. It started getting stability issues so I tore it down and reapplied the thermal compound on the GPU die and replaced thermal pads on the memory. Cleaned it right up. I ended up replacing it with a 3060 12GB as, at the time MSFS2020 was punching right through the 8GB buffer in major urban areas and airports. Gave the 1080 to a family member where it persists to this day, happily crushing 1080p content. If it wasn't for the fact I flight sim, I'd probably still have it.

 

[Pierce2623]

"are allegedly prone to high-temperature hotspots"

nvidia: "thats impossible as we dont allow you to read hot spot temps!"

I always laugh at Nvidia fanboys talking about AMD GPUs having bad hotspots just because AMD actually gives you the hotspot temp and Nvidia doesn’t.

 

[CelicaGT]

Somewhere in a drawer is his grandad, the Geforce 2 GTS - the first gpu nvidia gpu I ever bought (not counting IBM Hercules cards lol)... And I bet it still works if I had a pci slot.

I've got a GeForce 256, dead unfortunately. A casualty of attempting a VBIOS mod in a time when such things were esoteric black magic. This little thread derailment has reminded me just how much FUN PC gaming used to be. I still have fun mind you, just not in that same 100% uplift a generation and can afford to upgrade on a single paycheck (OK maybe two) way..

 

[CelicaGT]

I always laugh at Nvidia fanboys talking about AMD GPUs having bad hotspots just because AMD actually gives you the hotspot temp and Nvidia doesn’t.

Different hotspot, it's on the board. Still stupid though.

 

[cerata]

If only we could take off some of the overbuilt power delivery found on most motherboards and stick it onto the GPU card instead. ;-)

On the bright side, modding these cards so that the power delivery stays cool shouldn't be too difficult, though I assune it'd void the warranty.

If you think hotspots are a problem, wait until all that liquid metal starts leaking out...

The 50 series is doomed.

Not sure about board partner cards, but the 5090 is (according to Gamers Nexus Steve) the only Founders' Edition card that uses liquid metal.

 

[hollywoodrose]

There is a whole list of entry level “mistakes” on the 5000 series cards. Let’s list them:

-Inability to monitor power
-Inability to manage power
-Lack of adequate safety features
-Reduction of safety features which were already inadequate (from 3 shunt resistors down to 1)
-power cables with almost no headroom in terms of spec.
-ROP-Gate
-inadequate quality control

And now, hot spots. It’s almost like Nvidia was hoping your GPU might not last that long beyond warranty, and you’d have to buy a new one.