Nvidia’s RTX 4090 graphics card is the best graphics card on the market. But there have been some reliability issues. A repair guru has received a total of 19 broken RTX 4090s, most of them with broken PCBs. What is the cause of this problem and is it a coincidence that the same problem is occurring on many RTX 4090 models? Or does it point to a chronic problem?
What’s wrong with the RTX 4090 graphics card?
The surprising report came from YouTuber and repair specialist NorthridgeFix. A customer sent 19 RTX 4090 graphics cards in need of repair, and after inspecting each one, NorthridgeFix felt that most of them were impractical and uneconomical to repair due to cracked PCBs. You might think that a small crack could be easily repaired, but not in such a complicated structure.
For those who don’t know, a printed circuit board, or PCB as it is more commonly known, functions as a part that holds electronic components together. It also ensures that these components are electrically connected to each other. So it’s an important part of the graphics card. A GPU as powerful and massive as the RTX 4090 is very complex. Its PCB usually consists of 12 to 15 layers, each with numerous electrical traces
Even if the surface-level damage doesn’t look too bad, these tracks still need to be connected once again, and as NorthridgeFix explains, there is no guarantee that this will be worth the time and money spent. “Can it be done? Yes. But it’s not practical, it’s not economical, and there’s no guarantee that it won’t happen again after the repair,” the YouTuber says as he discards the broken cards one by one.
An RTX 4090-sized card almost requires a GPU support bracket, but it’s not always included in the box. Besides the lack of support, the GPU can be installed in a system and then shipped to the customer as part of a PC, so even if it is installed correctly, a rough process during shipping can dislodge it and cause cracks.
We’ve already heard reports about problems with the RTX 4090, but so far most of them have been related to the 12VHPWR connector. When installed incorrectly, the connector can melt, rendering the GPU unusable. Despite various adapters and fixes, this problem still occurs from time to time. So is the problem mentioned in this thread a chronic problem? Or is this a coincidence? We will see in the future.
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