NVIDIA RTX 5090 Fire Incidents Raise Safety Concerns as Nova Lake Hits 700W

Multiple reports indicate RTX 5090 GPUs are catching fire during initial boot, highlighting critical safety concerns for high-power graphics cards.

Hardware by Tanvir Kabbo on Feb 13, 2026

The high-performance PC market is going through a lot of trouble right now since there are allegations of RTX 5090 fires and leaks that say Intel's next Nova Lake CPUs could use more than 700W when they're fully loaded.

The next several years are going to be very important for both fans and hardware makers, especially because there is still some ambiguity about when Nvidia will release the RTX 6000.

NVIDIA, RTX 5090 Fire Incidents, Raise Safety Concerns, Nova Lake Hits 700W, NoobFeed

RTX 5090 Fire Incident Raises Safety Questions

Someone filmed an RTX 5090 catching fire while it was starting up. The owner had just put in a new power supply unit and was filming the first time the computer started up after putting in the GPU. In certain places, consumers keep track of component swaps to defend their warranty claims in case dealers try to deny coverage.

The report says that the PSU wire didn't burn and that the machine worked correctly after switching back to an RTX 5060. The motherboard, on the other hand, was yellowing, which is a sign of cosmetic heat damage. We also saw a Reddit member say that their GPU completely caught fire.

There are now a lot more reports going around, so we have to wonder if the problem with the 16-pin connector has really been fixed. You might be starting to question how many more things need to happen before the government does something about it.

MSI Adds Safeguard Plus Protection

MSI has added a new Safeguard Plus feature to some PSUs in response to continued concerns. These units can work with Afterburner and let you know if there is a problem with the power delivery to your GPU.

Even the basic Safeguard models have an audible alarm and cut the GPU's power limit by 75% to stop a catastrophic failure. Protective measures are good, but the fact that they are so strong shows how big the problem is.

Intel Nova Lake Could Have More Than 700W

Reports say that Intel's next-generation Nova Lake CPUs are pushing the limits even further as worries about GPU power grow. Copite7kimi, a leaker, says that a fully loaded Nova Lake K chip can use more than 700W when PL4 is activated.

To give you an idea, PL4 on the 285K is about 490W. That is more than a 200W rise. The predicted range for PL2 power levels is between 350W and 400W, which is considered low and not enough for full load.

Nova Links, another leaker, said that the initial TJ Max number can't be changed, and thermal throttling can't be turned off. In short, if these leaks are real, Nova Lake might be quite powerful, yet it needs a lot of cooling and power.

NVIDIA, RTX 5090 Fire Incidents, Raise Safety Concerns, Nova Lake Hits 700W, NoobFeed

Uncertainty About the Launch of RTX 6000 and 50 Super

Earlier rumors said that Nvidia had pushed back the release of RTX 50 Super GPUs and moved RTX 6000 to 2028. But Moore's Law Is Dead says that some sources say that no final decision has been made to delay the project.

One Nvidia insider says that the launch will happen in late 2027. AIB partners, on the other hand, have not yet heard back about the 50 Super series. AMD is also scheduled to release RDNA5 discrete GPUs in 2027, which is in line with the release dates of other next-generation technologies.

If this is true, 2027 could be a big turning point for the GPU business. Until then, we have to balance our need for more performance with our worries about power and reliability.

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