The GPU repair specialist, Northridge Fix, wasn’t able to fix an RTX 5090 FE as there are ‘too many’ bits and pieces on the design, and there are no replacement parts available.
Northridge Fix Advises People Not to Buy NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition due to Fragile Connector on PCB
Who would have thought that the 16-pin power connector isn’t the only bad thing on NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs? Guess we have just found that the inherent design of NVIDIA’s flagship Founders Edition card is so flawed that it shouldn’t be opened at all. Well, it’s surprising to see someone even attempting to modify the Founders Edition GPU, which isn’t like the predecessors. NVIDIA uses a small PCB in the center of the heatsink, which forces it to take unusual routes for adding the PCIe connector and the I/O interface on the end.
Someone tried to add a “water-cooling” block on the GPU, but couldn’t get his GPU working, and sent the card to Northridge Fix. However, the repair specialist didn’t succeed in repairing the GPU since the design is so unusual that it’s quite easy to damage the connector on the PCB after you disconnect the PCIe interface from it. He shows that the PCIe interface (the one that goes in a PCIe x16 slot on the motherboard) was connected via a pretty small connector on the backside of the RTX 5090 Founders Edition PCB.
There are so many pins in that connector that he had him use a microscope to show us what exactly it looks like. Apparently, when the owner tried to connect it back, he broke one of its pins and bent one more, which caused the GPU to malfunction. There are, however, no other damages to the card, which simply means the connector’s bent pins are the real culprit. But the concerning problem here isn’t a damaged connector, but it’s the unavailability of the connector on the market, which makes it impossible to replace it. This essentially means the GPU cannot be fixed if it’s damaged.
The repair specialist called the NVIDIA RTX 5090 FE one of the “worst designs” in the history of GPUs and recommended not to buy it, especially if you are trying to mod it. Once you open it, it’s highly likely that you end up damaging it permanently.
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