Build1 publisher2 min readPublished
Digital Storm and PNY point to each other over a melted RTX 5090 cable
Digital Storm and PNY each pointed at the other after the power cable in a buyer's $5,245 RTX 5090 prebuilt melted. On a prebuilt, whether the GPU warranty applies can depend on whose cable feeds the card.
The Engineer · Build desk
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What happened
- The Corsa was delivered in May 2025, tested and boxed until DeMarco started a job in August 2026, and its problems began two weeks after he set it up.
- Digital Storm warrants parts for one year and labor for three, while PNY warrants its GeForce RTX gaming cards for three years.
- Digital Storm closed DeMarco's Aug. 26 support ticket on Aug. 31, logging a faulty melted cable and sending him to PNY for an RMA because the system was out of warranty.
- When DeMarco asked PNY for an RMA on Sept. 8 under its three-year term, a PNY representative raised Digital Storm's use of its own cables as a problem.
- The worst damage was at the power supply, a 1,000-watt Digital Storm unit that is the cheapest default when a buyer picks an RTX 5090 in the Corsa configurator.
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Why it matters
- constraint When an integrator installs its own GPU cable, PNY's three-year term as its representative described it does not reach that cable, so the connection is covered only for the builder's one-year parts term.
- exposure Ordering early to beat a price rise, as DeMarco suggested his father do ahead of RAM increases, starts the builder's parts clock long before the hardware is in daily use.
- cost Even if PNY replaces the card, the melted Digital Storm power supply and cable are the buyer's to replace under the terms as both companies stated them.
PNY's condition is in its representative's own words. "All PNY GPUs that require a 16-pin (12VHPWR / 12V-2x6) input include a PNY-approved power cable or adapter in the box. This cable is the only configuration covered under warranty," the rep wrote [4]. The Corsa's power cables came from Digital Storm, as an upgrade with custom blue sleeving [10]. The connector is where PNY's card meets Digital Storm's cable. It is also what melted, with the cable fused into it [1]. Tom's Hardware described the outcome as two companies pointing the blame at each other [20].
The dates settled the builder's side [12]. On DeMarco's timeline, the system failed about 15 months after its May 2025 delivery, roughly three months after the one-year parts term ran out [15]. Apart from his first test, that year passed with the PC in its box [8]. Counted from the same delivery, the three-year labor term runs to about May 2028 [16].
DeMarco described the supply end of the cable. "The cable into the power supply is completely melted and the cable head is completely fused into the power supply with bare wires exposed at both ends of the cable," he said [6]. Tom's Hardware's account does not establish what caused the melt. DeMarco says he checked that all the cabling was in place after his father handed the PC over [18]. Tom's Hardware said the GPU end of the cable appears to have some sort of bend, though it had too few photos to judge perspective [5].
According to Tom's Hardware, when a connector melts in a self-built PC, the owner's usual single route to recourse is a GPU warranty claim [19]. Installing the card maker's boxed cable keeps a build inside PNY's covered configuration [4]. On this prebuilt, Digital Storm chose the cable [3]. I think the useful question before ordering an RTX 5090 prebuilt is narrow: which cable feeds the card, and who covers that cable and its connector once the builder's parts year ends. DeMarco's fallback, raised on his call with Digital Storm, was a repair center that could replace the power connector on the card [13].
What to watch
- PNY's final decision on the Sept. 8 RMA request, and whether the Digital Storm cable alone is enough for it to refuse the card.
- Whether Digital Storm covers the power supply and cable outside its parts term, or treats the repair under its three-year labor warranty.
- A repair-center inspection of the card's power connector, to show whether the RTX 5090 survived and which end of the cable failed first.