Defects Found in NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 “GB202” Chips: Potential Impact on All Variants

Reports are emerging about a fresh batch of trouble for NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs. It seems that many units sporting the “Blackwell” GB202 chip are not up to par, and this has sparked quite a conversation in the gaming community.

NVIDIA’s latest flagship GPU, powered by the Blackwell architecture, is finding itself in a bit of a jam with apparent defects cropping up in the GB202 chip. This defect is creating noticeable performance issues across various units. As if the previous stock shortages weren’t enough, now gamers are facing another hurdle: compromised GPUs. Not too long ago, a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090 was flagged for this very issue, and fresh insights from @MEGAsizeGPU suggest the blame lands squarely on the GB202 chip.

Taking to Twitter, MEGAsizeGPU shared that the problem stems from the chip itself. It appears that a portion of the GB202 batches are defective, with BIOS unable to rectify the issues.

And for anyone not tuned into the specifics, here’s the crux of it: the GeForce RTX 5090 models surfacing online are indicating diminished ROPs in GPU-Z diagnostics, implying that affected consumers are left with underperforming models. Initially, one might have blamed GPU-Z’s compatibility for these hiccups, but evidence is piling up to point towards a malfunctioning GB202 chip, which is quite worrying.

To underline this point, an affected RTX 5090 was put through its paces at HWINFO, and the reduced ROP count was evident there as well, indicating a more deep-seated issue. The silver lining is that the issue presently affects only a small batch of products. However, the concern looms large because it’s not restricted to one brand or model. All potential variants, including the Founders Edition, might be in the same boat.

Facing the big question of “what’s next?” we’ve reached out to NVIDIA for their take on the situation. Should they confirm the GB202 chip as the culprit, we can expect them to roll out replacements under RMA. But the hope is to contain this issue promptly, especially since their mid-range GPUs are already battling setbacks due to other performance hiccups.

Our advice to users? Check your model’s ROP count. If it’s below 176, drop us a line. At the moment, we’re still diving into the depths of this drama, and it’s uncertain if the RTX 5080 or other models share this fate. Stay tuned as this story unfolds.