NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 “GB202” Chip Found Defective in Certain Market Units; All Models May Be Impacted

The gaming landscape is buzzing with news about NVIDIA’s latest GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards, which have recently hit a rough patch. It appears that the onboard “Blackwell” GB202 chip is causing a stir, with reports of defects emerging across multiple units.

In the latest reports, NVIDIA’s top-tier RTX Blackwell GPU is displaying some concerning signs of trouble. Users running GPU-Z and similar diagnostic tests have discovered missing Raster Operations Pipelines (ROPs), all pointing towards a chip issue with the GB202. This recent hiccup adds to an already volatile market where supply has been sparse; NVIDIA’s flagship is scarcely found, and now, defects are leading to a noticeable drop in performance. Earlier, a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090 was highlighted for this very issue. Dedicated to unraveling this mystery, tech enthusiast @MEGAsizeGPU revealed that the chip is indeed at the center of the problem.

According to @MEGAsizeGPU’s insights, a segment of these GB202 chips is flawed, leaving BIOS updates powerless to fix the hardware malfunctions.

For those less familiar, the news about NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 models registering fewer ROPs through GPU-Z indicates a worrying trend: buyers receiving these problematic units are witnessing their performance taking a hit compared to fully functional versions. Originally, discrepancies in GPU-Z readings were blamed, but it’s now clear that the issue goes deeper, rooted in a defective GB202 chip, a revelation that’s far from reassuring.

Further testing conducted with HWINFO on one such troubled RTX 5090 variant backed up the claim of diminished ROPs, emphasizing the gravity of this issue. Although it’s in its infancy, only a few SKUs have shown symptoms so far. However, it’s hinted that the problem might extend beyond just a singular AIB model, potentially affecting all variants, including the Founders Edition.

Visual evidence from @BuildLabEx shows the missing ROPs on an affected unit, further illustrating the growing concern. So, what’s the course of action now? We’ve reached out to NVIDIA for comment, and given the problem’s origins in the GB202 chip, it seems likely that NVIDIA will initiate a product replacement strategy through RMA. With NVIDIA’s mid-range GPUs also facing production delays due to performance setbacks, the company will want to nip this issue in the bud quickly.

We urge our readers to run checks on their RTX 5090 models. If your ROP count falls below the expected 176, share your findings with us. At present, we’re still gathering information on whether other models, such as the GeForce RTX 5080, might be affected as this situation continues to develop.