A new RTX 4090 burn case has surfaced online, and this one stands out because the user says his cat alerted him before the damage got worse, as he noticed smoke and a strong burning plastic smell coming from his PC while he was away, which pushed him to quickly check the system and disconnect it from power.
The user explains that the system was still running when the issue started, but it failed to shut down through the power button, which forced him to unplug the PC directly from the wall to stop the situation from getting worse, while the attached photos show clear burn damage around the GPU-side connector, even though the PSU-side connector stayed intact and only the cable appeared darkened.
According to a post shared on Taiwan’s PTT forums, the affected unit is an MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming Trio that the user bought in October 2022, and he ran it with an FSP HPT2-1000M power supply using a direct cable instead of an adapter, while he also confirmed that he regularly checked the cable, ensured it was firmly seated, and avoided sharp bends during setup.
He has already filed for RMA service and is waiting for further steps, while this case again raises questions around high-power GPU connectors, as newer safety features like MSI’s Power Safeguard aim to reduce such risks, even though this time a cat ended up acting faster than the system protections.
