PNY RTX 5070 Blows Capacitor During Gameplay, Second Failure in Days

Something unusual is happening with PNY’s new GeForce RTX 50 series graphics cards. Within just a few days, two separate users have reported dramatic capacitor failures, a hardware fault that is extremely rare on modern GPUs.

While one faulty card can be dismissed as an isolated case, two back-to-back explosions on different models from the same vendor have sparked serious concerns about quality control and component reliability.

The most recent incident involved a PNY RTX 5070. A Reddit user, while playing Marvel Rivals, suddenly heard a sharp popping sound from inside his PC case. The machine emitted a distinct burning odor, and upon inspection, the culprit turned out to be a capacitor that had blown clean off the circuit board. The part was located near the I/O section of the card, close to the VRM system that manages power delivery to the GPU core. Capacitors in this zone are designed to smooth out electrical fluctuations and handle heavy load – but in this case, one failed catastrophically.

Only four days earlier, a similar story surfaced from another gamer with a PNY RTX 5090 ARGB OC edition. That card, too, experienced a capacitor failure, with a visibly scorched component. The fact that both cases involve different models but the same manufacturer has drawn attention to whether PNY is cutting corners on capacitor quality or board design. Unlike the RTX 5090, the 5070’s failed capacitor wasn’t even pressed against the heatsink, leaving a small 1 cm gap. That rules out overheating from direct heatsink contact, pointing instead toward a weak solder joint or defective capacitor batch.

Interestingly, despite the dramatic pop and smoke, the RTX 5070 kept working after the failure. The GPU core and PCB circuitry weren’t destroyed, but the power load will now be redistributed to the remaining capacitors. That kind of imbalance can shorten the lifespan of the card, making an RMA process essential. The user has already started the return procedure, though it remains unclear if PNY will officially recognize a broader issue.

Capacitor explosions are not unheard of in the GPU world, but they typically occur once in a blue moon, often caused by extreme overclocking or defective components in isolated batches. To see two such failures on PNY’s latest lineup so soon after launch raises questions about whether this is a pattern in the making. Some enthusiasts also recalled a report of a Zotac RTX 4070 Ti Super suffering a similar capacitor blowout, though that was a different brand and generation. So far, however, only PNY’s RTX 50 cards are under this particular spotlight.

For buyers, this isn’t just a minor curiosity. High-end GPUs cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars, and the last thing any gamer wants is a component literally exploding mid-match. If these failures continue, PNY may face reputational damage, not to mention scrutiny over component sourcing. Until then, enthusiasts will keep watching closely, weighing whether this is a genuine quality-control flaw or simply bad luck striking twice in quick succession.