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

NVIDIA seems to be in hot water again with their GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs, as reports reveal issues with the onboard “Blackwell” GB202 chip, which has left many units flawed.

NVIDIA’s Latest Struggle: RTX Blackwell GPU Faces Missing ROPs in Tests; Problems Trace Back to the GB202 Chip

Will the GPU market ever give gamers a break? Initially, the talk of the town was how NVIDIA’s flagship RTX Blackwell model was notoriously hard to find due to stock shortages. Now, it’s emerged that some units are suffering from a serious defect with the silicon, leading to noticeable dips in performance. Not long ago, we highlighted a problem with a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090, and now, @MEGAsizeGPU has brought to light that the core issue lies in the Blackwell GB202 chip. Let’s delve into that.

The root cause is the chip. A small batch of GB202 is defective, and the bios can not do anything with this issue.

— MEGAsizeGPU (@Zed__Wang) February 21, 2025

For those who haven’t kept up, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 is circulating online with fewer ROPs displayed in GPU-Z. This means consumers with affected models are dealing with lower performance than they bargained for. Initially, some thought it was a glitch with GPU-Z itself, but it turns out the fault lies with the defective GB202 chip, which is certainly troubling news.

To verify that this isn’t just a GPU-Z hiccup, an affected RTX 5090 was tested with HWINFO, where the reduced ROP count was confirmed, indicating a more profound issue. While we’re in the early stages and only a subset of models is affected, it’s rumored that this isn’t confined to just one AIB model. Even the FE model might be at risk.

So what’s next? We’ve reached out to NVIDIA for an update. Given that the defect is rooted in the GB202 chip, it seems likely that NVIDIA will initiate replacements under RMA. Let’s hope this issue doesn’t widen its reach, as it could become a significant headache for NVIDIA, especially since their “mid-range” GPUs are already facing production delays due to performance concerns.

We encourage our readers to check their models for any issues with the ROP count. If it’s fewer than 176, please let us know. For now, we haven’t heard of similar problems with other models, like the GeForce RTX 5080, but this story is still unfolding.