A hot potato: The melting 600W power solution for the RTX 4000 and 5000 series is anything but a new problem, and anyone in the PC hardware space has become all too familiar with images of the aftermath. Some tech channels and testing specialists have even created videos intentionally demonstrating the burning scenarios. On Friday, one unlucky gamer managed to capture the hot event live on stream using nothing but her camera and a game of Marvel Rivals.

Before we go one step further, let's drop a friendly TechSpot Public Service Announcement: if you're using your PC and your PC catches on fire, you don't need to ask anyone if it's bad. Just shut down your PC. Immediately. Really, nothing is going to get better from that point forward.

A streamer by the name of jessick was in the middle of a Marvel Rivals match when she suddenly realized her game was going up in smoke. As seen in the video below, the shielding on one of her RTX 4090's 16-pin power connector wires unexpectedly began to melt and burn away. And like any good streamer looking to capitalize on content regardless of the cost, jessick didn't take immediate action. She instead grabbed her camera, streamed it, and asked her viewers "wtf do i do?"

While there's plenty of information to make a case against the 600W power connector's design, one of the big questions is always "who is at fault?" Is it the less-than-desirable design of the 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6 connector? The quality of the connector at the GPU, PSU, or cable? The user or integrator's installation of the cable itself?

Based on the video, we see the cable connected to an RTX 4090 MSI Gaming X Trio. The card's specs identify a 450W total graphics power (TGP) and call for at least an 850W PSU. We can't see the PSU, but what we can see is the cable itself. In the video, the cable can be seen looping somewhat tightly around the underside of the card.

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While this makes for very tidy cable management, it may create some connectivity concerns based on input from PSU manufacturers such as Seasonic and Corsair. Cable bends that are too extreme can cause loose or incomplete connections, creating a scenario that could induce catastrophic failure.

According to Seasonic and other industry experts, users should avoid sharp bends and ensure at least 35-40mm of straight, unbent wire is left at the connector before initiating the bend. A better solution, in many cases, is to use a properly designed 90-degree cable from a reputable or specified vendor.

Is there enough evidence in the video to really say who is at fault? No. It could be jessick, MSI, the designers and engineers from PCI-SIG, or the actual cable manufacturer. What we can say is this: if your computer bursts into flames, do the right thing and take steps to contain the issue instead of first leveraging it for more clicks. Trust us, fire is bad.