NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 “GB202” Chip Found Defective in Certain Market Units; All Variants at Risk

It seems NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs are caught up in yet another snag, as the onboard “Blackwell” GB202 is reportedly flawed in several units.

NVIDIA’s Top-tier RTX Blackwell GPU Shows ROP Deficiencies in GPU-Z and Similar Tests; Issues Likely Rooted in the GB202 Chip

You have to wonder when gamers will finally find some stability in the GPU market. Initially, we faced stock shortages with NVIDIA’s flagship RTX Blackwell model being available only in limited numbers. Now, it looks like there’s a manufacturing issue with NVIDIA’s silicon in a number of models, causing performance to take a nosedive. We recently highlighted a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090 grappling with this issue, and now, as per insights from @MEGAsizeGPU, it appears the core problem lies with the Blackwell GB202 chip, which we’ll delve into next.

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

If this is your first time hearing about it, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 has been appearing online with fewer ROPs in GPU-Z, which essentially means users with this issue have a model that’s underperforming compared to the standard. Initially, the glitch was thought to be within GPU-Z itself for some variations; however, it’s now confirmed that the malfunction originates from the defective GB202 chip, which is worrisome news.

To back up the notion that the issue isn’t solely with GPU-Z, a problematic RTX 5090 model was analyzed using HWINFO, and it also showed a reduction in ROPs there, indicating a more profound issue. Despite this being a relatively new concern, only a limited number of SKUs appear to be impacted. But it’s not confined to any one type of AIB model—there are rumors that all versions, including the Founders Edition model, could potentially be at risk.

So, what’s the next step? We’ve contacted NVIDIA for the latest update. Given the issue rests with the GB202 chip, it’s likely that NVIDIA will issue replacements through RMA. We’re crossing our fingers that the problem doesn’t escalate, as it could be quite the headache for NVIDIA, especially since their mid-range GPUs are already expected to see production slowdowns due to performance challenges.

We urge our readers to check their models to ensure there’s no issue with the ROP count; if it happens to be below 176, let us know. As for the GeForce RTX 5080 and other models, we don’t have any information yet, since this situation is still evolving.