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

NVIDIA’s latest venture with the GeForce RTX 5090 GPUs has hit a rough patch, as there’s buzz about the onboard "Blackwell" GB202 chip being faulty in several units.

NVIDIA’s Top-Tier RTX Blackwell GPU Faces ROP Issues in GPU-Z and Other Tests; Problems Linked to the GB202 Chip

It seems like peace in the GPU world is elusive for gamers. First, we were grappling with supply issues—NVIDIA’s flagship RTX Blackwell model was found only in "marginal" quantities. Now it appears that some units might have a different issue altogether: defective silicon, leading to a significant dip in performance. We recently highlighted a situation with a ZOTAC GeForce RTX 5090 having this problem, and according to @MEGAsizeGPU, the core of the issue seems to be the Blackwell’s GB202 chip, which warrants further exploration.

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 not in the know, some NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 cards are turning up online, displaying fewer ROPs in GPU-Z diagnostics. This essentially means that users with this issue are stuck with a model that’s underperforming compared to the usual variants. Earlier thoughts suggested that perhaps GPU-Z was incorrectly reporting data for some models, but it now looks like the GB202 chip itself is the troublemaker—a troubling development indeed.

To substantiate these claims and rule out GPU-Z as the culprit, some affected RTX 5090 cards were run through tests at HWINFO. The result? A noticeable drop in ROPs was evident there too, pointing to a larger problem. While we’re still in the early phase of this debacle, only a handful of SKUs appear to be compromised. However, it’s not just confined to a singular AIB model. There’s speculation that various versions, even the Founder’s Edition (FE), might be involved.

So, what’s the next step? We’ve contacted NVIDIA for an update. Given that the GB202 chip is at the heart of the issue, NVIDIA will likely initiate replacements through RMA. Hopefully, this problem won’t expand further, as it could be a significant headache for the company, especially considering their "mid-range" GPUs are already facing delays due to performance quirks.

In the meantime, we encourage our readers to check their GPU models for any discrepancies in ROP count. If it’s below 176, get in touch with us. We’re unsure if other models, like the GeForce RTX 5080, are afflicted as well since this situation is still unfolding.