Tom's Hardware: Charred RTX 4070 Destroyed by PSU Lacking Protection Feature

News Overview

Tom’s Hardware reports an incident where an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card was severely damaged, appearing charred, due to a power supply unit (PSU) lacking a crucial protection feature.
The article highlights the importance of PSU safety mechanisms in preventing hardware failures and potential damage to expensive components like GPUs.
It serves as a cautionary tale for PC builders and users about the risks of using low-quality or unprotected power supplies.

The Tom’s Hardware article details a specific case where an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card suffered catastrophic failure, resulting in visible charring and rendering it unusable. The root cause of this damage was traced back to the power supply unit (PSU) powering the system. Specifically, the PSU reportedly lacked a critical over-power protection (OPP) feature.
Over-power protection is a safety mechanism designed to shut down the PSU if it is drawing more power than its rated capacity. Without this feature, the PSU can continue to supply excessive power, potentially leading to overheating and damage to connected components, especially power-hungry devices like high-end GPUs. The RTX 4070, while not the most power-hungry card, can still draw a significant amount of power under load.
The article likely emphasizes the dangers of skimping on the PSU when building or upgrading a PC. While the GPU is often the focus of performance discussions, a reliable and well-protected PSU is essential for the stability and longevity of all system components. Tom’s Hardware might discuss other important PSU protection features, such as over-voltage protection (OVP) and short-circuit protection (SCP), and explain their roles in safeguarding hardware.

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the critical role a quality power supply unit plays in a PC build. While it might be tempting to save money on the PSU, using a unit lacking essential protection features like OPP can lead to costly hardware failures, as demonstrated by the destroyed RTX 4070.
The article underscores the importance of researching and choosing a reputable PSU brand and model that explicitly lists its protection features. PC builders should prioritize reliability and safety over simply meeting the wattage requirements.
This cautionary tale highlights a fundamental aspect of PC building that is sometimes overlooked. A robust and protected PSU is the foundation of a stable and safe system, and neglecting this can have severe consequences for expensive components like graphics cards.