That’s one hot GPU
RTX 5090 heat may have stained the PCH heatsink.
A user on Taiwanese Gamer forums reports that an ASUS ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi motherboard showed visible discoloration after being used with an ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 for around half a year.
According to the post, the system was installed inside an ASUS ProArt PA602 case. After the graphics card was removed, the owner noticed that the motherboard’s PCH heatsink had changed color in the area located below the card. Given that this was almost entirely ASUS system, that should guarntee that nothinglike this wound ever happen.
My friend’s ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi was installed inside a ProArt PA602 case and used with an ROG Astral RTX 5090 for about half a year. After taking it off, he found that the motherboard PCH heatsink had been heated and discolored!
— Blactop777 (translation)
Stain on ASUS motherboard reputation
Source: Blactop777/PC Unboxing
The user says the mark could be partly removed with a wet cloth and some pressure. However, the heatsink did not return to its original condition. The graphics card itself was said to be working without any visible issue.
It is hard to make a judgment from a photo alone, but discoloration is not a new subject for us. In case you missed our article, we once reported on cases where memory RGB lighting appeared to cause discoloration on GPU backplates . So perhaps this was caused by light rather than heat?
Source: Gamer Forums
Many thanks to PC Unboxing for the tip!
