Why Gigabyte RTX 4060 graphics cards are burning out

Recently, the tech world has been paying attention to cases of sudden failures and burned circuit boards of Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 graphics cards. According to ixbt.com, the Brazilian repair shop SidNesLON, together with renowned repair specialist Paulo Gomes, conducted a special investigation to determine the root cause of this issue, reports Ixbt.com. reports .

Earlier, many experts and users assumed that such failures were caused by damage entering through the HDMI connector. However, in-depth analysis showed this assumption was incorrect, and the real cause lies elsewhere.

Research and root causes

During the inspection, specialists used an oscilloscope and multimeter to study several working and damaged graphics card samples in detail. As a result, it was found that the malfunction was caused not by the HDMI port, but by a serious defect in the device's power delivery system (VRM).

It turned out that the four power phases of the GPU operate out of sync in different modes. Specifically, one of the phases switches at a significantly higher frequency, which leads to an uneven distribution of electrical load among the phases.

Overheating and its consequences

As a result of the uneven power distribution, the MOSFET elements overheat excessively. This can reach a point where the PCB near the video outputs darkens and can even turn to carbon.

Interestingly, because the burn marks occurred right next to the video outputs, many had the false impression that the damage came from HDMI. In reality, the core of the problem traces back to an entirely different microcircuitry.

According to experts, the main source of this problem is the current sensing circuit (Current Sense/PWM). Discrepancies in component configuration and resistance disrupt the synchronization of power phases and undermine the stability of the entire system.

While testing ways to fix the identified problem, technicians replaced the current sensing circuit elements on the damaged sample. They also restored the burned traces, installed a new MOSFET, and added an extra fuse to the 12V power line.

After repairs were completed, a re-examination using an oscilloscope was performed, and it was recorded that the phase operation had become much more uniform. Afterward, the graphics card successfully passed all heavy stress tests and fully restored its functionality.