$5,000 RTX 5090 Lightning Z gets killed in extreme overclocking attempt, thermal shock cracks the GPU core — MSI's 2,500-Watt XOC BIOS pushed too high a voltage to the core

MSI's $5,000 RTX 5090 Lightning Z GPU, designed for extreme overclocking, met its demise during a record-breaking attempt due to thermal shock that cracked the GPU core. Overclocker Alva Jonathan pushed the card to its limits with a 2,500W XOC BIOS, resulting in excessive voltage that caused the damage. Despite achieving impressive performance numbers, including breaking world records, the GPU ultimately failed. Jonathan plans to continue testing with remaining samples, exploring more stable BIOS options and improved cooling solutions.