Gigabyte Speaks Out After Gel-Leaking RTX 50 GPUs Raise Eyebrows

Some early buyers of Gigabyte’s Nvidia RTX 50 graphics cards have noticed something odd: their brand-new GPU is leaking. But no, it’s not a disaster — just a bit too much thermal gel. The good news? Gigabyte says you don’t need to panic.

Over the past few weeks, complaints have bubbled up online. Users across Reddit, tech forums, and even a few repair shops began noticing that their RTX 5060 Ti cards were seeping a light-colored gel, often near the PCIe connector. The initial fear? Coolant leak. But it turns out, it’s not quite that dramatic.

The internet freaked out first — and honestly, it’s hard to blame them

To be fair, if your expensive new graphics card starts leaking anything, you’d probably be a little concerned too.

Photos showed GPUs that looked like they were “sweating” or worse, dribbling what some thought was coolant. Naturally, that set off alarm bells. A component that’s supposed to stay bone-dry near delicate contacts is suddenly moist? Yeah, not ideal.

One Reddit post described the gel as “oozing down like melted wax.” Another user said their GPU “leaked onto the motherboard socket.” That made folks ask the obvious: is the card still cooling itself properly?

And that’s where Gigabyte had to step in.

Gigabyte says: “Oops, we used too much”

Thankfully, the company behind the goo has addressed the issue publicly.

In a statement released to media outlets and spotted by WccfTech, Gigabyte clarified the whole situation. The gel isn’t coolant. It’s just thermal interface material (TIM), basically a paste-like substance that helps transfer heat from the GPU to the heatsink.

Turns out, Gigabyte simply went overboard with it in some early batches.

“In some early production batches for the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 50 Series, a slightly higher volume of gel was applied to ensure sufficient thermal coverage,” the company explained. “The overapplication may cause the excessive gel to appear more prominent, extended, and could potentially be separated from the designated area.”

Basically: we overdid it, it looks weird, but it’s fine.

They’ve since tweaked the production line to fix the quantity. Later units, the company claims, won’t have this issue.

No, it won’t fry your system — and no, it’s not dangerous

One of the biggest fears was that the leaking substance might somehow damage other components.

According to Gigabyte, the gel doesn’t pose any performance or safety concerns. It’s non-conductive, meaning it won’t short out your system even if it ends up near sensitive circuitry.

So, while it might look messy or even a little gross, it’s harmless. Functionally, your card is still doing its job.

Also worth noting: thermal gel is different from thermal paste. Paste usually stays put, while gel can move a little under heat. That might be why some users didn’t see the issue until a few weeks after installing their GPU.

There’s no recall happening, and Gigabyte hasn’t asked users to return affected units. If you’re really bothered, though, their support channels are open.

This isn’t the only RTX 50 hiccup — and buyers are feeling it

Gelgate (yes, people really started calling it that) is just the latest chapter in a not-so-smooth rollout for Nvidia’s newest cards.

Earlier this year, a batch of RTX 5060 Ti units shipped with fewer ROPs (Render Output Units) than intended. That resulted in noticeable performance dips — up to 5% in some benchmarks. That may not sound like much, but for gamers or creators, that margin can matter.

On top of that:

• Drivers for the RTX 50 series have been buggy, especially on Windows 11

• Some users reported frequent black screen crashes under load

• Game-specific performance has been inconsistent on certain titles

The frustration is real. Early adopters are always the guinea pigs, but this round seems particularly bumpy.

Comparing early vs later RTX 50 GPUs: What changed?

Here’s a quick look at how the early units with the gel issue stack up against the revised batches:

One sentence here: That table sums up what really changed — and what didn’t.

In short, unless you’re picky about visuals or extremely risk-averse, you’re likely fine with the earlier units.

So… should people still buy Gigabyte RTX 50 GPUs?

Depends who you ask.

If you’re looking at price-to-performance, the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti still delivers pretty decent value — especially in a GPU market that’s been weirdly volatile lately. Stock can be tight, but the newer batches seem more stable both thermally and driver-wise.

Still, trust is a tricky thing. Once a product makes headlines for leaks — literal leaks — people hesitate. Even if it’s harmless.

One Redditor summed it up best: “It’s not broken, but it’s not a good look either.”