An RTX 5070 Ti GPU with a hole in it set a new world record: Here’s how

In the world of PC hardware, a hole in your PCB is usually a death sentence. It’s the kind of catastrophic damage that turns a $600+ component into an expensive paperweight. However, Brazilian hardware wizard Paulo Gomes and his team have turned a “burnt-out” disaster into a global champion, proving that with enough copper wire and technical audacity, no GPU is truly beyond saving.

The card in question, now dubbed the RTX 5070 Ti “Buraco Edition” (Hole Edition), didn’t just return to life; it claimed the top spot in the Unigine Superposition 8K benchmark, setting a new world record for its class.

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The resurrection

The GPU arrived at the workshop with a literal hole where the VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) used to be. The explosion had shattered multiple internal layers of the circuit board, making a standard repair impossible. To fix it, the team had to perform a “zombie mod” – a process that looks more like open-heart surgery than electronics repair.

Since the 5070 Ti’s own power delivery system was incinerated, the team used an RTX 2080 Ti board to serve as an external heart. Using thick, 6mm copper cables (the kind usually reserved for home electrical wiring), they bypassed the damaged PCB layers to deliver power directly to the GPU core. The final result is a mess of green and yellow wires, held together by heat-resistant tape, looking more like a DIY explosive than a high-end gaming component.

Breaking the 8K barrier

During a grueling seven-hour livestream, the team didn’t just aim for a “stable boot” – they went for the crown. By manually tweaking voltages and cooling the rigged assembly, they pushed the silicon far beyond its factory limits.

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Metric	Record Achievement
Core Clock Speed	3.23 GHz
Memory Clock	17,000 MHz
Superposition 8K Score	11,150 (World Record for 5070 Ti)
Peak Power Draw	300W+

But does it play Cyberpunk?

Benchmarks are one thing, but gaming is the ultimate stress test. Despite having a physical void in its chassis, the “Buraco Edition” handled modern AAA titles with ease:

• Cyberpunk 2077: Averaged 200 FPS with DLSS and Frame Generation enabled.
• Alan Wake 2: Maintained a rock-solid 150 FPS at 1080p.
• Crysis: It crushed the benchmark at over 600 FPS.

While we wouldn’t recommend drilling holes in your own hardware for a performance boost, Paulo Gomes’ feat is a masterclass in electrical engineering. It is a reminder that the “right to repair” isn’t just about swapping fans or reapplying thermal paste, it’s about the ingenuity required to save tech from the landfill. The RTX 5070 Ti Buraco Edition is now officially the fastest “broken” card in history.

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