GeForce RTX4090 12VHPWR cable melting: What do you need?

nvidia The awesome GeForce RTX 4090 wowed reviewersThis set a new standard for how dumb a graphics cards can be. The launch of the $1,600 GPU was marred by numerous reports that 12VHPWR connectors melted in the cards, causing damage to both connectors and GPUs.

The 12VHPWR Connector, a compact power connector, combines the power from multiple 6- and 8-pin legacy wires into one plug. It was originally certified with GeForce RTX3090T Founders Edition. Now it is used in the GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition, as well as custom versions the RTX 4090 made by MSI and Asus. Etc. The 12VHPWR connector is also used in the GeForce RTX 4080 Founders edition, due to be released on November 16.

At least 23 reports of dissolved conductors were reported in the Nvidia Subreddit as of November 7, with 5 additional cases unconfirmed.

PCWorld decided to compile the facts necessary to make a distinction between fact and fiction in a highly dangerous, fast-moving, and confusing situation. Nvidia officials declined comment during the investigation. However, the latest developments seem to indicate that the 12VHPWR adapter cable is defective. It is possible that the cable may not be fully inserted, which could increase resistance and heat enough to melt conductors. This story will be updated as soon as new information becomes available.

• September 10Hassan Mojtaba at WCCFTech Reports PCI-SIG alert to members of “Thermal variance, which may lead to safety issues under certain safety conditions.” The member alert advises vendors to “work closely with connector suppliers and exercise due diligence in the use of high-power connections”

• September 14 Full email address and additional details from PCI–SIG are available mentionedGamers Nexus’ Stephen Burke reports that “failures have also been observed in certain cable routing conditions, from PSUs and testing boards that generate a load on the interface.” Burke said the report — apparently generated by Nvidia — from PCI-SIG showed that three different manufacturers were tested with 10 sample assemblies with failures appearing from 10 hours to 30 hours with dissolution. It is important to note that the internal report seems to be referring to the connection on PSU side, not GPU side. The ATX 3.0 power supply images from PCWorld show that the cables look identical at both ends.

• September 22VideoCardz’s WhyCry editor Reports The new 12VHPWR connector’s Zotac guidelines by the GPU maker are rated at 30 input cycles. This raises concerns about the connector’s durability and life expectancy. VideoCardz later changed its report to note that 30 cycles may seem low, but many Molex connectors from the past 20 years have similar mating times.

• October 24,The first melted reportThe Nvidia subreddit has the 12HPWR connector posted. The GPU appears to be a Gigabyte OC 4090 Gaming using an Nvidia-branded 12VHPWR adapter. Nvidia and Gigabyte have been in touch with the owner, who has reported receiving a replacement card. Another report of a melted dongle was received that day, with damage to the adapter cables and an Asus RTX4090 TUF Gaming OC Edition. Reddit’s post about the high-end graphics card quickly goes viral, with many believing that the new connector is the problem.

• October 24Just hours after the initial melt report was posted on Reddit by the reviewer of the popular energy provider, Aristeidis Bitziopoulos (principal behind PSU Cybenetics certification company), Tries to repeat the melt 12VHPWR at 600W loads longer than 90 minutes It does not damage the cable, but only sees a small thermal difference. It is worth noting, however, that the test was done using a genuine 12VHPWR power supply cable on the ATX3.0 power supply. Bitziopoulos concluded that the 12VHPWR connector did not pose a problem during its testing.

• October 24 You can actually overclock your hardware with Overclocker Buildzoid publishes a video criticizingThe new 12VHPWR connector shows that the connector significantly reduces the number pins and wires carrying the power.

• October 25, Nvidia officials are aware of the third failure reported. Tell Tom Warren of VergeWe are “Investigating Reports” – communicating with affected cardholders.

• October 25 Former HardOCP Editor Kyle Bennett Reports AMD’s RDNA3 GPUs are not going to use the 12VHWPR connection in their reference designs. Bennett and AMD sources do not indicate when the design decision was made to skip 12VHPWR.
• October 25,AMD’s Scott Herkelmann explains what the distraction is and says that the Radeon card will skip 12VHPWR. He gets responses like “That’s a huge relief. Happy with the news.”

• October 26Official Reddit bulky threads Five bad 12VHWPR connectors are now on the list of failures.

• October 26JayzTwoCents’ Jason Langevin, also known by JayzTwoCents has long criticised conductors as “dangerous”. trying to repeatThe original 12VHWPR Cable failed and cannot cause the cable to fail under heavy loads.

Brad Shakos / IDJ

• October 27, Igor Walusek, IgorsLab.de Tear test is being failed Wallossek examines a 12VHPWR transmitter and concludes that the problem is not in the 12VHPWR’s design nor the alleged insertion cycle problems. Wallossek says that the problem is not the 12VHPWR transducer, but the Nvidia adapter’s design. He describes it as “poor quality (and), which can lead to failure and have already caused damage in individual cases.” Wallossek stated that bending and twisting transformers can cause weak weld joints, bridges to fail, and increase melting resistance.

• October 28Ronaldo Boussali at TecLab.net.br It publishes its own failure testsIncluded swinging a supply using the connector alone and passing a stress testing of 1532 – well over the rated sustained wattage 600 watts.

• October 30 Stephen Burke from Gamers Nexus Attempts to repeat the fusion failureIgorsLab.de reports that I intentionally damaged a 12VHPWR transformer and then placed it under 99 percent load for 8 hours, without any noticeable melting. Burke also noted that his five adapters look identical to the IgorsLab one. Burke said that his five 12VHWPR Transformers use wires marked 300 Volts, whereas the Wallossek transformer uses 150 Volts. Burke says that while we don’t know the cause of the problem, it is a problem with some switches (but not all). He also stated that the theory that the smaller conductors may not expand as quickly as the larger power conductors has been proposed. He also stated that, contrary what many consumers believe it may happen, if the original connector is plugged directly into a power supply, it could also fail in the same manner as the transformer. Burke also requests that owners of RTX4090 cards report any damaged cable adapters.

• October 30Stephen Burke from Gamer’s Nexus reported via Twitter, that 7 percent of the 130 emails he received contained information about different 12VHPWR adapters. He also reported that 7 percent of those owners had the 150-volt cables used in the IgorsLab adapter. Burke points out that although the cable tag may indicate 150 volts, this does not mean that the cables are the same as the picture. It also doesn’t necessarily mean that the cables have lower quality solder connections than IgorsLab discovered. Burke also noted that “not many” of the 130 were burnt.

• October 30Andreas Schilling of Hardwareluxx.de He conducts his own opinion poll for forum members RTX 4090 card purchasers reported that 12 cards had a 4-pin-to-12VHPWR adapter marked as “300V”. One card has 3 pins for 12VHPWR marked 150V, while the other has 4 pins for 12VHPWR stamped “150V”.

• November 1Ronaldo Boussali at TecLab.net.br Post a longer video To test it from the original live stream, with additional explanations about how 12VHWPR tested. Buassali actually disconnects the 12VHWPR cable from the GPU and plugs in the stress test. Buassali is able to push the connector assembly beyond 600 watts. This includes 900 watts load loads, 1200 Watts loads, and 1500 Watts loads. Al-Busali’s approval? The 12VHPWR connector is itself “a good-sized connector, so much that it supports far more than its specifications”. Bosley says that conductors can handle more than they are rated for. However, conductor melting may be caused by poorly placed conductors. Al Bosali does not judge damaged cables. However, that does indicate a manufacturing problem, and not a design issue.

• November 2 Jon Gero (Director of Research and Development at Corsair, formerly Jonnyguru.com), intentionally damaged cable transformers to result in 12VHPWR under loads and unable cause melting. Gerow was able get several 12VHPWR transformer cables to do destructive testing. The solder joints were not able cause a fusing of failure. Gerow noticed that transformers can be poorly constructed, but even the most ill-built transformers pass the stress test. Jiro believes that owners may not have properly installed the 12VHPWR adapter cables. He also posted photos of their computers, where there is a 1mm gap. This can increase resistance.

• November 3,AMD officially Announces RDNA3-based Radeon 7900XT and Radeon 7900XTXIt is proud to say that it does not use 12VHPWR connection. The company says that the public perception of it changing its designs after fusion issues surfaced a few months ago is wrong. AMD decided to stay with 8-pin power connections more than a decade ago.

• November 4Find a new job Nvidia subreddit, taken from a Facebook postThis is the first time a 12VHPWR cable has been reported as damaged by a Hong Kong-based RTX4090 owner. The original cable was connected directly to a power source. All other problems reported before this report were caused by 12VHPWR adapter cable, not the original cables. Another person reported a melted connector with an original 12VHPWR power supply cable. It seems that all hopes of finding the solution were dashed.

• November 7Reddit has 23 confirmed failed connectors bulky threads, with many problems common among graphics card makers. Oddly enough there are no Nvidia Founders Edition cards that have been listed as failing. Five cases from other board manufacturers are also listed as unconfirmed.

• November 7 VideoCardz Editor WhyCry ReportsReddit user was told that his Gainward GeForceRTX4090 Gainward GeForce RTX will be delayed until mid to November as it waits for replacement of the 12VHPWR converter cables. Techfast, an Australian computer company sent an email to a customer. The email stated that although investigations are ongoing and Nvidia is yet to release a statement, Gainward assured them that the cables will be replaced. They are continuing to charge all cards until the matter is resolved. We also understand that this cable replacement won’t be limited to Gainward alone.” PCWorld reached out to Techfast who confirmed the email.