We thought the whole 16-pin connector (12VHPWR) meltdown fiasco was behind us, but new user reports have emerged months after the first incidents occurred. Unfortunately the GeForce RTX 4090 — one of the best graphics cards we've tested — just can't catch a break. Over the last few days, at least three new victims have come forward to detail their (literal) meltdowns on Reddit.
One Redditor recounted how the 16-pin power adapter melted on their TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card after around six to seven months of usage. They assured the readers in the Reddit thread that they correctly connected the cable, wiggled it to see if it would come off, and ensured there were no gaps. They didn't often use the GeForce RTX 4090 for gaming but instead for training, with the graphics card typically pulling around 350W to 500W. Surprisingly, the Redditor's other Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming OC hasn't presented issues. However, they noted that they were using an adapter from "Moody" — we suspect they may be referring to Cablemod or MODDIY aftermarket adapters.
Meanwhile, another Redditor had a similar experience: while changing cases, they discovered that the included 16-pin power adapter from Nvidia had melted. Unluckily for them, there were also signs of some damage to the graphics card's 16-pin power connector.
The third case is a rather peculiar one. We've mostly been seeing user reports of either the 16-pin power adapter or the 16-pin power connector melting, and, in some cases, both. However, the third victim shared a photograph of the 8-pin power connectors from their Corsair SF750 80 Plus Platinum SFX power supply showing some signs of meltdown. The minimum recommended power supply capacity for the GeForce RTX 4090 is 850W. Nonetheless, the Redditor ran a modest setup with a Ryzen 5 7600, a 65W chip, and a GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition — reportedly limited to 70% of its power limit (315W). They have had the system since Dec. 2022, which more or less aligns with the same failure period as the other Redditors.
The last advisory from Nvidia, posted in Nov. 2022, assured consumers that Nvidia was investigating the user reports. At the time, the chipmaker had detected around 50 cases on a global scale. However, it's a small sample size, given that Nvidia has likely sold tens and thousands of GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards.
Since Nvidia hasn't provided any updates recently, it's unknown if the company is still investigating the problem. The preliminary verdict was that the connectors weren't fully installed into the connector on the graphics card, and Nvidia chalked the issue up to user error. We're not saying it's impossible, since the 12VHPWR connector is a tiny connector, and sometimes accidents happen. But some of the victims claim to be veteran builders with a long track record of being able to plug power connectors in without problems. Plus, given the attention the issue has received, GeForce RTX 4090 owners are probably double- and even triple-checking their 12VHPWR power connections.
Nvidia was reportedly researching other methods to ensure the connector was seated correctly before turning on the graphics card. But it's not clear whether Nvidia has made progress on solving that problem or if they're even still looking into it.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.
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PlaneInTheSky I found the idea of a connector not fully seated causing a meltdown a weird explanation to begin with. I have never seen this happen with other connections.Reply
Either there's a connection or there's not, there's no middle of the road where there's half a connection and the resistance somehow causes heat to build up, that seems like a fantasy explanation to blame the users. -
-Fran- *GTA:SA meme*Reply
For real... Why can't nVidia just use 3 8pins or at least allow its partners to rework the power delivery to do so? Well, I guess they'd need 4 8pins, but you can go over the 150W limitation on the 8pins and still be well within the yellow line of 300W per, so...
Regards. -
RichardtST
Well, no. There are most certainly good connections and bad connections and everything in between. Roughly 90% of electrical problems are simply loose connections. The "user error" argument, however valid it might have been, is simply wrong though. The connector itself is what is prone to users causing errors, which means that the connector is not user-proof, which makes it the connector's fault. We can thank Intel for this particular connector design snafu.PlaneInTheSky said:I found the idea of a connector not fully seated causing a meltdown a weird explanation to begin with. I have never seen this happen with other connections.
Either there's a connection or there's not, there's no middle of the road where there's half a connection and the resistance somehow causes heat to build up, that seems like a fantasy explanation to blame the users.
The biggest problem with this connector is that no one can actually admit fault because that would make them liable for all sorts of millions in damages... I don't expect the connector to go away unless people simply refuse to buy anything that uses it. I know I won't.
Want this problem to go away?
Just stop buying devices with this connector.
Simple as that. -
helper800
As I have said before, if engineers had to design products for the unending amount of buffoons' on this planet, there would be no products. You cannot "idiot-proof" something. It is an impossible task. The connectors with bad connections are user error through and through. Are there a few faulty connectors made? Sure, just ask Cablemod. Nvidia is having manufacturers make multitudes more for their products. I am sure you can make a connector that when fully plugged in by the user causes similar issues as to when it is not plugged in properly due to manufacturing being a game of tolerances, and QC pass's. Something will get through the cracks here and there.RichardtST said:The connector itself is what is prone to users causing errors, which means that the connector is not user-proof, which makes it the connector's fault. -
edzieba
I've seen it happen plenty, mainly with the connector inserted at an angle rather than straight on - the angled connector will 'jam' due to the angle (same as any item inserted into a close-fitting socket will jam when off-angle), and depending on pin vs. housing geometry this can occur with all, none, or a subset of contactor actually making electrical contact. You can have a connector jammed in so hard it's near-impossible to remove and no amount of force can seat it in further, but because it is jammed at an angle it is not actually seated correctly.PlaneInTheSky said:I found the idea of a connector not fully seated causing a meltdown a weird explanation to begin with. I have never seen this happen with other connections.
It's also notable that nobody managed to recreate the melting behaviour with fully seated connectors regardless of what damage they applied to the connector first (e.g. trying to fracture solder joints), but testing with connectors not fully inserted resulted in the overheating behavior being replicated reliably.
Ideally a connector will be designed such that the housing will jam before any pins contact when inserted off-angle, but that is a very tricky tolerance dance. If anyone is to 'blame' in this situation, it is not Nvidia or PCI-SIG, but Molex - the 16-pin PCIe connector is from their Micro-Fit line. -
RichardtST
Except that this is not a "here or there" problem. It's a very high percentage of users having the same problem for the connector to be considered safe. Idiot-proofing devices is not difficult. It just requires the designer to be smarter than the idiot. That is not always the case, as is shown with this example here.helper800 said:As I have said before, if engineers had to design products for the unending amount of buffoons' on this planet, there would be no products. You cannot "idiot-proof" something. It is an impossible task. The connectors with bad connections are user error through and through. Are there a few faulty connectors made? Sure, just ask Cablemod. Nvidia is having manufacturers make multitudes more for their products. I am sure you can make a connector that when fully plugged in by the user causes similar issues as to when it is not plugged in properly due to manufacturing being a game of tolerances, and QC pass's. Something will get through the cracks here and there. -
MoxNix Well that picture makes it clear what the problem is. What idiot came up with that design and how did it make it through testing without anyone noticing and correcting the design?Reply
The problem is those 4 smaller pins that are set back from the larger pins. It'd be very easy to snap it in with the large pins fully seated but not the little ones especially since the latch is on the side away from the little ones.
All pins should be the same and flush with each other at the mating surface. The problem isn't idiot users it's the idiots who designed and tested the thing. Any competent technician / technologist would have noticed long before it got to manufacturing! -
helper800
Show me any product and I can tell you how an idiot will break, fry, destroy, or otherwise negligently cause the demise of their product. If you design products to be idiot-proof for the ever growing population of uniquely gifted idiots, there will be no products. This is a supertask. Every product is designed with a "good enough" approach, and anything that "slips through the cracks" is a calculated risk by the designers.RichardtST said:Except that this is not a "here or there" problem. It's a very high percentage of users having the same problem for the connector to be considered safe. Idiot-proofing devices is not difficult. It just requires the designer to be smarter than the idiot. That is not always the case, as is shown with this example here.
Lets say there are 100 cases where a 4090 fried its connector or port. If 70 of them were user error, 12 of them were bad ports on the 4090, and the remaining 18 were faulty 12-pin connectors, you would be looking at a approximate 12/10,000s rate for bad ports and 18/10,000s for the connector. Seems like a completely reasonable design to me. -
USAFRet
If it is simply user error, and not a design error that lets idiots do it wrong, then why have we not seen fails like this before?helper800 said:Show me any product and I can tell you how an idiot will break, fry, destroy, or otherwise negligently cause the demise of their product. If you design products to be idiot-proof for the ever growing population of uniquely gifted idiots, there will be no products. This is a supertask. Every product is designed with a "good enough" approach, and anything that "slips through the cracks" is a calculated risk by the designers.
Lets say there are 100 cases where a 4090 fried its connector or port. If 70 of them were user error, 12 of them were bad ports on the 4090, and the remaining 18 were faulty 12-pin connectors, you would be looking at a approximate 12/10,000s rate for bad ports and 18/10,000s for the connector. Seems like a completely reasonable design to me.
The same idiots were connecting GPUs last year, apparently without this level of meltage. -
atomicWAR GN already pointed out that eight of the new failed 4090s reported were using a cable mod, mod. So I don't know if this is the issue it is being made out to be yet or is indeed a big issue. Though these ones in the article seem to be different. IDK I look forward to seeing what comes of this ASAP as a 4090 user.Reply
Z8OD_kLdF9Q:752View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8OD_kLdF9Q&t=752s