The Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group, more colloquially known as PCI-SIG, has seemingly called out the companies selling products with the 16-pin 12VHPWR power connector, such as Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090.
In a statement to members that was then forwarded to the press by the group's PR department, the group stated "one manufacturer has reported to PCI-SIG potential safety issues with its use of the 12VHPWR connection." It also mentions an ongoing lawsuit, Genova v. Nvidia Corporation, which alleges that the 16-pin cables are "melting … posing a serious electrical and fire hazard."
From there, the company sent out a lightly-worded slap on the wrist to anyone involved with producing or selling products with the 16-pin, 12VHPWR connector.
"PCI-SIG wishes to impress upon all Members that manufacture, market or sell PCI-SIG technologies (including 12VHPWR connections) of the need to take all appropriate and prudent measures to ensure end user safety, including testing for the reported problem cases involving consumers as alleged in the above-referenced lawsuit," the group wrote. "Members are reminded that PCI-SIG specifications provide necessary technical information for interoperability and do not attempt to address proper design, manufacturing methods, materials, safety testing, safety tolerances or workmanship. When implementing a PCI-SIG specification, Members are responsible for the design, manufacturing, and testing, including safety testing, of their products."
On Nov. 18, Nvidia said it was aware of roughly 50 cases of 12VHPWR connectors on its cards melting worldwide. The company said it seemed that owners weren't fully plugging the connector into the graphics card, and that it was "investigating additional ways to ensure the connector is secure before powering on the graphics card" as well as expediting replacements for those affected.
The lawsuit, Genova v. Nvidia Corporation, was filed on November 11 as a class-action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
AMD, Nvidia's chief rival in the consumer GPU space, isn't using the 16-pin connectors on its upcoming Radeon RX 7000 cards, and has been using the melting incidents as a way to rib Nvidia.
It's not common that an organization like the PCI-SIG sends out a statement meant for members to the press. It's clear here that the group really wants to stay above the fray here, while also absolving itself from blame and trying to prevent any more possible trouble.
