Check Your 4090's 12vhpwr Connectors To Make Sure They are in Pristine Condition

[Grim5]

There have been a lot of reports coming out that people having melted connectors. Be it both from the cable and gpu. Or from either the gpu or the cable.


I am not sure if anyone here knows who JonnyGuru is but he's a respected PSU expert. JonnyGuru is the PSU as Kingpin is to EVGA Video Cards.
I believe he's working for Corsair's PSU division now. And, apparently these melting connectors were well known.


The worst way to bend the cables is horizontally. Although vertically is can also be bad. Horizontal bends comes when you pull the cable to the gpu from the top down. Or when you vertically mount the GPU.



Here is an example of a vertical mounted video card. With the cables on top of the GPU. Notice that the cables are bending horizontally.



Here is a bend that is vertical. Look at how sharp this bend is. Notice this was done because it was the only way to close the side panel to the case.



This is how the cables look. Bent horizontally.




This is what happened after using them. Still in the same orientation as out of the box.







The above pic is showing how 1 particular cable in the middle looks hotter then the others. Notice the bend.




Here you can see what the temps are like using the adapter. And yes, that's hot.



TO ANYONE WHO HAS HAD A 4090 FOR AT LEAST 1 WEEK:
Check your cable connector and your gpu connector to see if there are any early warning signs of melting. Also check to see any discoloration, issues, etc with the pins themselves. Even though you don't see smoke. Try to smell the connects to confirm. It is almost impossible to use these cables without bending them inside of your case.

Except 122F isn't that hot and shouldn't cause melting. Previous testing on PCI connectors revealed them being able to handle 200F+ before any damage occurs.

Heat from current passing through the connector is not the problem, the people with melted connectors are highly likely from sparks/fires created by loose pins in the connector.

What is hilarious is how the cable comes pre-bent for the user - so these adaptor cables can be duds right out of the box due to how they were handled and packaged

 

[Alt0153]

I cannot understand what they were thinking. Surely they knew/people informed them bends cause problems but they released a giant card with the connector facing head first into a wall.

yeah its a proper dumbo moment

 

[Andromeda1983]

The current thinking is that some of the pins are not making a proper connection once its bent wrongly and as such you will have a higher power draw being pulled through the other pins that clearly won't be able to cope with the excess and thus that causes excessive amounts of heat and bingo...melting connectors

 

[Slam62]

That bottom picture of the connector and socket is a little strange, the pins are way of centre.

 

[Slam62]

The current thinking is that some of the pins are not making a proper connection once its bent wrongly and as such you will have a higher power draw being pulled through the other pins that clearly won't be able to cope with the excess and thus that causes excessive amounts of heat and bingo...melting connectors

Nah I think the whole connect was misaligned and forced in incorrectly.

 

[Andromeda1983]

Nah I think the whole connect was misaligned and forced in incorrectly.

Yeah there's a lot of theories going around but ultimately the same thing happens, poof... I honestly think AMD dodged a bullet on this one and if Nvidia doesn't come up with a viable solution fast if its as widespread as people are saying then its going be a painful mistake for Nvidia because not everyone has room for 35mm of bend in some cases and if they don't do their research then its going to be a toasty time

 

[opethian]

I cannot understand what they were thinking. Surely they knew/people informed them bends cause problems but they released a giant card with the connector facing head first into a wall.

I saw that EVGA was the only one that had the connectors at the back of the card, which was a good and a bad thing I guess. Good if you have the space, bad if you don't

 

[Slam62]

Yeah there's a lot of theories going around but ultimately the same thing happens, poof... I honestly think AMD dodged a bullet on this one and if Nvidia doesn't come up with a viable solution fast if its as widespread as people are saying then its going be a painful mistake for Nvidia because not everyone has room for 35mm of bend in some cases and if they don't do their research then its going to be a toasty time

Doesn't even look like the bend was the problem to me, I think he would struggle with a warranty claim.

 

[Andromeda1983]

We just got to hope nvidia come up with a solution if the problem becomes widespread

 

[Slam62]

Lol and all that stuff about the pins being pulled out of the connector is obviously guff too because they haven't.

 

[Slam62]

We just got to hope nvidia come up with a solution if the problem becomes widespread

The only problem is that the connection doesn't fit most cases and users try and force it to.

 

[Andromeda1983]

I do wonder what the actual problem is Slam62...I was just relaying what people have been saying because the problem seems to be happening with mutliple 4090's not just one guys

 

[Slam62]

I do wonder what the actual problem is Slam62...I was just relaying what people have been saying because the problem seems to be happening with mutliple 4090's not just one guys

Yeah I can only comment on those pictures, but they don't make particularly clear as far as I can tell the minimum clearance required above the card for the cable, its almost as if the problem slipped their minds. Nvidia that is.

 

[Andromeda1983]

Well PCI-SIG said themselves that cables without the bend don't have the problem so maybe Nvidia just needs to either be more blatant with the information about not bending the cable or they need to come up with a replacement cable that people can apply for free that solves that issue like an angled connector or a connector with enough padding so you cannot bend it past the first 35mm. I'm sure the 3rd party manufactures will be quick to jump on a fix if its really widespread mind you

 

[Black Noir]

The only problem is that the connection doesn't fit most cases and users try and force it to.

Downside of having larger and larger cards, unfortunately.

Free 1000D with every 4090?

 

[azazl187]

In a world where everyone is obsessed with showing off their amazing rigs and have crazy OCD cable management issues it is inevitable that in some cases the connector is bent. Its crazy that the power connector is even there in the first place!
Do nvidia think that case windows dont not exist or something?

 

[arknor]

It's crazy that there is 1 reported incidence in the wild and people are acting like it's a widespread issue happening to everyone
.

The world turned into the daily mail for clicks

 

[Andromeda1983]

Aknor there's actually multiple reports coming in, Nvidia raised concerns with PCI-SIG about it and PCI-SIG even showed with their own testing that it can happen so this isn't just about 1 reported incidence my friend

 

[Darujhistan]

Nvidia 4090 Mount Doom Edition





Has anyone checked in on Nexus today? I do hope he's coping...

 

[humbug]

Have a look at the temperature of the most severely bent cable. its even hotter (Brighter Yellow, almost white) if you follow it in to the plug, this is not good.

How did this thing pass QC?