NVIDIA RTX 50 SERIES - Technical/General Discussion

[jonneymendoza]

So people here are basing this on one Corsair cable on Jays video that the whole of the Corsair PSU line up is at fault?

The cases so far that I’ve seen were supplied from non Corsair PSUs, although I’m not looking in to it that much so any links are appreciated

No but people with these issues (less then 5 people so far) have not checked if the pins from the cable was like Jay

 

[jonneymendoza]

This is a good video:

Jay's video is way better

 

[Jasseh]

Thats not actually a bad idea tbh, could do the test quicker thinking about it and plug it into the psu itself, i dont think there is any difference between each end so should be fine to check both. Trouble is aswell, the more its plugged/unplugged the more that can have an affect aswell, i might try it out tomorrow when im more awake but only doing it the once.

That is a good point, hopefully there will be a more definitive answer as to the cause before my card arrives.

No but people with these issues (less then 5 people so far) have not checked if the pins from the cable was like Jay

Probably hard to check after the fact too in some cases due to the melting.

 

[Joxeon]

DF comparing MFG on a 5080 to FG on a 4090 and the latency is much worse on a 5080 so it'll be interesting when the 5070 launches just how bad the latency will be for the "4090 performance"

 

[TheCarcassKing]

From the photo it does seem like the pins are different height… I’m not sure whether that’s enough of a variance to actually cause an issue though - hard to say until we get a little more info on the subject.

Checking out my own in a bit.

There is slight height difference, very minimal which is why im not 100% sure if it will be an issue. Ive got some other photos of each connector more up close and personal. Ive wiggled the pins lightly and none have any play in them like Jay did with his. Ill wait to hear back from the psu brand and see what they say.

 

[Absolutely Clueless]

Disabled my alerts on the FE due to the melting cables, still feel regret at missing the chance though. Alerts enabled again...

Ah! A fellow idiot. Glad i'm not the only one.

 

[Harlequin]

With the B200 (GB100) pulling 1000w and the direct retail version officially on 575w, something doesnt sit right

 

[Nitefly]

Righty here are my NZXT cables that came with my C1500. Apologies for terrible photos I don’t have full use of my hands at the moment:

Spoiler

Not 100% uniform but I’m not convinced this would make a difference in my case. They don’t look ‘horrible’. It’s interesting that the pin that appears to be most receded in the set is the same pin that was shown to be loose in the Jay’s vid, albeit probably a coincidence… and tbf I haven’t checked the orientation of the cables in his vid so I might be talking nonsense (could be the opposite corner)

I expect any replacement cable has the risk of being the same or worse.

If I get an MSI card and their octopus adaptor looks like an absolute tank, I might just use that instead… the 50 series MSI gen 2 cables that were great in Jay’s vid have yellow colouring - which is the same colouring in the octopus adaptors that MSI are issuing with their 50 series cards. I’m hoping that means it’s the same built-like-a-tank male-connector at the end on the octopus adaptor issued with the 50 series MSI cards.

(Cc. @TheCarcassKing )

 

[Madpete]

No.

Corsair have generally been considered a reliable brand. They are one of the only manufacturers that’s had clear messaging on the subject and their infographic saying “these cables are the same between gen 1 and gen 2” is commonly referred to as showing that’s the case. Hence, we have had high confidence in Corsair.

Community confidence in Corsair has now been knocked because of demonstrable manufacturing defects with a Corsair ‘gen 1’ cable.

It doesn’t mean that Corsair have misrepresented anything (unlike, say, Moddiy) it just infers that “nobody is 100% safe” even if you’re relying on a ‘premium manufacturer’. So it’s frustrating / disappointing, personally.

Have to say I agree with Trox on this, it's one cable, from one person, in a sample size of one... It means nothing other than that specific cable was badly made.

I like Jay, but he's one of those Youtubers who just runs with something first, and thinks it through later.

Not to say that bad cables couldn't be part of the issue, they absolutely could... A bad cable could cause resistance / heat, and the crappy power delivery system would be too dumb to do anything about it.

BUT I've seen and read about various cables, from various manufactures melting over the last few years... So how can this just be a Corsair problem?

I'm pretty certain this won't be a Corsair specific issue, I think it will be a quality control issue across various brands and they will ALL need to tighten up on this area for people's safety.

Plus, now are aware of it we should all be thoroughly checking the cable / connector before using it (TBH, we should probably have been doing this to start with anyway).

I think there's a few spokes to this issue, which is why it's so difficult to get a full handle on it.

 

[Sinbad2000]

Have to say I agree with Trox on this, it's one cable, from one person, in a sample size of one... It means nothing other than that specific cable was badly made.

I like Jay, but he's one of those Youtubers who just runs with something first, and thinks it through later.

Not to say that bad cables couldn't be part of the issue, they absolutely could... A bad cable could cause resistance / heat, and the crappy power delivery system would be too dumb to do anything about it.

BUT I've seen and read about various cables, from various manufactures melting over the last few years... So how can this just be a Corsair problem?

I'm pretty certain this won't be a Corsair specific issue, I think it will be a quality control issue across various brands and they will ALL need to tighten up on this area for people's safety.

Plus, now are aware of it we should all be thoroughly checking the cable / connector before using it (TBH, we should probably have been doing this to start with anyway).

I think there's a few spokes to this issue, which is why it's so difficult to get a full handle on it.

It's not a cable/connector manufacturer problem. You can't design a cable to be 100% bulletproof and failsafe because you have no control over how that cable's going to be abused/misused. (You could put inline fuses on each conductor I guess, but some muppet will bypass them when they blow, guaranteed)
It's a design problem in the overall solution, with lack of redundancy and fail-safe operation in the power supply and power demand components of the spec.

 

[TheCarcassKing]

Righty here are my NZXT cables that came with my C1500. Apologies for terrible photos I don’t have full use of my hands at the moment:

Spoiler

Not 100% uniform but I’m not convinced this would make a difference in my case. They don’t look ‘horrible’. It’s interesting that the pin that appears to be most receded in the set is the same pin that was shown to be loose in the Jay’s vid, albeit probably a coincidence… and tbf I haven’t checked the orientation of the cables in his vid so I might be talking nonsense (could be the opposite corner)

I expect any replacement cable has the risk of being the same or worse.

If I get an MSI card and their octopus adaptor looks like an absolute tank, I might just use that instead… the 50 series MSI gen 2 cables that were great in Jay’s vid have yellow colouring - which is the same colouring in the octopus adaptors that MSI are issuing with their 50 series cards. I’m hoping that means it’s the same built-like-a-tank male-connector at the end on the octopus adaptor issued with the 50 series MSI cards.

(Cc. @TheCarcassKing )

Your cable there looks roughly on par with mine (my photo skills arent as good as yours lol)

Im waiting a response from NZXT, ill see what they say and hopefully they either send out a replacement to cross reference, or another 6+2 so i could use the msi adapter. The yellow colouring does seem quite helpful for plugging in, and they seem really well built.

 

[Nitefly]

@Madpete - sure, I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said there.

One bad Corsair cable doesn’t mean they are all inherently bad.

But I do take this to mean ‘don’t assume you’re OK just because it’s a Corsair cable’.

And as mentioned, it might be a good idea for anyone with a 3.0 Corsair PSU to get what is now specifically marketed by Corsair as a “H++ / 12V-2x6” adaptor to replace whatever came with their PSU. This is not because the cable spec has changed (it hasn’t), rather manufacturers have probably since ‘upped their game’ when it comes to making cables once the melty melty issues became known… so hopefully more ‘built like a tank’ and less prone to defects in the manufacturing process… such as the defect shown in Jay’s vid.

Hopefully how I’ve written that makes more sense now.

 

[Tinek]

(...)

The main thing in my eyes is that this is a system (cables, plugs, sockets, cards and PSUs) designed for DIY market, often done by an average Joe, with very simple instructions added (usually just few pictures). With that in mind it should be as idiot proof and resilient to user error and manufacturing tolerances as possible. Old pcie plugs were very difficult to mess anything up and even cheap cables worked well. This new system is horribly designed with the above in mind - requires high tolerances, very careful assembly, safeguards, etc. It's simply not fit for purpose IMHO.

 

[Madpete]

It's not a cable/connector manufacturer problem. You can't design a cable to be 100% bulletproof and failsafe because you have no control over how that cable's going to be abused/misused. (You could put inline fuses on each conductor I guess, but some muppet will bypass them when they blow, guaranteed)
It's a design problem in the overall solution, with lack of redundancy and fail-safe operation in the power supply and power demand components of the spec.

I'm not arguing with you, I agree with you... All this is Nvidia's fault, it's badly designed and it's not safe. You absolutely cannot have a system that has to be perfect to be 100% safe, because as you say very few things are perfect.

All I was saying is this won't purely be a Corsair problem, and that if the cable is badly made it's probably going to melt, because of a poorly designed power delivery system.

TBH Nvidia should recall these cards, but they won't... Nothing will happen until one burns someone's house down, someone dies and they get sued. Because that's Nvidia isn't it.

 

[Sinbad2000]

I'm not arguing with you, I agree with you... All this is Nvidia's fault, it's badly designed and it's not safe. You absolutely cannot have a system that has to be perfect to be 100% safe, because as you say very few things are perfect.

All I was saying is this won't purely be a Corsair problem, and that if the cable is badly made it's probably going to melt, because of a poorly designed power delivery system.

TBH Nvidia should recall these cards, but they won't... Nothing will happen until one burns someone's house down, someone dies and they get sued. Because that's Nvidia isn't it.

Sorry mate wasn't intending to look like arguing! I was agreeing with you in my own words It's absolutely not a corsair (or any manufacturer problem). It's a disaster waiting to happen.
Of course, a cable manufacturer with sloppy tolerances or skimping on requirements is going to be among the first to burn down a house - but NO cable is immune from this.

 

[TheCarcassKing]

All I was saying is this won't purely be a Corsair problem, and that if the cable is badly made it's probably going to melt, because of a poorly designed power delivery system.

Not sure if i read it here ( sorry if so ) or on reddit. But apparantly the new 12v2x6/12vhpwr have a safety rating of 1.1, which is a 10% margin. Whereas the previous 6+2 had a safety rating of 1.9. Huge difference if true.

Take it with a grain of salt, im no electrical engineer and quite literally read off reddit. But the safety margin is **** poor, especially since we are at the time of pulling 600w+

 

[Sinbad2000]

Not sure if i read it here ( sorry if so ) or on reddit. But apparantly the new 12v2x6/12vhpwr have a safety rating of 1.1, which is a 10% margin. Whereas the previous 6+2 had a safety rating of 1.9. Huge difference if true.

Take it with a grain of salt, im no electrical engineer and quite literally read off reddit. But the safety margin is **** poor, especially since we are at the time of pulling 600w+

Add in the FE design of not measuring current on any individual cable - so as each conductor fails, the current through the remaining conductors increases with no symptoms whatsoever, except perhaps your smoke alarm going off or your feet getting toasty...

 

[SeeNoWeevil]

I'm not arguing with you, I agree with you... All this is Nvidia's fault, it's badly designed and it's not safe. You absolutely cannot have a system that has to be perfect to be 100% safe, because as you say very few things are perfect.

All I was saying is this won't purely be a Corsair problem, and that if the cable is badly made it's probably going to melt, because of a poorly designed power delivery system.

TBH Nvidia should recall these cards, but they won't... Nothing will happen until one burns someone's house down, someone dies and they get sued. Because that's Nvidia isn't it.

What I find ridiculous about this whole situation, is buyers now need to decide *themselves*, based on comments from various electrical engineers and youtubers, what level of power they are happy for their Nvidia GPU to pull. Because clearly you can't just trust that because Nvidia sell it, that makes it safe. It's so stupid to be like "Oh, well maybe the 360w of the 5080 is safe or maybe I'll just get a 5090 and undervolt it down to 375w" etc. There are people on the Nvidia subreddit asking WHICH THERMAL CAMERA TO BUY TO MONITOR THEIR GPU

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Hi All,

Now that people have had the chance to assess actual performance v Nvidia BS pre sale data, is there any worthwhile upgrade path from a 7900XT for under £1k?

 

[AMDPower]

Hi All,

Now that people have had the chance to assess actual performance v Nvidia BS pre sale data, is there any worthwhile upgrade path from a 7900XT for under £1k?

to be honest it depends on how much of upgrade you are looking for, but lets say you are after 20%-30% performance upgrade then the answer is no. Will have to wait and see how much better the 9070xt is vs 7900XT but that might be an option, again most likely only at best 20% faster and cant say 100% unless the reviews are out but your options are not good. I would wait for 5080Ti or second hand 4090 if you want a larger uplift but that will cost over £1000. Honestly might be worth just sitting this out as your card is not slow.