A story went viral earlier this week when multiple customers reported RTX 4090 cards dying due to 16-pin/PCIe Gen5/12VHPWR power connections and adapters melting and, in some cases, ruining the cards.
This is not good for NVIDIA, whose branding appears on every 4x 8-pin to 16-pin power converter included with the cards. All the board partners appear to be affected by overheating and, in some cases, melting power connection; thus, NVIDIA had to raise the issue to the next level.
Igor Wallossek verified to persons involved with the situation that NVIDIA has requested that all impacted cards be delivered to the company’s headquarters for investigation. It’s unclear if this refers to NVIDIA or AIC headquarters, but it shouldn’t matter because both can determine the problem’s main cause.
According to Igor, the problem is not the consequence of excessive usage cycles or extreme bending of the power wire. The problem might be with the power adapter itself, which is of low quality.
According to reports, the adapter’s design may have fire-hazardous defects. Heat spikes may be caused by unsafe connections and hazardous solder in many adapters. The biggest risk is with NVIDIA’s power adapter; other brands may be unaffected.
Why NVIDIA’s 12VHPWR adaptor is having problems:
1. The issue is not so much with the 12VHPWR connection as it is with the repetitive plugging and unplugging.
2. So far, standard compatible power supply cables from brand manufacturers are unaffected.
3. The present trigger is NVIDIA’s proprietary adapter to 4x 8-pin in the accessories, whose poor quality can cause failures and has already resulted in damage in isolated circumstances.
4. Soldering too-thin bridges to the ends of the four 14AWG leads so that they may be connected to the six pins of the adapter’s 12VHPWR connection is risky.
When you bend the wires right at the adapter’s connector, you risk breaking the solder joints or bridges that hold the wires together.
When just two or three of the 12V lines are connected, the current flow cannot be balanced because the inner bridge between the pins is too narrow (the resultant cross-section).
The data and images were also given directly to the R&D department by be quiet! And NVIDIA, who had previously been notified in advance.
NVIDIA has verified to The Verge that it is looking into the issue. The company has already said that it will replace the first reported card. Other users need not be concerned about replacement; however, it is recommended that they pay more attention to the cards when gaming.
Via Igor’s Lab