Phew! Nvidia’s RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 launch has not been well-received by customers. But it surely briefly appeared that issues had been going from dangerous to worse after experiences emerged of the RTX 5090D and RTX 5080 melting energy cables. Now, nevertheless, it seems that the burn marks had been the results of person error when putting in an RTX 4090.
The upper energy limits within the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 had been all the time going to boost issues that the playing cards may expertise the identical melting energy connector problem that has plagued the RTX 4090.
These issues briefly appeared justified when Hong Kong-based outlet PCM reported (through VideoCardz) that it examined the RTX 5090D (the China-specific model of the flagship) and the RTX 5080 final week. The preliminary put up states that the playing cards had been examined below full load, which broke a 1200W energy provide and resulted in two burned 600W 12VHPWR connectors.
hong kong media pcm reported 12vhpwr cable melted after testing 5090d and 5080.https://t.co/wuhqrqpDYB
google translate
No probability to win the 100 million Mark Six lottery, however you’ll win in case you burn 12VHPWR😭. After the preliminary testing of the RTX 5090D and 5080 below full… pic.twitter.com/3rXa0Q41BM– UNIKO’s {Hardware} 🌏 (@unikoshardware) February 3, 2025
Fortunately for all those that camped outdoors shops or paid scalpers a fortune for his or her new Blackwell playing cards, the outlet has now clarified that the burn marks had been on the RTX 4090 Founders Version. PCM added that the RTX 5090D and RTX 5080 had been high-quality.
It appears that evidently the issue was attributable to person error. PCM says it repeatedly inserted and eliminated the 12VHPWR cable throughout testing, so it seems the cable was misaligned when positioned into the RTX 4090.
The unique 12VHPWR energy connector has been an issue for RTX 4090 house owners for the reason that card launched in October 2022 as it may soften as a result of customers not absolutely plugging it in appropriately. This was typically as a result of stiff cable bending too near the connector, usually attributable to the cardboard’s dimension, particularly in smaller PC builds. Nvidia mentioned circumstances had been uncommon, however in April 2024, a restore store revealed that it was receiving 200 melted RTX 4090s monthly, a rise over the 100 monthly it was receiving the earlier fall.
CableMod’s 12VHPWR angled adapters had been supposed to assist mitigate the problem, however they had been recalled as a result of turning into unfastened, overheating, and melting into the GPU.
Nvidia launched the brand new, supposedly safer 12V-2×6 connectors in the summertime of 2023. It has barely shorter pins, which means energy will not be absolutely delivered except the cable is correctly seated. They’re additionally extra versatile and sturdy.
In different Blackwell information, whistleblower Edward Snowden simply referred to as the RTX 5000 collection a crime towards customers and blasted its paltry quantities of VRAM.
