A gamer explains that he bought an RTX 4090 for a lot of money. Now the graphics card has burnt out. He himself says he was just gaming. The problem with burnt-out graphics cards has been debated for a while.
Graphics cards are among the most expensive upgrades for a gaming PC. Especially for high-end models from AMD and Nvidia, you can easily pay more than 1,000 euros.
A gamer bought an RTX 4090 a year ago and was quite satisfied with it. But now his graphics card has burnt out or at least the cable has. On reddit, the user expresses his disappointment and insists that he made no mistake.
However, behind the burnt cables and the damaged graphics card is a significant discussion of the past months. Because this is not the first user to complain about a broken graphics card or a burnt cable.
Burnt Cables are a Huge Discussion?
After the release of the RTX 4090, there were soon first reports from various users all complaining about the same issue: The power cables would burn out when using an RTX 4090. Our colleagues at GameStar reported on this.
Many believe that the issue lies with the new power connector of the GPU. The new 4000 series graphics cards use a new 12VHPWR connector. The 3000 series GPUs still use standard PCIe power cables. However, it is not completely clear where the problems originate from.
Nvidia responded to the issues: The graphics card manufacturer stated at the time that it had investigated the cases. In most instances, it was a user error, as they had not connected the power cable correctly.
Moreover, Nvidia and other third-party vendors warn against bending the power cable and plug excessively: Because strong bending can lead to thermal hotspots and in some cases even to melting and burning of the cables.
What happens next? Many users are now hoping that Nvidia will revert to standard PCIe power cables for its next generation of graphics cards (RTX 5000) and discontinue the 12VHPWR connector.
In the meantime, work is also being done on a successor connector. The new version of the power plug is called 12V-2×6. Some manufacturers are already testing this. The new connector should offer several advantages:
- The most important change is that all pins must snap in correctly for contact to be made. This is intended to prevent damage to the graphics card. The so-called sense pins must correctly snap in so that the graphics card can receive the maximum power from the power supply. If the pins are not properly inserted, the power will be limited.
- Additionally, there should now be new specifications for the maximum electrical power consumption. Previously, there were only specifications for 600 watts, but now specifications for 150 and 300 watts are also expected. This is also intended to provide more safety.
- The old cables and connectors should still be compatible with the new version. Therefore, you do not need to buy a new cable and can continue to use your old ones.
Other people destroy their graphics card themselves because they are careless and leave their computer completely unattended:
A player’s AMD graphics card dies because he left his gaming PC completely unattended for 30 minutes
