A component in the GeForce RTX 4000 caused players’ graphics cards to burn out. Now Nvidia has at least made a small adjustment to the GPU’s cable. Nvidia explained that the blame mainly lies with players who did not handle their hardware carefully enough and did not connect the cables properly. For many players, the new change is not enough.
What was the problem until now? In the RTX 4000 series, Nvidia relied on a new power connector. While the RTX 3000 series still used the typical PCIe cables (6+2 pin), Nvidia adopted a 12VHPWR connector for the new cards. But that should cause problems:
Several players reported that the power cables burned out when using an RTX 4090. Many suspected that it must be due to the new connector type. It is still unclear how many players were or are affected by the problems.
Nvidia reacted: The graphics card manufacturer declared at that time that they had investigated the cases. In most cases, it was a mistake by the users who did not install the power cable correctly. The design of the connector was not the problem.
Moreover, Nvidia and other third-party manufacturers warn against bending the power cable and plug too much: Because strong bending can lead to thermal hotspots and in some cases even to melting and burning of the cables.
Adjustment of the connector should ensure that the graphics card is not connected incorrectly
What is changing? Nvidia has already made slight adjustments to the 12VHPWR connector in newer sales models of the RTX 4000 series: Instead of a 12VHPWR connector, a slightly modified 12V-2×6 connector is now being used. Anyone who bought a graphics card from the RTX 4000 series in the second half of 2024 likely received the new, modified connector.
The new RTX 5000 cards are already reported to have all the modified connectors at release. That is what some players report.
What is the advantage of the change? The modified 12V-2×6 connector has longer power connections and shorter sensor connections. This ensures that the connection is fully seated before being powered. This should prevent the connectors from being only partially connected and the graphics card burning out. A wrongly connected power cable should now be a thing of the past.
On Reddit, the change is being discussed, and many players feel that the change does not go far enough. Many do not understand why Nvidia relies on such an, in their eyes, unsafe connector and thus endangers a graphics card for which one has to pay 2,000 euros. One user explains that theoretically the problems should no longer occur:
Theoretically, that should be the case, as they have shortened the length of the sensor pins so that the cable is only recognized when it is fully plugged in, and increased the power supply pins to create a better connection with the cable.
However, some players are still not convinced. Some say that they did not upgrade from an older RTX 3000 card to a 4000 version because they are afraid of the problems with the power connector. This concern has not been alleviated by the change.
Nvidia presented its latest graphics cards from the RTX 5000 series at CES 2025. MeinMMO presents all the important information about the GeForce RTX 5070, which is said to provide as much performance as the 4 times more expensive GeForce RTX 4090: GeForce RTX 5070: Price, release, and specs – Is the GPU better than an RTX 4090 for 2,000 euros?
