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This should prevent future buyers from experiencing the worst that 12VHPWR connectors have to offer:
Nvidia's melting 12VHPWR power connectors are still out there, although a wave of media coverage last year has increased awareness of the dangers posed by improper contact or bending the power cables too much to make them fit inside compact PC cases. Fortunately, Team Green has been quietly replacing the power connector on newly-manufactured RTX 40 series graphics cards, so those of you who have yet to upgrade will have a lower chance of encountering the problematic 12VHPWR design.
Earlier this month, we learned that the PCI-SIG had developed a new and improved specification for the controversial 16-pin power connector known as 12VHPWR, which has been a major source of headaches for owners of Nvidia's higher-end RTX graphics cards. AMD has yet to adopt the standard, so it has largely avoided criticism in this area, with reviewers mostly lamenting about the high price of RDNA 3 cards and their relatively low energy efficiency compared to Nvidia's Ada Lovelace counterparts.
If a recent post from the Nvidia subreddit is any indication, the company is silently upgrading RTX 4090 Founders Edition cards with the updated 16-pin power connector. Notably, the company has also applied the same treatment to recently manufactured Founders Edition RTX 4070 and RTX 4070 Ti cards, and partners like MSI have also integrated the new connector on upcoming PSU designs showcased at Computex.
That's good news for RTX 40 series users, some of whom have seen their connectors melt from not making proper contact. Those who were lucky enough to avoid that would sometimes find their cards did not perform at their best even though the power plug appeared to be fully inserted into the card's connector.
(Score: 5, Funny) by mhajicek on Monday July 17, @07:06AM
More power to them.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by Username on Monday July 17, @09:00AM
I got the 4070, has two 8 pins. Not sure why it needs so many pins either, it doesn't pull that many amps. It's only 6 wires out of the psu that just daisy chains to two 6+2 connectors too.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Monday July 17, @11:35AM (3 children)
But there was nothing wrong with the cards, they just warped and burst into flames for no apparent reason except user errors ...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Monday July 17, @11:55AM (2 children)
"User error" is one characterization. A connector that doesn't make a satisfying click when it's fully inserted could also be called "bad design".
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday July 17, @03:06PM
I forget where I saw it, but it was probably a news note on LTT's techlinked channel. There's claim that the depth of the contact on the connector is too shallow and is what's causing the cards to be fire hazards.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by epitaxial on Monday July 17, @07:59PM
Those molex connectors are cheap garbage. They're flimsy and flex a ton. One end could be seated fully and the other end halfway. The real solution to this is move to a 48 volt bus like telecom and industrial equipment uses. Now you don't need a garden hose sized bundle of cables and fewer contacts.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Monday July 17, @12:19PM (1 child)
I own a early diesel van. The glow plug circuit pulls 200 amperes. Having connectors melt in our vehicles is a very common problem.
Verify my claim?
This is for all the IDI diesel wiring harnesses. Guess which one is getting all the business?
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=idi+harness [ebay.com]
The truck forum I am on has gotten so disgusted with the factory connector that they are using Anderson connectors in the main glow plug power circuit and replacing glow plug circuits like there's no tomorrow.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=anderson+connector [ebay.com]
These guys are farmers, truckers, and ranchers. Their livelihood depends on a reliable machine. That's why they treasure these simple old machines. And why I got one.
I've replaced my connectors too Same reason.
Metal x Time = Corrosion
Corrosion= Resistance
Resistance x Current = Heat
Heat x Plastic Connector = Big Malfunctioning Mess.
Somebody having no experience around high current circuits fixed us all up real dandy here.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 2) by epitaxial on Monday July 17, @08:11PM
But now the manufacturer can't sell you a new harness any longer. The engineers probably had a proper connector picked out but the bean counters got a hold of it and said no use something cheaper.
(Score: 2) by owl on Monday July 17, @06:54PM
Last year when this issue hit the net, what little response came out from the designers and Nvidia was that there was nothing wrong with the design -- and they attributed the issues to user error or using "non-OEM cabling".
Now, they quietly redesign the plug, and Nvidia quietly replaces the old plug with the new plug.
Looks an awful lot like there was a design flaw with the old connector after-all. And all the arguments to the contrary was just blowing smoke up peoples asses.
Of course, only time will tell if the new connector also melts down or not.