After one year of consistent use, the 16-Pin Connector on the RTX 4090 became molten
It has come to our attention that the onset of symptoms may take many years.
In recent months, there has been a decline in the number of reports of the GeForce RTX 4090 16-pin power connection (12VHPWR) melting. It is unfortunate that it looks that issues might still arise with GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs; these graphics cards are among the finest available.
Another RTX 4090 has been found to have been rendered inoperable as a result of the notorious 12VHPWR power connection melting, according to a recent post on the PCMR subreddit that was made by user Byogore. However, the user said that his RTX 4090 continued to function for a whole year before finally failing.
When the RTX 4090 melting calamity reached its peak in early 2023, the window of time for RTX 4090 fatalities looked to be less than six months, depending on the card and the environment in which it was used. Byogore has a lifetime window that is far longer than this estimate, and it is twice as long as the lifespan that previous deceased RTX 4090s have had.
The frightening thing is that the scenario that Byogore encountered might be repeated on any of the other Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards that use the older 12VHPWR power socket. Although this does not necessarily mean that all of Nvidia’s older RTX 4090 graphics cards will die in the near future, it might lead to additional unexpected deaths in the future.
If you are unaware, beginning in the late year 2022, multiple complaints of burned and dead Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards started to circulate online as a result of the incorporation of a cutting-edge 12VHPWR power connection that provides up to 600W. This is owing to the fact that the connector delivers up to 600W. The failure of these RTX 4090 graphics cards was directly associated with melted 16-pin power connections on the GPU, power cable, power adapter, or all. It appears that the problem was caused by the 12VHPWR in some way.
Nvidia provided a response to these difficulties in November of 2022, which was when the problem first manifested itself, and said that the troubles were directly connected to the negligence of the user. Users were not completely inserting the 16-pin power connection into the reciprocating power connector on their RTX 4090s, as specified in the report. However, we noticed in our coverage that many of the users reporting RTX 4090 fatalities claimed to be expert system builders. This suggests that the chance of a failed user insertion may not be the sole likely reason.
A half year following Nvidia’s remarks, the PCI-SIG unveiled a fresh new 16-pin connection that it termed the 12V-2×6 power connector. This connector was designed with the intention of resolving the problems that had been affecting the 12VHPWR power connector. This new connection has undergone a number of improvements, the most notable of which is an increase in the power output from 600W to 660W.
Additionally, the connector’s melting problems seem to have been resolved thanks to a small redesign. Recent testing demonstrates that the new connection lives up to the gains it offers and has, so far, proven to be “immune” to overheating and melting. Naturally, only the passage of time will reveal whether or not the issue has been effectively resolved.
Nvidia has been slowly but surely adding this new connection to other GPUs like the RTX 4070 and the RTX 4090. However, there are still a significant number of RTX 4090s in the field that make use of the more traditional 12VHPWR power connection. The good news is that most warranties for current graphics cards cover three or four years, although this may vary depending on the manufacturer.
Owners of RTX 4090 graphics cards should still be protected by the manufacturer’s warranty even if a problem crops up in the following couple of years. However, after that, there is no telling what may happen. It seems that the fear of the 12VHPWR connection melting might continue for a significant number of more years.
