Nvidia has broken its silence to admit that melted GeForce RTX 4090 power cables are caused by poorly seated 12VHPWR connections.
Company officials finally spoke to Gamers Nexus, confirming the number of proven incidents and said they were researching the matter for some time.
We have opened an investigation into the rumours. A corporate representative reportedly informed Gamers Nexus editor-in-chief Stephen Burke, “We are aware of roughly 50 incidents internationally,” in a video broadcast to YouTube by Gamers Nexus on Friday morning.
According to Nvidia’s report to Burke, a typical cause of graphics card failure is “connectors not entirely inserted into the graphics card.” We recommend inserting the power dongle into the graphics card first to make sure it is securely plugged in, then connecting the card to the motherboard.
Burke was informed by Nvidia representatives that the returning cable adapters all showed signs of wear damage that indicated they hadn’t been completely seated. The firm also included an image demonstrating how a cable should be put on their customer support page.
The majority of Nvidia’s statement appears to corroborate what Burke and his colleagues found yesterday: that a GPU with a loose 12VHPWR connection can overheat and melt.
The damaged appearance of several of the connections Burke got from the Gamers Nexus probe suggests that the plug had been pulled out of the GPU. According to Gamers Nexus, a loose connection is the most likely reason of the RTX 4090 cables melting, however production debris and customer debris from inserting and withdrawing the connector are other possibilities.
Previous testing by others, such as Ronaldo Buassali of Techlab.net.br and Jon Gerow, Director of Research at Corsair, found that the connector is capable of withstanding the current being forced through it, so long as the connection is complete.
The question that remains is whether or whether the poor connections are due to a flaw in the connectors themselves. Many are questioning if the latch can be improved now that proof shows it can handle the power behind it.
The connector will be securely fastened before Burke’s graphics card is powered on, according to Nvidia representatives.
Alternatively, the cards might be programmed to not post if the sensing pins on the plugs are not completely installed. Apparently the PCI-SIG committee is thinking about revising the new plug’s design.
Users were worried that Nvidia wouldn’t fulfil warranties if the 12VHPWR connection was used with a “third-party adaptor,” such as the homemade and modified right-angle cables that people are buying to prevent the connector from melting. This led some to worry that Nvidia and its board partners wouldn’t fulfil warranties if a replacement power supply unit was connected through its native 12VHPWR connection.
A representative for the corporation published a response to PCWorld stating that the worries were unfounded. Regardless of the connection or power supply, “NVIDIA and our partners are dedicated to serving our clients,” an Nvidia representative stated.
Nvidia also assured Gamers Nexus that it and its partners would accept RMAs for cards that were damaged due to incorrect installation. The business assured Burke, “Anyone who has a concern [related to this] will be taken care of.” We promise to speed up your return/exchange/refund request.
In other words, how many GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards had connection meltdown? In total, 125,000 GeForce RTX 4090 cards have been sold, as reported by Gamers Nexus and its board partners, putting the known failure rate at 0.04 percent, as stated by Burke.
This statement was issued a day after a Tom’s Hardware report claimed a GeForce RTX 4090 owner had filed a class action lawsuit against Nvidia due to the melting connectors.
The lawsuit was filed on November 11 by a man named Lucas Genova, who claims that Nvidia “marketed and sold the RTX 4090 with a defective and dangerous power cable plug and socket, which has rendered consumers’ cards inoperable and poses a serious electrical and fire hazard for each and every purchaser.”