A component in the GeForce RTX 4000 caused players’ graphics cards to burn. Now Nvidia has made at least a small adjustment to the GPU cable. Nvidia explained that the blame lay primarily with gamers who were not careful enough with their hardware and did not connect the cables correctly. For many players, the new change doesn’t go far enough.
What was the problem so far? Nvidia used a new power connector for the RTX 4000 series. While the typical PCIe cables (6+2 pin) are still used in the RTX 3000 series, Nvidia used a 12VHPWR connection for the new cards. But that’s exactly what should cause problems:
Several players reported that the power cables burned through when using an RTX 4090. Many suspected that it must be due to the new type of plug. It is still unclear how many players were or are affected by the problems.
Nvidia responded: The graphics card manufacturer itself stated at the time that it had investigated the cases. In most cases it was a mistake by the user who did not install the power cable correctly. The design of the connection is not the problem.
In addition, Nvidia and other third-party providers warn against bending the power cable and the plug very strongly: This strong bending can lead to thermal hotspots and, in some cases, even to the cables melting and burning out.
Check out the brilliant Collector’s Edition of the NVIDIA TITAN XP in the Star Wars look in the video
More videos
Autoplay
Adjusting the connection is intended to ensure that the graphics card is not connected incorrectly
What will be changed? Nvidia has already slightly adapted the 12VHPWR connection in newer sales models of the RTX 4000 series: Instead of a 12VHPWR connection, a slightly adapted 12V 2×6 connection is now used. Anyone who bought a graphics card from the RTX 4000 series in the second half of 2024 will probably have already received the new, adapted connection.
The new RTX 5000 cards should all receive the adapted connection when they are released. Some players report this.
What is the benefit of the change? The customized 12V 2×6 connector has longer power connectors and shorter sensor connectors. This ensures that the connection is fully seated before power is applied. This is to prevent the connections from only being half seated and the graphics card from burning. An incorrectly connected power cable should be a thing of the past.
The change is being discussed on Reddit and for many players the change doesn’t go far enough. Many people don’t understand why Nvidia relies on what they consider to be an unsafe connection and thus endangers a graphics card for which you have to pay 2,000 euros. One user explains that theoretically the problems should no longer arise:
In theory, this should be the case, as they shortened the length of the sensor pins so that the cable is not detected until it is fully plugged in, and increased the power pins to make a better connection to the cable.
But some players aren’t really convinced yet. Some explain, for example, that they didn’t switch from an older RTX 3000 card to a 4000 version because they were afraid of problems with the power connection. The change has not taken away this concern.
Nvidia presented its latest RTX 5000 series graphics cards at CES 2025. MeinMMO presents you with all the important information about the GeForce RTX 5070, which is supposed to offer just as much performance as the GeForce: RTX 4090, which is 4 times more expensive: GeForce RTX 5070: Price, release and specs – Is the GPU better than one RTX 4090 for 2,000 euros?