Gone are the melting problems observed on some of the latest - and most powerful - GeForce?
Almost a year ago, we reported a number of comments from users who were "annoyed ", to say the least: their brand-new GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card was experiencing a problem, the fault being a simply melted power connector. In some cases, it's "only" the connector on the cable side that's in question, while some more unfortunate ones pointed out that the melting was also visible on the graphics card connector, rendering it quite simply unusable. Given that the investment involved was in the region of 1,800 to 2,000 euros, it's easy to see why the users concerned grimaced.
Initially questioning, the main players - NVIDIA of course, but also graphics card manufacturers and cable/connector manufacturers - then recognized a few limitations in the design of what had previously been presented as an innovative connector, the 12VHPWR. In particular, these were related to misuse - the connector not being pushed in far enough - and to the cable being too easy to "unhook". Measures were therefore taken and a new connector named 12V-2×6 was introduced.
Manufactured by Linewell (supplier to ASUS, for example), the new connector features a control pin which evaluates the connector's insertion. When the pin determines that insertion is poor or insufficient, it reduces power output. In principle, it should also prevent short-circuits in the graphics card installation. Rather than take the manufacturers' word for it, Hardware Busters visited Linewell to verify their claims.
Hardware Busters points out that it initially focused on assessing temperatures under normal conditions. We're talking about 46.5°C and 55 amps/640 watts of current. All is well. Secondly, the cable was "tested": when plugged in, the connector did not move, even when "twisted" in all directions. For some weeks now, all new GeForce RTX 4000s have normally been fitted with such connectors, but it may be worth checking this before purchasing, for example by asking the vendor for confirmation.
