Two weeks ago, NVIDIA and technical watchdog GamersNexus agreed on one thing: If the 12VHPWR power cable on your NVIDIA RTX 4090 graphics card starts smoking and melting, it’s probably because you’re not fully plugged in. But the PCI-SIG standards body is now recommending that NVIDIA and partners should take this into account when designing and manufacturing their products.
GPU manufacturers “need to take all appropriate and prudent measures to ensure end-user safety, including testing of reported problem cases,” reads part of the PCI-SIG’s statement. The organization also spends 49 words to disclaim its responsibility.
"We remind members that the PCI-SIG specification provides the necessary technical information for interoperability and does not attempt to address proper design, manufacturing methods, materials, security testing, security tolerances or processes. In implementing the PCI-SIG specification, members are responsible for the design, manufacture, and testing (including security testing) of their products."
The PCI-SIG created the 12VHPWR standard as well as all PCI Express standards.
In a tweet, Sasa Marinkovic, AMD’s director of game marketing, implied that the 16-pin connector was a fire hazard. Stay safe this holiday season,” he wrote, along with a picture of the two older 8-pin connectors AMD has equipped on its latest graphics cards, the RX 7900 XTX and XT.
ASUS even offers a custom version of the RX 7900 that has three 8-pin connectors instead of opting to embrace 12VHPWR. nevertheless, the new AMD graphics cards use PCIe 4.0 instead of 5.0, so AMD can still make the switch in its next-generation products.
PCI-SIG may also want to avoid those who might see the organization’s own upcoming changes to 12VHPWR cables as evidence that the standards body is to blame. tweakTown reported earlier this month that the new version of the connector extends the shroud on its four data pins. Admittedly, when comparing this minor change to the GamersNexus report on when and where cable burn-in might occur, it doesn’t seem like a slightly longer shroud would help much. What would help is a design with more sound and touch used to indicate that the power cable is plugged in tighter might be more appropriate.
As of November 18, NVIDIA says it has received about 50 reports of burned or melted power cords so far and has promised to provide replacements for anyone affected by the issue. No official recall has been announced yet. One buyer did file a lawsuit in California, accusing NVIDIA of selling graphics cards with “dangerous power cord plugs and sockets” that “pose a serious electrical and fire hazard to everyone who buys them.
