We continue with this story of the 12V-2×6 power connector. While very few RTX 5090s have been distributed, we’ve already had a few worrying cases of melted and burnt connectors. The most notable being that of Ivan9653 which, as well as burying its RTX 5090, had to mourn the loss of its ROG Loki power supply. According to der8auer, the problem seems to be linked to uneven power distribution across the board’s pins. A few days ago, he did it again!
12V-2×6: not enough protection!
In making the transition from 12VHPWR to 12V-2×6, the evolution of the connector meant that it was no longer really possible to make a mistake when plugging it in. However, the problems of connector melting were far from over.
In a new video responding to its detractors, Der8auer shows several things. The first is that a cable can withstand high currents – 25A in this case. Secondly, you can easily touch the cable without getting burnt, which he will do for a long time. He then goes on to clarify a few things about the equipment he used in his first video, pointing out that the thermal camera he used wasn’t properly calibrated and so on.
He then goes into more detail about the problems with the connectors, pointing out that NVIDIA is clearly lax when it comes to the security measures in place. They are simply non-existent. Where the RTX 3090 (Ti) had monitoring and power balancing mechanisms, these are absent from the RTX 40 and 50.
He also points out that the safety margin of 1.1 is clearly insufficient. In fact, a cable supporting a maximum load of 660W is connected to a card that can consume up to 600W. This should be set against the PCIe safety factor of 1.92. It can physically support almost twice its rated power. This is the main reason why there are so few incidents with this connector.
Finally, he points out that it would be a simple matter for NVIDIA to correct this problem, especially as it is something that has already been done in the past. Until now, with the RTX 40s, all this has worked in a precarious balance, which is even more compromised with the RTX 5090, whose power consumption is increasing. And that, in his opinion, is beyond understanding!
