NVIDIA claims that the GPU power connector “burning issues” are now over with the newest Geforce RTX 50 series, credited to the new and enhanced 12V-2×6 connector.
NVIDIA’s RTX 50 GPUs Might Be Safe From Connector Burning Issues, Despite Coming With Higher TDPs
Well, we all are quite aware of how troublesome the launch of NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs was, mainly due to the 12VHPWR connector, which resulted in power connectors getting burned out in many of the GPUs. The fiasco was a pretty troublesome one, but it looks like consumers won’t need to worry about it anymore since, according to NVIDIA, the revised connector with the RTX Blackwell series will now prevent them from any burning incidents. Here’s what they had to say:
Question: When the RTX 40 series was released, the auxiliary power supply was changed to a new 12+4 pin standard. However, with this new standard, especially in the RTX 4090 product, there was an issue with the connector melting due to overheating. Has this been resolved in the RTX 5090?
Answer: I don’t expect that to happen with the RTX 50 series. We made some changes to the connectors to address the issue at the time, and I understand that the issue has not occurred in about two years.
– NVIDIA Korea via QuasarZone
Despite coming in with higher TDPs, it seems like the RTX 50 series will be safe from connector burning issues, mainly due to the integration of the 12V-2×6 standard. For those unaware, the 12V-2×6 connector supports a maximum of 675W power delivery, and is said to feature dedicated “sense pins”, which are used to monitor voltage and actually can figure out whether the connector is inserted properly. This would not only prevent incorrect installation, but in the case of a disruptive connection, the GPU won’t burn out since PD will be restricted.
We’ll get a better look at NVIDIA’s power connector once the RTX 50 series GPUs start hitting the mainstream markets, but it’s safe to say that the 12VHPWR fiasco won’t re-emerge, at least with the intensity which we saw back with the debut of the Ada Lovelace series.
