The cables of powerful Nvidia processors are melting

Owners of the latest Nvidia RTX 5090 Founders Edition video cards are once again facing the problem of melting power cables, which was already with the RTX 4090 two years ago, writes The Verge.

Why Nvidia cables are melting again?

Users have reported damage to their RTX 5090 graphics cards, where the cables, both at the power supply end and the part that connects to the GPU, have melted after use. The problem may be caused by improperly connecting the cables to the 12VHPWR connector, which Nvidia has also stated for previous models. However, it has recently been revealed that the problem is much deeper.

Fault on the side of the cables and power supplies

While MODDIY, a popular cable manufacturer, denies defects in its products, similar damage has been observed with cables supplied with FSP power supplies. Popular YouTuber Toro Tocho and Reddit posters have noted that the plastic on the ends of the cables also melts when using standard bundled cables.

YouTuber der8auer has shown that in this case it is not a user error, but a problem with the connectors may apply specifically to the RTX 5090 Founders Edition models.

New version of the 12VHPWR connector

After numerous problems with previous Nvidia models, the 12VHPWR standard has been changed by PCI-SIG. The 12V-2×6 connector has shorter sensor pins and longer terminals to improve reliability. Nvidia has adopted the new standards on its RTX 50 series cards, but older 12VHPWR cables may still be in use.

How manufacturers responded?

Despite efforts to improve the 12VHPWR standard, the problem remains. Now even companies like Corsair and MSI recommend paying attention to the colored pins in the cables, as not connecting them correctly can cause the cables to melt.