Nvidia checks for PC graphics card electrical cable melting

Probably Big, power hungryAnd the Expensive Nvidia’s 4000 series graphics cards are a very hot product at the moment. After a user posted images of the charred 12V High Power (12VHPWR) conductor on Reddit, Nvidia responded with an investigation into at least two cases.

Yesterday, Reddit user reggie_gakil Shared photos From a freshly burnt cable and power connector on their RTX 4090 graphics card, titled “RTX 4090 Adapter Burned” with the caption “IDK [how] It happened but it smelled bad and I saw smoke.” Although the card still worked, Reggie_gakil wasn’t alone. Another Reddit user started his response with “You’re not the only one. This happened to me today too.” This continues Reports That PCI-SIG, the consortium that sets standards for PCI, PCI-X, and PCI-Express connections (those used in said graphics cards), was aware of “potential safety issues under certain conditions”. according to the edgeNvidia is now checking in these cases.

In a statement to KotakuNvidia said it was “in contact with the first owner and will reach out to the other for additional information.”

With the increased power draw of these new graphics cards and new ATX power standards raising eyebrows, this may not be surprising. In fact, YouTube channels like JayzTwoCents are doing some “I told you so” victory tour.

As reported in the JayzTwoCents video, Brandon Bell, senior director of technical marketing for Geforce at Nvidia, dismissed early concerns about unsecured power cables as “nonexistent issues” and that “everything just works, man.” While the results of the Nvidia investigation have yet to determine whether the initial Reddit post that raised the alarm was an anomaly, there is certainly cause for concern.

Nvidia’s competitor, AMD, also responded to reggie_gakill’s melted-cable story. AMD Radeon’s senior vice president Reply to Tweet Staying true that “the upcoming Radeon RX 6000 series and RDNA 3 GPUs will not be used [the 12VHPWR] conductor.”