Self-destructing graphics cards: Why are power connectors melting, and what can you do about it?

[lmcnabney]

Increasing power delivery by adding more 16 or 18 AWG strands is asking for trouble when nothing on both the PS and GPU sides are capping the throughput on each hot wire. The engineers should have been increasing wire size to 14 or even 12 gauge, but they wanted more flexibility.

 

[drivinfast247]

Why do you think a console will use a PCIe graphics card when they can bake it all into a monolithic or chiplet design? let alone the worst power connector in the world.

Huh? What?

 

[artk2219]

It's a Darwin thing imo. Those gpu's separate the people who have a PC IQ north of a turnip from the people who should stick to consoles and pre builts.

Don't stick those cards inside a crackerbox size case, use a proper psu and make sure you have a solid connection.

While I agree in principal, this also isn't an issue with cards that use 3 or 4 PCIE 8 pin connectors, its only really been an issue since the release of the new 12V HPWR connector.

 

[abufrejoval]

Isn't it simply time for a class-action suit?

Not that it would help me much in Europe, but without such a signal, even future designs won't improve and the population at risk will grow.

For now I am doing the only thing I can think of, apart from ditching Nvidia entirely: I won't keep the 4090 system running without me sitting next to it and able to smell if things start to melt or burn.

I pay extra for the thrill, but also to die only within those games...

Sadly it also means I can't really pass these cards on to family and friends, because those guys and gals aren't as careful and observant about their rigs as I am.

The original idea was that a professionally used high-end Nvidia GPU would retain gaming value for many years and long after any warranty had expired. It made it much easier to swallow those prices as family subsidies.

But when the probability of it becoming a system killer or an outright death-trap is sure to rise over years of use and system swaps, something is rather fundamentally wrong and needs correction rather sooner than later.

 

[_D_D]

The 9A current derating quoted in the article seems high. When I looked at the Minifit application notes for similar parts, I saw that it showed a derating to 5A (or was it 5.5A?) for a 16 way housing.

Molex shows a little over 9A for Micro-Fit at 30C rise over ambient and 9.2A for another company that supplies such products. Note at 35C it's nearer 10A. ATX 12V lower spec IIRC has changed from -5% to -8% which keeps the current in spec at the lower voltage but not by much.

3. Since the pin and socket contact points have gone through oxidation and corrosion before you even install them, you should plug and unplug them several time to knock this oxidation off. Don't get excessive with it because you don't want to create fretting failure by scrapping off too much tin plating. About 3-5 time is great. Make sure the last pass is seated well.

For a connector that has limited mating cycles you would be reducing it further ie. 5 cycles for a 25 cycle spec. Secondly given how some people smash these connectors from side to side while inserting, removing them then it may exacerbate the problem with deformed contacts.

Some Intel ATX info

It’s definitely flawed. Even in electrical you never use more than 80% of the true capacity because it’s not safe to do so.

So for instance if I buy a 20A breaker it's not safe to use more then 16A! Never heard of that before.

I'm not an engineer like Chaz_Music so I am just using good 'ol commonsense. The fact that we went from two eight pin connectors (16 wires) down to 12 pins, is not comforting, especially when you are potentially feeding 600W of power with a 5090.

Normally only 3 wires for 12V per 8-Pin PCI-e so 2 of them gives 6 wires and 4 of them 12 wires @12V. Worst case for these connectors is 150W, don't know why adapters went from 4 to 2 for 600W.

Other stuff to look out for too such as thick wires interfering with float.

Given it's a new connector I'm a little surprised there wasn't some forward looking into running much higher power than 600W or is this an Nvidia solution to keeping overclockers from killing boards with too much power and claiming RMA? Or maybe the 48VHPWR connector c/w new GPU's are planned to come to consumers?

 

[QuarterSwede]

So for instance if I buy a 20A breaker it's not safe to use more then 16A! Never heard of that before.

Terrible example. Breakers are rated to trip at specific amperage because the strip of metal inside heats up.

Look up NEC 80% rule. Continuous load for 3 hours or more at max rating will deteriorate the insulation. This is exactly what’s happening here.