NVIDIA Provides Official Statement on GeForce RTX 4090 12VHPWR Power Connector Failures, Hints at User Error but Will Replace Affected Units under Warranty

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Image: NVIDIA

NVIDIA has responded to growing concerns over GeForce RTX 4090 power cables possibly melting following Gamers Nexus’ investigation on the subject, providing a couple of official statements to the hardware reviewer that suggest the problem stems mostly from user error.

“Our findings to date suggest that a common issue is that connectors are not fully plugged into the graphics card,” reads a statement from NVIDIA shared by Gamers Nexus. “To help ensure the connector is secure, we recommend plugging the power dongle into the graphics card first to ensure it’s firmly and evenly plugged in before plugging the graphics cards into the motherboard.”

NVIDIA is actively investigating the reports, which includes only “about 50 cases globally,” according to the company, which goes on to suggest that future GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards may feature some sort of safety mechanism to ensure that users are attaching things properly, alongside an assurance that affected users will be taken care of:

We are investigating additional ways to ensure that the connector is secure before powering on the graphics card.

NVIDIA and our partners are committed to supporting our customers and ensuring an expedited RMA process, regardless of the cable or card used.

In another statement, NVIDIA reiterated the notion that users simply weren’t plugging their power cables in correctly:

NVIDIA has been able to test the cables that were RMA’ed by affected customers. In all of the cases, a wear line is clearly visible that indicates the cable wasn’t fully inserted into the 16-pin power connector.

Updated figures from Gamers Nexus would suggest that only 0.04% of GeForce RTX 4090 cards sold are affected.

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Tsing Mui
News poster at The FPS Review.

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