Another updated 12VHPWR connector has been spotted on an NVIDIA GeForce Founders Edition graphics card. It seems that NVIDIA is quietly and quickly updating its RTX 40 series graphics cards behind the scenes with the new connector that was only just spotted about a week ago by Igor Wallossek on a GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition. This time around the images come from Redditor /prackprackprack who noticed the recessed sense pins on their new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition.
Now in both cases, the GeForce RTX 4070 FE and GeForce RTX 4090 FE, it is not known if NVIDIA has implemented the full changeover to the 12V-2×6 Connector that was mentioned just days before the GeForce RTX 4070 FE was spotted. This connector was to be a part of an upcoming PCI-SIG CEM 5.1 specifications update which while mostly emphasizing new formal recommendations on how the connectors should be used, also incorporates a number of design changes including the recessed pins. Per the previous report the purpose of the recessed pins is in the case that they do not make full contact it will either prevent the card from powering up, or if they should become unseated the broken circuit will cause it to shut down.
Are recent restocks the source of the cards with updated connectors?
There are other physical changes regarding the updated 12VHPWR connector, or 12V-2×6, including the size of the pitch and size of the power pins going to the motherboard but until someone does a teardown on these newer Founders Edition graphics cards it will remain unknown if NVIDIA has fully implemented all of the PCI-SIG CEM 5.1 specifications.
Meanwhile, users on Reddit have asked if the owner of this RTX 4090 was able to identify a manufacture date as some indicated they could with previous cards and they replied no. However, they and another user, who also noticed the shorter sense pins on yet another recently purchased GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition, said they had purchased their cards during restocks on NVIDIA’s site and Best Buy on June 27 and June 28. To date, there has been no official word from NVIDIA regarding any changes to the connector on its Founders Edition graphics cards.