Hardware Unboxed is the latest to fall victim to the infamous melting 12VHPWR/12V-2×6 cable as one bit the dust during testing of the flagship ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090. Media coverage of this issue may have fallen by the wayside over the last year, but that doesn’t mean it has gone away, and this incident marks yet another where a professional reviewer has witnessed and documented their experience. It also shows that throwing money into a premium-priced model won’t fix the problem if inherent design flaws continue to exist.
Hardware Unboxed used a be quiet! Dark Power 13 PSU with the ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5090 when, unbeknownst to the reviewer, the cable began to melt. It was only when the cable was touched that it was discovered to be unusually hot, and when checked with thermal imaging, it could be seen reaching roughly 175°C. Furthermore it was documented that a load imbalance was in progress with one wire pulling 22A with others having zero. A similar scene played out when famed overclocker Der8auer documented his experience with a major load imbalance leading to extreme cable temperatures in February 2025.
It’s been reported that NVIDIA moved away from a PCB design featuring power shunts with the 12VHPWR connector after the RTX 3090. It’s also been claimed that this decision could be a contributing factor to the melting cable debacle, but one thing is certain: now that we have two proven testers documenting similar experiences with load imbalancing its becoming far less likely that improper installation is always to blame. While user error is always in question, it may not necessarily be the root cause. Regardless, users need to be aware of the need to follow best practices with any card that uses these connectors.
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