Please use this Megathread for any discussion regarding the 16 pins adapter.

Final Update: November 18, 2022 - NVIDIA Responds to Melting Cables, Warranty Concerns, & 12VHPWR Adapter Failures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QmKYJzJhB4

tldw:

• Nvidia Official Statements:
  • "We are actively investigating the reports. We are aware of about 50 cases globally. Our findings to date suggest that a common issue is that connectors are not fully plugged into the graphics card. 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 card into the motherboard."
  • "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"
  • "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"
  • "Anybody who has an issue [relating to this] will be taken care of. We'll expedite an RMA"
  • "Any issues with the burned cable or GPU, regardless of cable or GPU, it will be processed"
• Nvidia Official Article: https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5413
• GN Updated research:
  • 0.04% to 0.05% failure rate range
  • Sales source = 125,000 units. Updated GPU sales via 4 board partners
  • Connector burn count source = 50 units. NVIDIA statement
  • 50/125000 = 0.04% failure rates
• GN again showed that the cable could look like they are inserted but not fully seated and you can wiggle it out. This means you need to push the connector more to fully seat it.
• GN referred to Tomshardware article talking about a paragraph within the warranty manual that stated it "may" void manufacturer warranty.
  • GN Confirmed with Nvidia that this is not the case and Nvidia will honor the warranty
• GN asked Nvidia about their foreign object debris findings but no confirmation on this side
• How to improve the connector
  • GN thinks latching mechanism can be improved
  • Changing the sense pin length where if the connector is not fully seated, the card won't turn on
• GN showed a way to properly install the cable
  • Please watch the video

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Official Statement

November 11, 2022 - Via Kitguru

“We continue to investigate the reports, however, we don’t have further details to share yet. NVIDIA and our partners are committed to supporting our customers and ensuring an expedited RMA process for them”.

Further Research

November 16, 2022 - Gamers Nexus - The Truth About NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 Adapters: Testing, X-Ray, & 12VHPWR Failures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig2px7ofKhQ

This is the definitive testing and research. Must watch.

• Per Nvidia partner: Failure rate is 0.05% - 0.1%. Nvidia may provide more context on this later
• Any of them "can" fail because there are a few mode of failures and one of them involves user error
• Confirmed 2 Manufacturers
  • Astron
  • NTK
    • Also subcontracted to Tricon?
• Failure in general is overwhelmingly uncommon and many of the failures are very easily avoidable
• What are the causes?
  • Foreign object debris in the cable
    • Caused by improper manufacturing and scraping of the bump combined with high current and or poor connection
    • Creating poor points of contacts
  • Extremely improper insertion by user
  • Improper insertion in combination with a taut wire on one or more pins
    • Causing one point of poor contact that heats up
• GN also went on to debunk several theories out there. Not going to summarize them. Please watch to understand some of the misinformation out there
• Conclusion:
  • Cables are melting when connector is unseated
  • It requires being very unseated AND pulling the cable at an angle
    • Did not fail when tested unseated but not being pulled at an angle
  • "Partial insertion and angling of the pin into the socket could have increased susceptibility for a high resistance parallel connection at the lip of the socket" - Failure Analysis Lab Testing sent to GN
  • Any debris will make this worse
  • Failures are rare
  • Don't chase specific adapter as any of them can fail
  • Anxiety surrounding the issue might exacerbate the issue
    • When people are unplugging and re-plugging, it could create foreign object debris (not common)
    • User error (careless or being unlucky when re-plugging in)
  • Purely objectively, GN feels you should be comfortable using 12VHPWR connector but it requires them to be fully connected and seated (Critical)
    • There should not be any gap
    • Push the cable until you can't wiggle it out anymore (GN gave an example of how he could pull the seemingly fully inserted cable out by wiggling it out -- this is an indication that the cable is NOT fully seated)

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November 14, 2022 - Via Igor's Labs - 12VHPWR adapter for NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4090 – Two manufacturers, contact problems, bending radii and the human factor

• Igor spoke to Gabriele Doria (Director of Engineering at NVIDIA)
• Nvidia is taking this issue seriously and Gabriele is in Taipei at the moment
• There are 2 adapter manufacturers
  • Astron
  • NTK
• Differences
  • Nose of the lock
    • "Purely subjectively tested and after the blind tests with third parties, the plug from NTK latches better. Both in terms of the tactile feel and the slight acoustic clicking noise. It is also easier to detach, which definitely increases usability and operational reliability"
  • Spring contacts
    • "Astron uses spring contacts with two slots, NTK only one."
  • The material used in the injection molding
    • "Yesterday, Gabriele Gorla had also shown me measurement data from Astron in this regard, which certified that the Astron plug was still less than 1.5 mOhm over the complete load bandwidth even after being plugged in 10 times. This is somewhat at odds with a boardmate’s findings that NTK contacts have higher durability and lower resistance, but since I can neither prove nor disprove either, I’ll leave it at a mention."
  • Ease of insertion
    • "The plug from NTK generally requires a slightly higher press-in force, but I personally do not find this particularly annoying, because there are many other factors such as the remnants of the injection molding on the plug, which can hinder the plugging process much more concisely"
• Astron plug is already at the limit. The remnants from the injection molding can not only make inserting (“threading”) the plug extremely difficult, but they also push themselves into the very narrow space between plug and socket as a kind of wedge.
• The manufacturing tolerances of the Astron connector seem to be quite large in some cases, because the locking mechanism is virtually non-existent on some adapters, or at least tactilely imperceptible. The quality of the injection molding must definitely be questioned here
• If people are unable to insert the plug straight through, they look for path of least resistance and plug it in at an angle.
  • This may explain why one side is particularly hard hit. If, in rare cases, center contacts are also affected, the user has certainly angled the connector on the long sides. The cases in the Founders Edition are rarer, which is probably also due to the fact that the socket is freely accessible
• PCI-SIG is revising the connector
  • "The currently planned changes will only affect the four Sense Pins, but they are quite a real solution. Due to the shortening of the contacts, the sense pins only become contactable when the plug has been fully inserted"
  • "this means that the graphics card will no longer start without the first two sense pins being assigned or recognized. Only PCI SIG itself knows why this was not planned from the outset. If, in a second step, the shape of the connector housings could be corrected by specifying beveled or chamfered edges, a large part of the problems on the customer side would automatically disappear"
• Some board partners cards do not have enough room around connector to comfortably plugging and fully inserting the connector.
• However, an interesting footnote here is that the upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is supposed to ship with a x2 adapter, which is unlikely to come from Astron this time. This has not been communicated to Igor by NVIDIA, but has already been confirmed by some board partners.

List of Confirmed Cases

[1] - User is using ATX 3.0 PSU and not using the supplied adapter. PSU is MSI MEG Ai1300P

[2] - User is using ATX 3.0 PSU and not using the supplied adapter. PSU is MSI MPG A1000G

[3] - The OP mentioned it failed before he bought the native PSU/cable. However, after plugging in the native cable, it melted. No mention if the adapter was melted. PSU is Seasonic PX1300. Note that the native cable here is 2x 8 pins to 12VHPWR.

List of Unconfirmed Cases

[1] - The adapter cracked but not melted. Card still works. I put it on the list for overabundance of caution

[2] - The quality of the image is low and doesn't seem to be any sign of melting but it seems there's some sign of discoloration. Card still works.

[3] - Based on the supplied images, the adapter does not seem to be melting but there's some thinning on the outer edge.

[4] - Based on the supplied image, this looks to be more of a physical damage vs thermal melting problem.

[5] - Based on the 2 supplied images, there seems to be a chipped damage on one of the pin as well as some sign of discoloration

[6] - Looks like physical damage similar to 4 and 5 above.

Further Research and Community Efforts

Teclab

November 1, 2022 - Melting Nvidia's adapter - electrical, mechanical, and explanation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkN81jRaupA

tldr: Guy did crazy experiments and concluded the following "These cases that we see, in our opinion, have more to do with poor connector fitting or bad manufacturing defect"

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JonnyGuru

November 2, 2022 - Tested A BUNCH of Nvidia adapters. Including ones I've INTENTIONALLY damaged and mounted with < 30mm bend radius and none of them have melted. - https://new.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/ykpjyq/ok_tested_a_bunch_of_nvidia_adapters_including/

November 1, 2022 - FE and PNY adapter made quite differently from other AIBs - https://new.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yjhn1y/fe_and_pny_adapter_made_quite_differently_from/

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Gamers Nexus

October 31, 2022 - Gamers Nexus Update on 4090 16-pin Adapters - https://twitter.com/GamersNexus/status/1586946648365830145

Summary Here: https://new.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yi2mfn/gamers_nexus_update_on_4090_16pin_adapters/

• Just keeping everyone updated: Out of about 130 emails so far to the 4090cable inbox, we've received 7 that are 150V rated wires (and therefore potentially indicative of different supply), so 5%. That rating doesn't instantly mean it's bad. Replying to a few for info
• And to be really, really clear so people don't panic: Again, we have no evidence presently to suggest 150V cables are instantly bad. All that means is they're the same as what Igor showed - we assume older supply, but not sure. We're trying to get some for testing.
• The spec on the wire really just tells us that the supply is not the correct supply for that wire component. It's supposed to be 300V spec at 105C / 14AWG.
• Also, we're noticing a trend (could be limited sample size, not enough to know) of Zotac cards using this type of cable.
  • Clarification: Thanks, should have made it clearer with the vague reference. We don't know what Zotac is using at large. We know that most of the 7 150V ones we've received emails about are Zotac. I think 1-2 are Gigabyte.
• Oh, one other note - of the 130, not that many are actually burned. Still going through everything, but it's below 10 for sure. Several of the ones from reddit are not in our inbox, as they likely already had the cable replaced.

October 30, 2022 - "Testing Burning NVIDIA 12VHPWR Adapter Cable Theories (RTX 4090)" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIKjZ1djp8c

Summary:

• Igor's Labs cable showing 150v spec wire
• All 5x GN adapters show 300v 14AWG 105C on 12v/GND (28 AWG for sense lines)
• GN asked partners and manufacturers and the adapters are supposed to be like the 5 adapters GN has
• GN disagreed with Igor's analysis on the construction quality of the adapter based on the 5 adapters they have
• GN believes Igor's cable is a red herring and ultimately a "different cable" than what they own.
• GN noticed different soldering method between their cables and Igor's cable (larger/thicker 2 points on GN vs smaller/thinner 4 points on Igor's)
• GN cables do not snap as easily as Igor's
• [Editor's Note] GN is not saying Igor is wrong. GN is saying that Igor has a different adapter than what they own. Igor's conclusion comes from the adapter that he owns.
• GN needs your help!!!
  • Email to: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
  • How to: Start with Timestamp here
• Test Scenarios
  • GN tested 3 cards
  • Tested with 4 different cables
    • Stock
    • Uncut cable, bad contact
    • Both sides cut and bad contact
    • 1 side cut other side w/ bad contact
  • Plus Overclocked on each scenarios
• Most intense scenario is 8 hours full load with damaged cable
  • No damage even with this most intense scenario
• tldr conclusion:
  • There are enough failures to say that this is an issue. However, not every adapter has this issue.
  • GN needs your help!! Please watch the video starting at Timestamp above

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Buildzoid

October 28, 2022 - "rambling about the 12VHPWR failures" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvSetyi9vj8

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Hasan Mujtaba from Wccftech

October 26, 2022 - Tweet showing a test by Galax XOC team in Brazil showing that loose connection can notably increase temperatures - https://twitter.com/hms1193/status/1585257428291325958

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Igor's Labs

October 27, 2022 - The horror has a face – NVIDIA’s hot 12VHPWR adapter for the GeForce RTX 4090 with a built-in breaking point - https://www.igorslab.de/en/adapter-of-the-gray-analyzed-nvidias-brand-hot-12vhpwr-adapter-with-built-in-breakpoint/

• The problem is not the 12VHPWR connection as such, nor the repeated plugging or unplugging.
• Standard compliant power supply cables from brand manufacturers are NOT affected by this so far.
• The current trigger is NVIDIA’s own adapter to 4x 8-pin in the accessories, whose inferior quality can lead to failures and has already caused damage in single cases.
• Splitting each of the four 14AWG leads onto each of the 6 pins in the 12VHPWR connector of the adapter by soldering them onto bridges that are much too thin is dangerous because the ends of the leads can break off at the solder joint (e.g., when kinked or bent several times).
• Bending or kinking the wires directly at the connector of the adapter puts too much pressure on the solder joints and bridges, so that they can break off.
• The inner bridge between the pins is too thin (resulting cross section) to compensate the current flow on two or three instead of four connected 12V lines.
• NVIDIA has already been informed in advance and the data and pictures were also provided by be quiet! directly to the R&D department.

October 27, 2022 - "Adapter gate? NVIDIA briefs all board partners this morning and makes damage an absolute boss issue" - https://www.igorslab.de/en/adapter-gate-nvidia-briefs-today-early-all-board-partners-and-makes-damage-an-absolute-chief-issue/

• nVIDIA just notified all AIC this morning…  All damaged cards need to be sent directly to HQ for failure analysis, this is first time… Even a few years ago when 2080 Ti got issue with Micron, they didn’t do this.

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Reddit Community

October 25, 2022 - 4090 Community Effort: Connector Temps - https://new.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/ydfuvm/4090_community_effort_connector_temps/

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This post will be updated when there's more verified issues OR official statement from Nvidia/Relevant Parties OR actual testing from verified outlets (e.g. Gamers Nexus, etc).

Articles regurgitating and linking back to the original Reddit post are literally useless to actually identify and solve the issue.

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Changelog:

10/28: New Format for the list. Individual posts will not be locked anymore.

10/30: Added Unconfirmed section. Individual posts will be flaired either Confirmed or Unconfirmed. Confirmed section is for any adapters actually melting. Also updated the Further Research section to be. more readable.

11/13: Added "Official Statement" section