The 12VHPWR connector used in some of Nvidia’s best graphics cards works well for most people — but not for everyone. There have been reports of the connector melting inside the case, rendering the GPU unusable.
Nvidia seems to have learned from this experience, though. As it turns out, the Founders Edition of the RTX 4070 is no longer using 12VHPWR. Will the change be the remedy to these problems? Wire Terminal Connectors
As spotted by Igor’s Lab, the new connector looks similar to the 12VHPWR, but there are some subtle changes. While tricky to spot at a quick glance, a closer inspection reveals that the difference lies in the four sense pins located below the 12-pin port. The previous version had a 0.45mm offset, but the new connector spec (CEM 5.1) features a 1.7mm inward offset. The pins are simply shorter.
PCI-SIG refers to the new connector as the 12V-2×6. It conforms with the ATX 3.1 standard and it can now be found in the RTX 4070 Founders Edition, as well as some cards made by Nvidia’s board partners, such as the MSI RTX 4070 Gaming X Trio. In the case of MSI, the connector is referred to as 12VHPWR H+, but Wccftech reports that an H++ variant is also somewhere out there.
It’s a bit strange to see the discrepancy in connectors. Which is the new design, is it the H+ or the H++? No one knows, but despite the lack of a standardized spec, the connector is already being mass-produced by Astron.
No matter the name, this new connector could potentially solve the problems some RTX 4090 have been dealing with since last year. For a quick refresher, there have been cases of the connector melting either at the GPU or the PSU side. In worst-case scenarios, the melting occurred on both sides. It appears that the cards became susceptible to this problem if the connector was not seated properly, but because of the size of the GPU and cable itself, it’s often hard to fit it inside the case without bending it — which only exacerbates the problem.
With that said, this issue doesn’t seem to affect Nvidia’s less top-tier cards. The RTX 4080 uses the same connector, as does the RTX 4070 Ti, but all the reports talked about issues with the RTX 4090. No wonder — it’s the most power-hungry card of them all. In theory, all RTX 40-series GPUs are at some risk if not connected properly, though, so make sure not to bend the cable when you’re installing the card.
Relying on a complete lack of user error is a risky business when a $1,600 graphics card is involved, especially one as large as the RTX 4090. Although it’s too late to change anything in those existing GPUs, it’s nice to see Nvidia is taking steps to improve the connector in its newer releases.
Nvidia may be readying three new GPUs -- the RTX 4080 Super, RTX 4070 Ti Super, and the RTX 4070 Super. We haven't seen Super cards since Nvidia's RTX 20-series, but if this leak turns out to be true, they're coming back. Will they be worthwhile enough to rank high among the best graphics cards? It's hard to say, but they could help it compete against AMD's recent GPUs.
The information comes from hongxing2020, a frequent leaker in the GPU space. Nvidia already has a decent spread of GPUs between the RTX 4080, RTX 4070 Ti, and the RTX 4070. However, if a refresh to the Ada lineup is reportedly on the way, we might see some notable changes, but only if Nvidia decides to shake things up and use a different chip for at least two out of those three GPUs.
It's no news that the power connector on one of Nvidia's best graphics cards may sometimes melt, and yet, this is still new. Typically, the 12VHPWR connector found in the RTX 4090 would either melt quickly or not at all. Bad news for those who thought they were out of the woods and safe from the problem -- it appears that the RTX 4090 can still melt after a year of usage.
Will the saga of RTX 4090 melting connectors never end? It seems not. When the card was initially launched a year ago, the reports of melting cables at the GPU side started cropping up, but then, slowly died down. Now, however, Byogore on Reddit posted a photo of a melted connector on the PCMR subreddit. After working fine for a year, the user started experiencing issues and noticed that the connector had melted.
According to the latest round of leaks, Nvidia may be readying an RTX 4080 Ti, set to come out in the first few months of 2024. While such a GPU would definitely rank high among the best graphics cards, it's not exactly necessary right now -- there are plenty of high-end GPUs floating around. There is one reason I would like to see an RTX 4080 Ti, though; to push down the price of the RTX 4080.
MEGAsizeGPU, who is a frequent speculator in the graphics card space, shared over the weekend that an RTX 4080 Super, or maybe Ti, will come out in just a few months. Given Nvidia's current naming convention in this generation, a Ti card seems more likely. As per MEGAsizeGPU, the card will be based on Nvidia's flagship AD102 chip and will have a power consumption below 450 watts. The other specs are a mystery, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nvidia added some more VRAM to the card -- 20GB seems likely. The bump from AD103 to AD102 should also deliver a decent upgrade in CUDA core counts -- dare I say in the 12,000 to 13,000 range?
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