The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 power cable meltdown continues to confuse. The RTX 4090 may be one of the best graphics cards, but right now it’s in a tough spot over supply, pricing, and whether adapters are “safe” for long-term use. Both the problem has not been resolved by Nvidia and those who examine the problem of the product in detail have not been able to reach a definitive, single solution.Soldered wires are easier to fail
All this makes the RTX 4090 much more confusing. For example, Igor Wallossek from Igor’s Labs, a veteran of the PC world recently, stated that the main problem that causes 16-pin power connector melting problems is the wrong production of cables. He states that the power connectors are “soldered” from the factory, and that some of them are of poor quality and can easily fail. Igor also states that old-style curvy structures are safer.Some cables do not meet the standards
Another example is the extensive testing results by Steve Burke of Gamers Nexus. In the detailed tests carried out, it was observed that the different cables were all labeled as 300V (14AWG, 105C) and were able to offer these values. However, similar tests at Igor’s Labs revealed that the connectors use 150V wire. The manufacturing partners state that the 300V cables are “required specifications”. So the cables that Igor tested are below the technical requirements. While this is a big difference, not only that, there is also a solder difference between the two wires.Quality cables were tested by Gamers Nexus and TecLab for hours under heavy load and no melting/burning problems were encountered. No extreme values were observed in temperatures either. So what is causing the problem is poor quality cables and connectors.
Poor quality cables are not common
The downside is that there’s no way of knowing which cable you’re getting without unboxing the card. If you bought a 150V 16-pin cable, it is necessary to ask the manufacturer to replace it with a suitable 300V cable. Fewer than 20 issues have been reported with the RTX 4090 so far. According to the surveys, the number of users who buy 150V adapters seems to be below 7 percent. As a result, the number of cards with poor quality cables is quite low. You can watch a detailed analysis and review of the problem in the video below.
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