Nvidia Silently Upgrades RTX 4090’s With Safer 12V-2×6 Plug, Just Like RTX 4070
According to recent information, Post on RedditNvidia is subtly upgrading its best GPU, the RTX 4090 Founders Edition, with the same modified 16-pin power connector recently spotted on the RTX 4070. A Redditor known as u/prackprackprack uploaded a photo to Reddit showing off a shortened sense pin. This change was confirmed by another Redditor of his, comparing his image with that of his old RTX 4090 FE card.
Changes made to the new RTX 4090 FE power connector include changes to the four sense pins that send and receive data between the GPU and PSU. The pins are slightly recessed into the connector. I believe this adjustment was taken from the latest 12V-2×6 power connector specification to prevent the power connector from continuously powering the GPU when the 16 pin power cable is not fully inserted. will be split. This should keep the graphics card safe from fire and overheating deaths, as we’ve seen with various RTX 4090 cards since launch.
A brand new 4090 FE shortened sense pin? Reply to Igor’s lab article “Secret changes to sense pin starting with GeForce RTX 4070 FE, and no one noticed it” from r/nvidia
It’s great to see Nvidia finally bringing this improved connector to the RTX 4090. The RTX 4090 is the most disaster-prone due to its incredibly high power consumption of up to 450W (more on some overclocked models). The changes made to the RTX 4090 were originally seen in the RTX 4070 and have been changed since launch, even though Nvidia didn’t publicize this fact.
For reference, the power connectors you see here (both 4090 and 4070) appear to be prototype 12V-2×6 connectors built according to PCI-SIG recommended specifications. The 12V-2×6 connector is still under development. This means that the final version of the connector is not yet available for Nvidia. Nonetheless, the RTX 4090 meltdown report seems to have been enough for Nvidia to rush a prototype version of the new card and prevent more GPU outages.
The frustrating part of this situation is that we don’t know which production versions of the RTX 4090 have accepted this new connector. We also don’t know if the prototype connector will be introduced on his AIB partner model. But if Nvidia follows the same trend as his RTX 4070, the RTX 4090 should feature this new connector on both the Founders Edition and AIB partner models.
And all the other manufacturers of graphics cards that use 16-pin connectors (including the RTX 4080, RTX 4070 Ti, RTX 4060 Ti, and possibly some RTX 4060 models as well) will eventually switch to the new style connector as well. expected to migrate. . It is not yet known how long it will take for older variants to disappear from the market.
