Amid an increasing number of user reports of 16-pin power connector meltdowns, Cablemod has provided insight into the issue. reddit. According to the custom cable and adapter maker, we have had meltdowns with his 12VHPWR angled adapters of the same brand, but they are very rare. This is an ongoing concern as the 16-pin 12VHPWR connector is featured on many of his Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs that power many of the best graphics cards.
Cablemod didn’t provide specific sales numbers, but the vendor said it has only received 20 reports of 16-pin adapters melting. Cablemod has sold tens of thousands of adapters, with a reported failure rate of less than 1%. In other words, this is not common, but the problem is still open. He, who shares several Cablemod customers, reported the meltdown in a Reddit thread, but the company’s support team has already addressed the matter.
Again, the company didn’t dig into the numbers. However, most of them claim it has to do with RTX 40 series owners not fully inserting the adapter into the connector. Defective adapters contributed little to the failure rate. DIY enthusiasts have been plugging connectors for years, so some of you may be asking yourself how hard it is to plug them in. Many people have questions about the design of the 16-pin power connector, such as its very small dimensions that make it difficult to plug in, and that the latching mechanism sometimes does not work well to hold the connector in place. increase.
Cablemod’s analysis of the melted adapter points mostly to user mistakes and is consistent with: Nvidia surveyThe chipmaker appears to have considered ways to make the 16-pin power connector more secure, but given that we haven’t heard anything from the company, that effort has come to nothing.
Graphics card manufacturers have come up with other ways to facilitate proper installation of the 16-pin power connector. for example, MSI made the 16 pin power connector yellow, the consumer can check whether the connector is fully plugged. If yellow marks remain, the connector is not fully inserted.
Asus, meanwhile, has a concept design to do away with the 16-pin power connector from the consumer and replace it with a proprietary connector that plugs directly into the (Asus) motherboard. Inno3D and Gigabyte opted for a simpler solution, rearranging the 16-pin power connector to make more space for cable manipulation.
Nvidia and its partners are offering RMAs for damaged graphics cards to affected consumers. Cablemod also stands by customers who purchase a 16-pin adapter. The company will pay for shipping the damaged graphics card to the repair center. If the vendor rejected her RMA, Cablemod offered to refund the full purchase price of the graphics card to the affected party.
Cablemod currently sells 90 and 180 degree angled adapters for $39.90. The company also offers his 90-degree angled cables for various power supply brands such as Corsair, EVGA, Seasonic, be Quiet! $29.90 at Amazon.
