Some time ago, there were reports of the 16-pin 12VHPWR connectors melting, which apparently got Intel thinking, and now they have recently discussed the 16-pin cable design currently used by Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards. A recommendation for redesign It states that a 12VHPWR connector includes a 12+4 pin design to produce a large amount of watts suitable for powering Nvidia GPUs.
- Nvidia’s official statement on the 16-pin port melting – only 50 have been reported
A solution to a problem that was ultimately blamed on users
When Nvidia introduced the new design, user reports flooded in of melted plugs and connectors, which were attributed to user error since the connectors weren’t fully seated. But now Intel has created a way to eliminate these problems by creating a new connector design. This 16-pin 12VHPWR connector is part of the new ATX 3.0 specification defined by Intel and incorporates the latest Gen 5.0 platform.
Nvidia, however, thoroughly investigated the situation and realized that if the cable is not completely connected to the graphics card, there is a problem with the connection, which causes the temperature to rise too much and melt the cable and its connection. Also, another problem for connecting the graphics card to the cable was not enough space in many cases, which increased the troubles of some users. The design of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 made it one of the biggest graphics cards ever made, and it has caused many problems for users. Since then, several cable alternatives have been offered for better connectivity and increased distance for this graphics card.
Therefore, in a recently published “recommendation”, Intel has recommended changing the design of the 12VHPWR power connector from the current 3-groove design to a 4-spring approach, as shown in the image below:
Of course, this does not mean that Intel is developing a graphics card with the same connection as Nvidia. In fact, its release was revealed because Intel defined the specifications of ATX 3.0 better than before, and the design of this cable is also considered part of their new generation.
This method was also derived from the discoveries of Igor Walusk from Igor’s Lab website. It appears that the company had two different suppliers for the adapter, one for the three-dimple design and the other for the four-spring design. Nvidia chose to use the quad spring option because it was more accessible and had higher coverage than the other.
An Intel spokesperson explained what the company’s engineers revealed in their internal investigation and said:
{For connection} Inside the cable plug, it is recommended to use a 4-spring design instead of a 3-groove design (as shown in the figure), which increases the contact area for electrical current inside the 12VHPWR connector and reduces temperature rise. .
Related posts:
- Improper connection causes 12VHPWR port to melt – GamersNexus research result
- 16 pin ATX 3.0 cable melting while connecting to RTX 4090
- RTX 4090 16-pin connector melting and card failure in Reddit user reports
