This just happened to me and I still can't believe it.
I had a cable plugged in several months ago—everything was working perfectly, untouched ever since so didn't worry about poor connection etc.
Then today… I suddenly smelled a strong, burnt plastic/rice-like odor. I immediately shut down the PC and pulled the plug straight from the socket.
I’m running an MSI Liquid 4090 with a 1500W PSU.
What I found next was shocking—the power supply side of the cable melted, and the wire looks absolutely fried.
I think my quick reaction saved the GPU—thankfully I have two 600W sockets on the PSU and somehow, miraculously, everything still works.
Just look at the PSU-side cable—this is serious.
It’s no exaggeration to say this could’ve caused a fire.
There is no way I'll ever consider 5090 or in fact any GPU with this type of plug. What a joke.
38 Comments
Yep, my next GPU is definitely not using this connector.
This is insanity…
Not that is has anything to do with anything, but what model was you PSU? And also, based on your last statement, are you done with your 4090?
i pray my 4090 can survive past the tarrif wars
The more I look into this, the more it seems like “fuck around then find out” to me. Ofc it’s serious, I skip the entire generation of gpu because of this little shit. I have kid in my house, not to mention lot of stuffs and equipment in my room too, why tf should I risk it. I think lot of ppl didn’t seem to care enough or think it won’t happen to me, then it fucking did.
Even for <300w gpu, I don’t want to see it in my house, the connector is just pure stupidity.
First off I’m glad you caught the problem in time before there was a fire. Secondly assuming you’ve checked, I’m glad your GPU wasn’t damaged. Since you are keeping the 4090, what model of PSU will you use going forward?
thats cooked
Is this at least covered under warranty?
Is that OEM cable?
Did your pcu not come with a cable?
Cablemod cables?
I can’t figure out why this is still allowed to be happening? How come consumer protection hasn’t required a recall?
Well you need to use oem cables. Is cable issue if third party
You did nothing wrong here. People say aftermarket cables are the problem but it’s just that this card doesn’t have proper load balancing because nvidia decided to cheap out on that. If they would’ve just added 2 connectors or a decent controller it wouldn’t be that much of a problem. This stuff can happen with any cable.
Did you recently update your GPU drivers?
What game were you playing when this occurred?
Needs revised to two connectors
Sorry to hear.
I’d bet there was a defect in this cable to begin with. That’s really the big issue here I think. I’ve been running this setup with the 4090 for two years and the 5090 since launch day:
https://preview.redd.it/sv2bbdlj34te1.jpeg?width=1375&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=45442197ff260601ab5ba2608002ceb195b771d2
Since the 5090 stuff started, I got a thermal camera and started doing thermal scans every couple of weeks when I clean this puppy out.
I really don’t know what to make of this issue. You really don’t get rational discussion on a setup like this.
3rd party cable. So irresponsible.
great achievement, nVidia 🤙🏻
Balls of steel for reusing same hardware setup that caused the issue
At this point, people with a 4090\5090 must think of their card as a planed obsolesce of 2 years max before the cable \ connector goes to shit. You can’t fight physics and pure greed of having an insane margin selling these expensive cards.
I genuinely feel bad for people having to deal with this or even the slighest anxiety of knowing you’re somehow next when you less expect. These are premium products not used for gaming only but work.
Something as basic as power deliver should be taken for granted as not to be a fire hazard. Stray strong and hope it does not happen more often than I think.
I have a question for those that have had the new 12v connector melt. Are the other, non melted, pins in the connector pushed out at all, similar to what happens to Molex connection?
Hey at least it’s not a burned rug
All 4090 and 5090 are at risk. Period. Full stop. If you bought one, sign up for the class action law suit. They will all burn eventually. The power delivery spec is not consumer ready. Period. Full stop.
Dump these cards to the used market while you can. Otherwise, this is a guarantee eventually. These cards won’t last 4+ years.
When did you get the 4090?
Where are the cables from?
Asking to see if it is the newer version with the newer connector.
Every time I see another one of these posts, makes me feel much better sticking with my 3080TI. Maybe the 6x series will finally fix these spontaneous combustion issues.
Anyone that blames the cable at this point is just flat out wrong.
Sure, a cable can have a bad connector, or can be worn out after too many mating cycles.
But for the most part, quality third party cables like cablemod, moddiy, custom cables on etsy, etc are above and beyond the quality of OEM PSU cables.
It’s not the cable folks. It’s the shitty connector design and the tiny tiny safety margins.
Did you power limit your 4090? I keep mine at 80% and monitor 16 pin voltage sensor in HWINFO64.
These gpu cables melting remind me of the early lipo battery days, where every battery is a potential fire hazard.
Now we have special containers to store them, charging them in grills outside and handling them like loaded bombs.
My PNY XLR8 4090 came with a 4x 8-pin to 1x 12VHPWR adapter.
My Lian Li 1000W PSU came with a very solid feeling 12VHPWR 2×6 cable updated with colored tips to help ensure proper seating on both ends and cable combs to help channel the cables without bending them to stress them. The PSU also has 4x 8-pin plugs and cables.
Which of these is the safer option?
1. Using the PSU OEM’s provided 12VHPWR cable.
2. Using the GPU OEM’s provided adapter and 8-pin cables.
Stock power limits? Or maxed in afterburner? If I remember right that card had a 125% max slider or 600w. I’m just more amazed Nvidia didn’t just do two 12vhpw connectors the chase for a tiny PCB was too big I guess.
Nvidia really thought this was going to be the new standard.
The 3090 was probably the best gpu ngreedia is capable of handling
welcome to the club 😎🍔🍻
People give you shit for using a custom cable, but I can see the per wire amps with my astral and my Moddiy cable is more balanced than the MSI cable that came with my PSU 🤷♂️
Have there been any reports of fire with the 9070 XTs made by sapphire or asrock with the same connector?
I power limit to 70%. MSI 4090 gaming x trio.
Seasonic 12VHPWR to 2X8. Official Seasonic add on cable.
Gn… another user error issue.
Yea, even though you don’t touch it, over time it will degrade and that’s what happens. We’ll be seeing more of this happening now as other GPU have been simmering for a good 2 years now.