Derbauer and Buildzoid on YouTube made nice informative videos on subject, and no it is not "simply a user error". So glad I went with 7900 XTX - should be all set for a couple of years.
Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
71–80 of 526 posts
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#72Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's wrong with the 4/6/8 pin plugs? I find them perfectly good. And they have a high power variant that would have worked much better here, rated for twice the current per pin.
They're the best of the bunch when it comes to PC parts, but think how far off they are in terms of usability compared to USB, or Ethernet, or HDMI, or Displayport, or those old VGA cables you had to screw in, or literally anything else. They only look good in comparison to the other power connectors.
Even the now ancient and defunct FireWire 400 connector is nicer than most internal PC connectors.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
>> Connectors are actually extremely difficult to make. While your points listed are valid, we have been making connectors that overcome these points for decades, in some cases approaching the century mark. >> I'm not surprised at all that they are running into issues here, these cards are pulling 500+ watts. That is a LOT of current. Nonsense. I used to work at an industrial power generation company. 500W is _nothin…
One word: cost. Look up how much industrial/automotive connectors cost, and you'll see the huge difference in quality.
Nvidia is clearing 4 figures on each 5090. They can afford another few dollars on connectors.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#74Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#75You only paid $2000 for it, what did you expect.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#76If we’re going to keep up these kilowatt scale cards, we’re just going to need higher voltage rails on PSUs. I had a bunch of similar dumb power connector problems when my 4090 was new.
Or just give up and provide a wall power cord.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#77What’s wild is that this is a company clearly capable of designing highly complex things with numerous tradeoffs, challenges and unknowns. And then the fuckin cable is the issue. Repeatedly.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's 12V, which means the currents are very high (like >40A). It feels like perhaps they need higher voltage power supplies.
I think the problem with this is that chips can only use a relatively low voltage around 1-1.5 volts. So if you supply 48 volts to the card it still has to be stepped down and this means more components and heat dissipation on the card. We are basically arriving at the idea of graphic cards having their own integrated PSUs, but this doesn't fit well with the current physical design of computers.
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Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#79Derbauer and Buildzoid on YouTube made nice informative videos on subject, and no it is not "simply a user error". So glad I went with 7900 XTX - should be all set for a couple of years.
Derbauer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndmoi1s0ZaY
Buildzoid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb5YzMoVQyw
I went 7900 GRE, not even considering Nvidia, because I simply do not trust that connector.
Re: Nvidia's RTX 5090 power connectors are melting
#80There is a real problem with the connector design somewhere: der8auer tested with his own RTX 5090FE and saw two of the cable strands reach concerning temperatures (>150ºC).
Video timestamp: https://youtu.be/Ndmoi1s0ZaY?t=883