News AMD Exec Burns Nvidia Over Melting Connectors

[TJ Hooker]

Check out the second link. Read through the whole thing.

To be fair, nothing in your second link explicitly says that testing was done by PCI SIG. It could have come from the 3rd party that provided the initial reports of failing connectors to PCI SIG, and PCI SIG is just forwarding those results along with their email. In fact, it looks like those test results come from Nvidia (part of the same package as the page that spongiemaster posted above)

See here (starting at around 7:00):

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p48T1Mo9D3Q

 

[alceryes]

Again, there is nothing in any of that stating PCI SIG did any testing that resulted in melted connectors. You ignored what I posted which showed it was Nvidia that did the testing.

Let's assume this is true.
Do you think it paints NVIDIA in a better light? Their own internal testing showed a potential issue and they ignored it...?

 

[spongiemaster]

Let's assume this is true.
Do you think it paints NVIDIA in a better light? Their own internal testing showed a potential issue and they ignored it...?

You made the claim that

we have an actual peripheral components standards organization who experienced melted connectors too and yes, they had the cable plugged in all the way.

TJ Hooker asked for verification of your statement and we are still waiting on it.

 

[alceryes]

You made the claim that
TJ Hooker asked for verification of your statement and we are still waiting on it.

I'm not a member of PCI-SIG. I'm not going to spend $5000+ USD to download one report. I do not have proof that PCI-SIG performed testing nor do you have proof that they did not.

Now that I have answered your question, how about you answer mine. Do you think it paints NVIDIA in a better light? Their own internal testing showed a potential issue and they ignored it...?

 

[Arbie]

Electricity is conducted over the surface of the metal, so you have very visible "pathways" electricity can take, so if you have surface debris (obstacles), then like a fluid it will just go around them until the alternative path becomes saturated while still hitting that debris on its path creating a lot of heat. That's in layman terms
[FOLLOWED BY...] https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/resistor/res_4.html
That is what I was talking about with the part you seem to have not read and did not quote. All DC-operated circuits follow equations (as long as they stay within Ohm's law) which tell you how current transits and then you calculate power based on the energy you transit in it

MSEE here actually, and no longer in need of DC circuit tutorials; thanks. I read but didn't quote all you wrote because... I couldn't make sense of it. I felt that English isn't your first language; which I respect, and therefore refrained from pointlessly and perhaps unfairly eviscerating your frankly risible "layman terms" attempt to correct me. I gently concluded that someone else might better interpret GN's statements and perhaps even your "analysis" of them.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

An easy fix would be a button that gets depressed on the graphics cards female power connector when the 12+4 male connector is properly latched which tells the graphics card that it’s safe to pull power. I feel like making sure the power connector is properly seated and latched is common sense but I also feel like gasoline being flammable is also common sense but apparently it is still necessary to put a “flammable” warning on it.

How about a simpler fix?
Ultra High Contrast Plugs so it's easier to spot that you inserted it correctly.

Spoiler: Have them paint the Plug Tooth White via Dye Sublimation, keep the Plug Body black.

All 12VHPWR Plug Teeth need the Plastic Housing of the Plugs to be Dye Sublimated to a "White Color" for ONLY the Plug Teeth area so that the end user can easily ID if they properly plugged it in.
The base of the 12VHPWR Plug should remain Black with only different colored teeth to make it easy to ID for proper insertion.
This makes it harder for the user to improperly insert the plugs.
Apply this design standard to all "Molex" style Power Plugs used within PC Building.
High Contrast Power Plugs should make things very obvious if you haven't properly inserted a Power Plug.

 

[The Historical Fidelity]

How about a simpler fix?
Ultra High Contrast Plugs so it's easier to spot that you inserted it correctly.

Spoiler: Have them paint the Plug Tooth White via Dye Sublimation, keep the Plug Body black.

All 12VHPWR Plug Teeth need the Plastic Housing of the Plugs to be Dye Sublimated to a "White Color" for ONLY the Plug Teeth area so that the end user can easily ID if they properly plugged it in.
The base of the 12VHPWR Plug should remain Black with only different colored teeth to make it easy to ID for proper insertion.
This makes it harder for the user to improperly insert the plugs.
Apply this design standard to all "Molex" style Power Plugs used within PC Building.
High Contrast Power Plugs should make things very obvious if you haven't properly inserted a Power Plug.

I agree, better yet color it yellow so if you still see yellow after putting the connector in you know “warning”.

 

[Sleepy_Hollowed]

Lmao, this is absolutely golden. They should incorporate it into their marketing, I mean, it's almost a public service announcement.

 

[instawookie]

I'm not a member of PCI-SIG. I'm not going to spend $5000+ USD to download one report. I do not have proof that PCI-SIG performed testing nor do you have proof that they did not.

Now that I have answered your question, how about you answer mine. Do you think it paints NVIDIA in a better light? Their own internal testing showed a potential issue and they ignored it...?

Is Nvidia really in that bad of light though? Maybe to the AMD fan boys, 4090 haters due to its price, or the ones that suffered melted connectors..... However, Nvidia hasn't really ignored much , they've asked for cards from consumers and AIB's to be returned and as far as I know they've been replaced.... Are they giving bogus news every 3 days like the other youtubers "Jay" not at all... They're working and doing what a business does... Protecting themselves from profit loss, why jump the gun and send out 20k adapters with a revision if a revision is not needed? Meanwhile AMD is clowning on twitter pages and apparently hasn't seen the GN video.... Not saying GN is 100% right that improper connections is the end all be all, but it is trending that way.... Find images of a melted connector still attached to the GPU before the consumer removed it and posted it, I haven't seen it done...

 

[-Fran-]

MSEE here actually, and no longer in need of DC circuit tutorials; thanks. I read but didn't quote all you wrote because... I couldn't make sense of it. I felt that English isn't your first language; which I respect, and therefore refrained from pointlessly and perhaps unfairly eviscerating your frankly risible "layman terms" attempt to correct me. I gently concluded that someone else might better interpret GN's statements and perhaps even your "analysis" of them.

I'm not trying to correct you. You claimed you didn't understand what they referred to with the expression and I'm trying to offer an explanation to that.

I'll stop here.

Regards.

 

[eazen]

It should also be mentioned that it wasn’t Steve who made the comment originally that it’s a user mistake by not fully inserting the connector, but PSU expert and well known ex-reviewer who works for Corsair now, Jon Gerow (jonnyguru). So there’s a lot of merit to it.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

I agree, better yet color it yellow so if you still see yellow after putting the connector in you know “warning”.

That works as well, but I obviously am partial to the White color for the teeth.

But I wouldn't mind if the latch was "Yellow" and dyed seperately to make the entire connector Tri-Colored =D.

Super "High Contrast".

 

[kyzarvs]

"If you're spending any time on what's left of Twitter these days..."
Nice backhanded slap... Twitter was literally a heavy handed one-sided echo chamber for the blue that now actually stands for free speech. I would think a journalist would appreciate the improvement. Color me surprised. Twitter is actually being made to be profitable when it was a ridiculous luxury sweet for people abusing the system and causing it to be unprofitable. Good riddance.

I read it as none of those things - more a recognition that the company is in enough turmoil that they aren't allowing their own employees into the offices today - the ones that they were mandated they had to work in this week.

 

[RodroX]

Many people seems to forget this is a high priced component $1600+ which is aimed for the DIY market for PC enthusiast (gamers and professional users).

So if even reviewers, who try hundreds of cards a year, admit the connector is difficult to get fully inserted, then this is not user error alone, but a bad design too.

 

[Elusive Ruse]

Look! Steve caused an adapter to melt... by not plugging it in correctly! That must be the only possible explanation as to what's going on, right? Seriously, for all his "fact" talk, the reality is that we still don't have a clear answer on what is causing problems — and more importantly, we don't have a guaranteed solution. His rant on responsible reporting rings a bit hollow, considering he himself has been a major part of the theorycrafting that's taken place. Also, even though he mentioned FOD (foreign object debris) as a factor, like Igor, he has no actual proof that FOD caused any of the failures — he hasn't replicated that; he just showed that FOD is present and then jumped to a conclusion. Anyway, GN spent a LOT of money to make these videos, but it's not like he can actually solve the problem — that's up to Nvidia and its partners. The videos were done to increase his street cred and to get lots of views, while officially providing no answer whatsoever.

Why are you hating on GN? Their team has done more than anyone, including Nvidia, to investigate the matter and in a transparent manner. I doubt we will get anything substantial from Nvidia unless the lawsuit goes into discovery and trial. As a journalist, you should appreciate GN's efforts into investigating the problem.

 

[eazen]

Many people seems to forget this is a high priced component $1600+ which is aimed for the DIY market for PC enthusiast (gamers and professional users).

So if even reviewers, who try hundreds of cards a year, admit the connector is difficult to get fully inserted, then this is not user error alone, but a bad design too.

One could also argue that enthusiasts should know better than to not check the connector multiple times to be 100% sure it is fully seated in. This is what I do with my 8 Pin connectors, and there’s a 0% risk with me that I would’ve not fully inserted this new 16 pin connector as I’m too rigorous with checking the connection. I suspect those 27 people were in a hurry. Could the connector design be better, so to make it easier to insert? Maybe. But it’s still 100% a user error.

 

[RodroX]

One could also argue that enthusiasts should know better than to not check the connector multiple times to be 100% sure it is fully seated in. This is what I do with my 8 Pin connectors, and there’s a 0% risk with me that I would’ve not fully inserted this new 16 pin connector as I’m too rigorous with checking the connection. I suspect those 27 people were in a hurry. Could the connector design be better, so to make it easier to insert? Maybe. But it’s still 100% a user error.

You suspect that the 27 people that reported the issue were in a hurry? And because you suspect that, then all of them (not counting the ones that used the native connector from the PSU) are to blame?

Basically this 27 people had extra $1600+ on their wallet, they got a really expensive piece of new hardware, and none of them did the second most important thing right (connecting the power cable) when installing the GPU, because they were in a hurry to burn their new hardware.....

Are you an nvidia lawyer or representative by any chance ?

 

[alceryes]

Is Nvidia really in that bad of light though? Maybe to the AMD fan boys...

Difference of opinion then. I think it does.
I am definitely not an AMD fanboy. I am for the consumer and anti-ignoring-the-warning-signs-for-profits. If AMD tried to pull these shenanigans, I would be on them just the same.

 

[spongiemaster]

I'm not a member of PCI-SIG. I'm not going to spend $5000+ USD to download one report. I do not have proof that PCI-SIG performed testing nor do you have proof that they did not.

So you basically just made something up with no evidence to back it up to take a shot at Nvidia. But you're not an AMD fanboy. Got it. There's no reason to address your other question, as your agenda is clear.

 

[eazen]

You suspect that the 27 people that reported the issue were in a hurry? And because you suspect that, then all of them (not counting the ones that used the native connector from the PSU) are to blame?

Basically this 27 people had extra $1600+ on their wallet, they got a really expensive piece of new hardware, and none of them did the second most important thing right (connecting the power cable) when installing the GPU, because they were in a hurry to burn their new hardware.....

Are you an nvidia lawyer or representative by any chance ?

You don’t make much sense. Ofc it is the mistake of 27 people if 10000s of other people have no problem. The “hurry” comment is just a guess on my part, in any case it is a stark oversight of them not properly connecting the cable. If I call it “mistake by hurrying”, I’m being nice, I can also call it an amateurish mistake.

 

[jp7189]

The Plug was created by PCI-SIG not NVidia they are for sure having the early adopter tax here but it is getting a little old seeing people blame Nvidia for this issue alone. If you were a company and are told by the governing body this is the new PCI-E 5 plug and then said company uses it who is to blame here.. I can concede maybe Nvidia could have tested more stringently but from their stand point they are most likely thinking if these people plugged in their cables right we could just move on...

If nvidia kept to a moderate power requirement, they wouldn't need a new connector.

 

[eazen]

If nvidia kept to a moderate power requirement, they wouldn't need a new connector.

Even then they would’ve needed at least 2x 8Pin and that’s already too much for Nvidia as they had replaced exactly that with the 12Pin proprietary connector on the vanilla 3090 before the 16Pin connector was even invented. The alternative would’ve been to use the 12 Pin then, but funny enough, there were no problems reported with that connector. I suspect because it’s easier to attach, it doesn’t have those annoying extra 4 small pins.

 

[RodroX]

You don’t make much sense. Ofc it is the mistake of 27 people if 10000s of other people have no problem. The “hurry” comment is just a guess on my part, in any case it is a stark oversight of them not properly connecting the cable. If I call it “mistake by hurrying”, I’m being nice, I can also call it an amateurish mistake.

I don't make much sense... lol you on the other hand do, right?, first you "suspect", and now you "guess".

By the way, I suspect you know all those 27+ users are the ones that shared the issue, only nvidia knows the right number.

 

[eazen]

I don't make much sense... lol you on the other hand do, right?, first you "suspect", and now you "guess".

By the way, I suspect you know all those 27+ users are the ones that shared the issue, only nvidia knows the right number.

Fact is, I don’t know why you’re attacking me here, are you one of them, or why so personal?

All problems so far had burnt connectors which all tests have proven to be by faulty connection, and can only be caused by the user. Enough said. Inform yourself better if you don’t understand what’s going on here.

 

[USAFRet]

Fact is, I don’t know why you’re attacking me here, are you one of them, or why so personal?

All problems so far had burnt connectors which all tests have proven to be by faulty connection, and can only be caused by the user. Enough said. Inform yourself better if you don’t understand what’s going on here.

Given the same user doing this exact same procedure dozens or hundreds of times in the past on earlier components, and now, with a somewhat different connection and more power running through the connection...and now we have "problems to the point of Flame On"....to me, that would point to a design issue.

As in....why is it so easy for seemingly experienced users to get it wrong?
What is now different?