News Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and 5090 prototypes exposed — development and testing cards had four 16-pin power connectors

[Admin]

A leaker managed to get ahold of some of Nvidia's latest-generation development/bring-up boards. The prototype hardware features extra power interfaces, test points, debugging interfaces, and plenty of jumpers scattered around the PCB.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 and 5090 prototypes exposed — development and testing cards had four 16-pin power connectors : Read more

 

[ezst036]

This would be the only card with that connector on it that I would feel comfortable purchasing.

Two should be the standard though. But really why not just get rid of this stupid thing altogether.

Some extreme overclockers would probably be excited to acquire such a graphics cards.

I just want one so nothing melts. That's all.

 

[iocedmyself]

Traditional 8pin connectors are rated for 150w (12v @ 12.5a) BUT can actually safely deliver a sustained load of 225w per connector. That's a 50% buffer.

Compare that to the dumb thing Nvidia is determined to force on the market, that's rated to 600w, with a peak maximum of 687w, that's only a 14.5% buffer.

JayzTwoCents has already made multiple video's showing that his stock configuration AIB 5090 is pulling 630w. Debauer got his hands on one of the FE 5090's that melted at both ends, and went on to test his own FE card, finding that the power distribution across the 6 pins actually providing power was....not right, with one wire pulling 23amps (276w) and another pulling 20 (240w) while the others were only pulling a few amps each. Resulting in those load wires getting up to 90c+ almost immediately, because they're only supposed to be operating at 8a per pin.

Even were the thing to be functioning properly, the headroom is insufficient.....but they're not. The connector MIGHT be defensible on the products lower in the stack.....but they're also not really justifiable in any technical sense. It seems like the determination for this connector comes down either to "form over function" or more likely a cost cutting measure so Nvidia can keep pushing their margins ever skyward.

 

[YSCCC]

This just sounds more and more hilarious, I can see some little devils in the backgroud mocking.

 

[Nikolay Mihaylov]

The most thorough explanation I've found so far is from Tech Tuber Buildzoid:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb5YzMoVQyw&t=104


It's pretty damning in the sense that there's no obvious reason why a $2000 card doesn't have sense resistors for each of the 6 lines, or at the very least, one for each pair of lines, like the 3090.

 

[spongiemaster]

Traditional 8pin connectors are rated for 150w (12v @ 12.5a) BUT can actually safely deliver a sustained load of 225w per connector. That's a 50% buffer.

150W per connector, not per 12v wire. De8uer's testing shows a clear load balancing issue where one wire is carrying way too much current while some others are not doing anything. The power going through the connector is within spec, but what that one wire is pulling is not. If you cut 2 of the 12v wires in an 8 pin connector and run furmark, it's not going to be happy either. It may not catastrophically melt, but that is simply a result of pulling 1/4 the power. I've seen plenty of melted 24pin connectors that use the same plug and wire as the 8pin gpu connector.

 

[Elusive Ruse]

If Nvidia doesn’t come up with a viable option soon, the only other solution I can see is a solution similar to the Asus BTF series with the GPU getting its power from the MOBO.

 

[YSCCC]

If Nvidia doesn’t come up with a viable option soon, the only other solution I can see is a solution similar to the Asus BTF series with the GPU getting its power from the MOBO.

Or just make it 2x 12v 2x6 connectors, PSU manufacturers will smile at joy

 

[iocedmyself]

150W per connector, not per 12v wire. De8uer's testing shows a clear load balancing issue where one wire is carrying way too much current while some others are not doing anything. The power going through the connector is within spec, but what that one wire is pulling is not. If you cut 2 of the 12v wires in an 8 pin connector and run furmark, it's not going to be happy either. It may not catastrophically melt, but that is simply a result of pulling 1/4 the power. I've seen plenty of melted 24pin connectors that use the same plug and wire as the 8pin gpu connector.

Yes...i said the 8 pin connector is rated for 150w. The 8 pin connectors consist of 3 12vpins, a sense pin, and 4 ground pins. While the 8 pin is only rated for 150w (50w=4.1a x 3pin) it is capable of delivering 225w sustained (75w at 6.25a x 3 pins)

Yes it's obviously a load balancing issue, but that issue is stemming from something in the card, or the power connector on the card. The wire itself was tested, functional and in good operating order on a 4090.

Given that JayzTwoCents also observed his 5090 Zotac pulling 630w sustained load at stock setting, which is out of spec for the card, the connector AND the wire....and there's already been two instances of melted connectors out of the few dozen cards that actually made it into consumer hands, AND we already went through this mess with the 4090 and it's considerably lower power draw it's not surprising to see this mess play out again.

 

[ekio]

They need to admit this connector was a huge mistake instead of doubling down with it!

GPUs card are all huge, what was this idea to plug them with such a ridiculously small and fragile connector?????

Put true engineers on the job and redo it all.

We are in 2025 and still struggling with burning eletric plugs. That’s absolutely ridiculous!

 

[thisisaname]

This would be the only card with that connector on it that I would feel comfortable purchasing.

Two should be the standard though. But really why not just get rid of this stupid thing altogether.


I just want one so nothing melts. That's all.

Not sure it would still not have 1 wire carrying far to much while the rest carry nearly none.

 

[Elusive Ruse]

Or just make it 2x 12v 2x6 connectors, PSU manufacturers will smile at joy

That would be a viable solution, but only if the apparent discrepancy of how much current each individual wire carries is addressed.

 

[YSCCC]

That would be a viable solution, but only if the apparent discrepancy of how much current each individual wire carries is addressed.

Sure, but if the power is delivered via 2x 300W vs 1x600W, at least in case of one of the connector being defective the extra load to that single wire will be much less and maybe tolerable. and using 2 shunt resistors for each plug could raise a red flag early on.

Ended up the safe way could likely just be the old 8pin style, for 600W card please bloody get 3 parallel plugs.

 

[spongiemaster]

Yes...i said the 8 pin connector is rated for 150w. The 8 pin connectors consist of 3 12vpins, a sense pin, and 4 ground pins. While the 8 pin is only rated for 150w (50w=4.1a x 3pin) it is capable of delivering 225w sustained (75w at 6.25a x 3 pins)

Yes it's obviously a load balancing issue, but that issue is stemming from something in the card, or the power connector on the card. The wire itself was tested, functional and in good operating order on a 4090.

Given that JayzTwoCents also observed his 5090 Zotac pulling 630w sustained load at stock setting, which is out of spec for the card, the connector AND the wire....and there's already been two instances of melted connectors out of the few dozen cards that actually made it into consumer hands, AND we already went through this mess with the 4090 and it's considerably lower power draw it's not surprising to see this mess play out again.

You're just repeating the same thing. The total load is not what is melting the new connector. You keep repeating the 50% safety net for the 8 pin, but that isn't irrelevant here. Each wire is rated for about 9.5A in the new connector. De8auer saw 22A flowing through one wire. That's more than a 100% beyond spec. You transmit more than 100% more current through an 8pin wire than it is rated for and it is going to fail as well. The problem appears to be a load balancing issue or a faulty cable which caused the uneven current distribution. If the load had been properly spread among the 12V wires, nothing would have melted.

 

[iocedmyself]

You're just repeating the same thing. The total load is not what is melting the new connector. You keep repeating the 50% safety net for the 8 pin, but that isn't irrelevant here. Each wire is rated for about 9.5A in the new connector. De8auer saw 22A flowing through one wire. That's more than a 100% beyond spec. You transmit more than 100% more current through an 8pin wire than it is rated for and it is going to fail as well. The problem appears to be a load balancing issue or a faulty cable which caused the uneven current distribution. If the load had been properly spread among the 12V wires, nothing would have melted.

Yes.....i am aware that it's a load balancing issue. In this instance. That's not the point i was making, and you simply aren't getting it, and continue trying to highlight something that i already acknowledged.

So one more time. The point that i am very clearly making, is that even if IN THIS INSTANCE there was a load balancing issue at fault, the plug of the cable, the socket on the card, the socket on the PSU have almost no headroom available to them.

It was shown to be inadequate on a 450w card that was observed pulling 660w, it's even more apparent on a 575w card that has been shown to pull 740w.

Unlike the previous solution of using multiple 8 pin connectors.

8 pin connector good.
16 pin connector that is splitting 12v across 6 pins bad.
16pin connector is not properly specced for these cards.
16pin connector keep catching fire.
Fire bad.
8 pin connector no catch fire.
8 pin connector good.

This thread is under an article highlighting that prototype 4090/5090 had 4x16pin connectors. I don't know why you're having so much trouble, grasping the point here but it's fully your issue.

 

[spongiemaster]

Yes.....i am aware that it's a load balancing issue. In this instance. That's not the point i was making, and you simply aren't getting it, and continue trying to highlight something that i already acknowledged.

So one more time. The point that i am very clearly making, is that even if IN THIS INSTANCE there was a load balancing issue at fault, the plug of the cable, the socket on the card, the socket on the PSU have almost no headroom available to them.

It was shown to be inadequate on a 450w card that was observed pulling 660w, it's even more apparent on a 575w card that has been shown to pull 740w.

Unlike the previous solution of using multiple 8 pin connectors.

8 pin connector good.
16 pin connector that is splitting 12v across 6 pins bad.
16pin connector is not properly specced for these cards.
16pin connector keep catching fire.
Fire bad.
8 pin connector no catch fire.
8 pin connector good.

This thread is under an article highlighting that prototype 4090/5090 had 4x16pin connectors. I don't know why you're having so much trouble, grasping the point here but it's fully your issue.

Your entire post ia a waste of space because you're trying to link unrelated problems. The only data point we have for 5090's is the De8auer test. The problems the 4090's does not appear to be the same problem with the overwhelming number of cases damaging only the gpu plug side due to improper plug insertion That's not the what the 5090 is seeing. All your board spamming with the same post doesn't change the fact there isn't any data to substantiate what you are claiming.