Thursday, September 22nd 2022
8-pin PCIe to ATX 12VHPWR Adapter Included with RTX 40-series Graphics Cards Has a Limited Service-Life of 30 Connect-Disconnect Cycles
PSUs with native 12+4 pin ATX 12VHPWR connectors are few and far between, which means some of the first adopters of the GeForce RTX 4090 "Ada" graphics cards will rely on the adapter cable that converts 8-pin PCIe power connectors into one 12VHPWR connector that plugs into the graphics card. Cards that stick to the baseline specs include adapters that convert three 8-pin PCIe connectors (for 450 W output that matches the RTX 4090 reference specs); whereas some premium overclocked RTX 4090 cards, such as the ZOTAC RTX 4090 AMP Extreme, include adapters that convert as many as four 8-pin PCIe to a 12VHPWR, maxing out its 600 W power delivery capability. The product page of the ZOTAC AMP Extreme has an interesting sentence describing this in-box adapter: "Limited service life with up to 30 connect / disconnects."
Apparently the adapter is only good for up to 30 connect/disconnect cycles safely, before you'll need another one. For most gamers who'll install the card and forget about it for years, this shouldn't be an issue. However, for overclockers and enthusiasts using the card on an open-air bench and who rely on a lot of moving cards around, this could be an irritant. Tech journalists (reviewers) swap graphics cards out a lot, too, but then they're likely to have several such adapters lying around from multiple samples, or a PSU with a native 12+4 pin connector.
Our best guess is that this is a mechanical limitation assessed by NVIDIA for the maximum number of times the adapter can handle connection cycles before its contacts begin to wear out, and its safety is compromised. If you look closely at the picture above, the adapter has an NVIDIA logo, which means NVIDIA is directly supplying this adapter to AIC partners to include with their custom-design cards (and not counting on them to develop their own adapters). The 12VHPWR connector may look diminutive, but it's capable of delivering not just 600 W continuously, but also handle 200% excursions (brief spikes in power draw), which mean 1200 W. This is a lot of current (12 V, 100 A, enough to crank an automobile), and so NVIDIA isn't taking any chances with safety.
Source:
Wccftech
Apparently the adapter is only good for up to 30 connect/disconnect cycles safely, before you'll need another one. For most gamers who'll install the card and forget about it for years, this shouldn't be an issue. However, for overclockers and enthusiasts using the card on an open-air bench and who rely on a lot of moving cards around, this could be an irritant. Tech journalists (reviewers) swap graphics cards out a lot, too, but then they're likely to have several such adapters lying around from multiple samples, or a PSU with a native 12+4 pin connector.
124 Comments on 8-pin PCIe to ATX 12VHPWR Adapter Included with RTX 40-series Graphics Cards Has a Limited Service-Life of 30 Connect-Disconnect Cycles
Typical internet mob style.
coulda been clearer on that
Nah, bigger cases generates more sales $$$
I have to wonder: if the goal of the new connector was higher current in a smaller form factor, why didn't they go the conventional route for something like this and use fewer, larger connectors? XT90 connectors are rated for 90A with just two pins - that's 1080W at 12V. Sure, it likely doesn't have the mechanical characteristics for GPU/AIC use (no locking tabs, insufficient plug retention under stress), but that's fixable. Going with a higher number of smaller pins for more current just seems outright dumb.
I agree, this seems like a very unnecessary problem. The previous connectors were small enough to fit within the size constrains of a single slot, why is there any need for a smaller connector, is it just because why not? The common 8 pin connectors were rated by the spec for 150W, but the connector it self can handle more than that.
Not to mention current problem seems to be caused by angling the cables, how did no one thought about 90º connectors when doing the stupid adapters!? or angling the connector on the board like the original 3090 did?
Again, unnecessary problem
I don't think it's the crimps. I think it's the way they've taped it up.
If you want to see the specific safety standards applicable to something like this you can typically find them listed in the datasheets for said products (look for crimp terminals and housings on Mouser or Elfa Distrelec, for example), and in those standards (which are often puclished openly, at least in part) again often list test procedures and conditions - but at that point you're getting to a level of detail where you'd likely need an engineering degree and a few years' experience in a relevant industry to understand what is really being said, and would need to parse out the useful portions of several hundred page long documents.
I know they initially put that there because people were pulling out the sense pins when they pulled the connector out of the card. So it was there more to give someone somewhere to put their thumb rather than to prevent tight bend radius.
I don't know.... I need to look at it further. But something isn't right.
That said... it's only four examples of "burning connectors" out of how many cards sold? 20K? I would think there'd be more failed cards out there than failed cables. And we don't hear about those.
Here we go..... Igor beat me to it! I wasn't going back into the office until Friday. :D
www.igorslab.de/en/adapter-of-the-gray-analyzed-nvidias-brand-hot-12vhpwr-adapter-with-built-in-breakpoint/
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