All RTX 5090s only have 1x 16-pin connector

[x4it3n]

Hi everyone,
Is it me or is there really NO 5090 GPU with 2x 16-pin connectors? It's like Nvidia pushed the 5090 to the limits at 575W and AIBs are not even allowed to get 700W+ BIOSes thanks to 2x power connectors! The max a GPU would be able to get would be ~675W then (600W from 16-pin and 75W from PCIe). Am I right?

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Probably already pushed to the limit to look favorable against the outgoing 4090.

 

[DemonicRyzen666]

Hi everyone,
Is it me or is there really NO 5090 GPU with 2x 16-pin connectors? It's like Nvidia pushed the 5090 to the limits at 575W and AIBs are not even allowed to get 700W+ BIOSes thanks to 2x power connectors! The max a GPU would be able to get would be ~675W then (600W from 16-pin and 75W from PCIe). Am I right?

I don't see how that connector can handle that when the connector already had problems handling much less power draw from RTX 4090's at 450 watts. Are they now rating by maximum transient spikes instead?

 

[oxrufiioxo]

I don't see how that connector can handle that when the connector already had problems handling much less power draw from RTX 4090's at 450 watts. Are they now rating by maximum transient spikes instead?

I ran my 4090 at 600w for two weeks straight trying to burn the connector... I didn't have any luck... actual wattage was around 580w it's hard to get it to exactly 600w.

 

[Bomby569]

I ran my 4090 at 600w for two weeks straight trying to burn the connector... I didn't have any luck... actual wattage was around 580w it's hard to get it to exactly 600w.

shouldn't the card/psu shutdown before burning anything? i assumed the bonfires where due only to the design of the connector

 

[Onasi]

Do note that the slot itself will also provide 75W and that what they advertise is maximum TBP - we don’t know yet if the card will actually reach that consistently. It might be lower in actual practice.

 

[BoggledBeagle]

... the connector already had problems handling much less power draw from RTX 4090's at 450 watts. ...

The real problem are clumsy people unable to properly stick the plug in the socket, people who are trying to cram the GPU with the cable in too tight space, exerting unexpected forces on it, connectors damaged by such mishandling, etc.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

shouldn't the card/psu shutdown before burning anything? i assumed the bonfires where due only to the design of the connector

Idk the clip on my 12VHPWR cable was broken for over 6 months and didn't burn its the original easier to burn version lol...

Guessing a bad batch/user error was the primary culprit.

 

[Onasi]

@oxrufiioxo
I am still waiting for our 3090s FEs at work with the very first version of the connector to burn the lab down. Been three years (or 3,5 even) now, still haven’t some so. Miraculous.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

The real problem are clumsy people unable to properly stick the plug in the socket, people who are trying to cram the GPU with the cable in too tight space, exerting unexpected forces on it, connectors damaged by such mishandling, etc.

That's likely why the cards all seem to have the socket dropped below the top edge of the card, to give a little extra room for cable bends.
That's also why some PSU manufacturers are now supplying the 16-pin cable with a 2-color plug - to make it easier to ensure the cable is fitted correctly.
(Lian-Li do this with their "Edge" PSUs, see below)

 

[pavle]

Will be interesting to see if any RTX 5090 connectors melt, clumsy people or not.
I see it not a people's fault if the connector with so many pins was shrunken down so that any minor misalignment makes it lose proper contact and melt.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Will be interesting to see if any RTX 5090 connectors melt, clumsy people or not.
I see it not a people's fault if the connector with so many pins was shrunken down so that any minor misalignment makes it lose proper contact and melt.

Yeah, they hopefully made it idiot proof although it's angled and much smaller card now... AIB cards the connector is really recessed on the models I've seen.

 

[wolf]

The 4090 (and other 40 series), bucking a multi generation trend, were the first to not just spend the entire time butting against the board power limits.

I do wonder if 50 series will be the same. I feel they've had to be more aggressive this gen to get the target perf, but a 5090 constantly pulling 575w in a majority of games and workloads feels yikes.

Time, and W1zzards review, will tell.

 

[Chrispy_]

12V2X6 is not 12VHPWR.

It's still a less safe standard than 8-pin but very few issues have been seen with melting connectors since the change in mid-2023. That's not to say there are no issues, but people have melted 8-pins before too when there's poor contact. Certainly there's not a plague of melted connectors like the original 12VHPWR connector had.

 

[Chomiq]

@oxrufiioxo
I am still waiting for our 3090s FEs at work with the very first version of the connector to burn the lab down. Been three years (or 3,5 even) now, still haven’t some so. Miraculous.

I'm using my 3080 Ti FE with Seasonic 12-pin cable for over 2 years now without any issues. It's nice to see that they came back to the original orientation of the connector on the FE PCB for the 50-series.

 

[ir_cow]

The 4090 (and other 40 series), bucking a multi generation trend, were the first to not just spend the entire time butting against the board power limits.

I do wonder if 50 series will be the same. I feel they've had to be more aggressive this gen to get the target perf, but a 5090 constantly pulling 575w in a majority of games and workloads feels yikes.

Time, and W1zzards review, will tell.

My guess is only RTX games will pull that amount. Just like the 30 and 40 series. Full power is usually only when RTX stuff is enabled. Or compute loads, but at that point you aren't really buying it for gaming anyways.

 

[dirtyferret]

12V2X6 is not 12VHPWR.

via Aris on HB

The Connecting Cable is the SAME​

Another detail that most users are unaware of is that the cable remains the same! There is no change to the cable connecting the PSU’s 12+4 pin (or 2x 8pins) to the graphics card’s 12+4 pin header! To provide you with the whole picture, there is one difference: the naming scheme! Instead of 12VHPWR cable, it is now called 12V-2×6 cable! Crazy right? I know! It is super crazy, but it is what it is!

This is a part of the ATX v3.1 spec, clearly stating that the 12V-2×6 PCB header is optional for modular PSUs! The same applies to non-modular PSUs, of course, where the high-power cable is soldered to the PSU’s PCB directly.

• Changing an ATX v3.0 PSU to an ATX v3.1 one only involves changing the 12+4 pin header to the new one (given that the PSU already has one).
• If a PSU uses 2x 8pin headers on its modular board to power the 12VHPWR (or 12V-2×6) cable, it is automatically ATX v3.1 compliant (provided it follows the rest of the requirements).
• PSUs with native 12VHPWR (or 12V-2×6) cables can be ATX v3.1 compliant if they already meet the ATX v3.0 spec.

 

[freeagent]

Yeah it wont pull that kind of power running just a regular game or benchmark, you have to run something that will use all the compute and memory. Like on my puny 4070Ti, MSFS 2020 will bring the core to ~300w on the core and board power to ~350-380w, and something like F@H will use only say 250w on the core but board power could spike to a high of 402w. Like I said.. puny 4070Ti

But I tried

 

[cal5582]

5090 housefire edition.

 

[Chrispy_]

via Aris on HB

The Connecting Cable is the SAME​

Another detail that most users are unaware of is that the cable remains the same! There is no change to the cable connecting the PSU’s 12+4 pin (or 2x 8pins) to the graphics card’s 12+4 pin header! To provide you with the whole picture, there is one difference: the naming scheme! Instead of 12VHPWR cable, it is now called 12V-2×6 cable! Crazy right? I know! It is super crazy, but it is what it is!

This is a part of the ATX v3.1 spec, clearly stating that the 12V-2×6 PCB header is optional for modular PSUs! The same applies to non-modular PSUs, of course, where the high-power cable is soldered to the PSU’s PCB directly.

• Changing an ATX v3.0 PSU to an ATX v3.1 one only involves changing the 12+4 pin header to the new one (given that the PSU already has one).
• If a PSU uses 2x 8pin headers on its modular board to power the 12VHPWR (or 12V-2×6) cable, it is automatically ATX v3.1 compliant (provided it follows the rest of the requirements).
• PSUs with native 12VHPWR (or 12V-2×6) cables can be ATX v3.1 compliant if they already meet the ATX v3.0 spec.

You're confusing the cable with the connector:

12V2x6 is better because the problems with the connector have been resolved (apparently).
Empirical data appears to reinforce this, since the number of OMG MY 4090 CONNECTOR MELTED posts have all but vanished since the connector was changed.

The sense pins are shorter, so it won't send power unless the connector is very firmly pushed all the way home, and the power delivery pins are longer, reducing the chances of poor connection and improving how straight the actual male-to-female interface is, hopefully reducing single points of contact and ensuring that much more area of the female barrel in the cable is contacting the male pin in the connector.

 

[Eskimonster]

If this was a problem 5xxx series would have been different.

 

[harm9963]

Yeah it wont pull that kind of power running just a regular game or benchmark, you have to run something that will use all the compute and memory. Like on my puny 4070Ti, MSFS 2020 will bring the core to ~300w on the core and board power to ~350-380w, and something like F@H will use only say 250w on the core but board power could spike to a high of 402w. Like I said.. puny 4070Ti

But I tried

A vs P benchmark tool have used for years , will pull 500 plus watts easy !

 

[freeagent]

Now those are manly numbers

 

[dirtyferret]

You're confusing the cable with the connector:

learn to read as you never mention either "12V2X6 is not 12VHPWR"

 

[JustBenching]

I ran my 4090 at 600w for two weeks straight trying to burn the connector... I didn't have any luck... actual wattage was around 580w it's hard to get it to exactly 600w.

You were doing it wrong man. Maybe you... well... plugged it in that's why you unfortunately didn't manage to burn it.