The big melting issue of 4090

[Ben Gubis]

Hello everybody,
Lately dug to deep into the rabbit hole of Reddit and YouTube about the melting connectors. I bought a 4090 but it still unpacked due to lack of time. So I am wondering, seeing all the stories of melting connectors if I should take it back to the shop? (Jumping ahead I know no cable mod converter should be used, and plug in the cable fully, no bending etc, but we all know that melting happened even with everything kept in mind)

Go with a weaker card, as I am just starting out in 3d and had an ancient pc before it so in any case the 40 series would be an upgrade, save up money and wait for the 50 series hoping that Nvidia will change the connectors?

Generaly speaking, asking the owners of 4090 what are your experiences? Do you own cards from day 1 with the old connector type? Does it work fine? Do you limit power say at 300w to prevent melting?

 

[Alex Glawion]

I have 2x 4090 running in rendering workloads and have no issues whatsoever. As far as I know the main issue is with cards pulling above 600W in select workloads which is not the case in rendering or professional work most often.

Rendering workloads don't use more than roughly 300W anyway on this SKU. What are your main intended workloads?

 

[Tim D]

I specifically bought the Gigabyte Windforce RTX 4090 Version 2 because it eliminates any connector problem. However I also used a BeQuiet ATX 3 PSU which has the new 16 pin graphics connectors (2 are supplied with the PSU) which can take 6oow, and the cables are reasonably soft. This soft cable which is part the core copper and part the outer sheathing matters especially if you have a 90 deg turn on top. The case clearance also matters.
I believe there are now some 90 deg turn connectors and these should work on an ATX modular PSU.

As Alex says mostly these cards draw max 300w with rare 450w and 600w spikes. Can confirm Blender in Rhino does like using the card over the CPU for rendering. Usually up to 99 percent use. Not seen the card get particularly hot max around 65 deg C, more usually a little cooler.

 

[Ben Gubis]

I have 2x 4090 running in rendering workloads and have no issues whatsoever. As far as I know the main issue is with cards pulling above 600W in select workloads which is not the case in rendering or professional work most often.

Rendering workloads don't use more than roughly 300W anyway on this SKU. What are your main intended workloads?

Hi Alex, read on Reddit several stories when people even power limited the cards and the connectors still melted. Ofc I don’t have info if they carefully plugged in the cable but still quite concerning. Basically I plan to use for modelling, motion design, rendering. May I ask if you have the cards from day 1, asking it as Nvidia changed the connectors in mid 2023? Just curious

 

[Ben Gubis]

I specifically bought the Gigabyte Windforce RTX 4090 Version 2 because it eliminates any connector problem. However I also used a BeQuiet ATX 3 PSU which has the new 16 pin graphics connectors (2 are supplied with the PSU) which can take 6oow, and the cables are reasonably soft. This soft cable which is part the core copper and part the outer sheathing matters especially if you have a 90 deg turn on top. The case clearance also matters.
I believe there are now some 90 deg turn connectors and these should work on an ATX modular PSU.

As Alex says mostly these cards draw max 300w with rare 450w and 600w spikes. Can confirm Blender in Rhino does like using the card over the CPU for rendering. Usually up to 99 percent use. Not seen the card get particularly hot max around 65 deg C, more usually a little cooler.

I bought the Asus tuf 4090 oc. For sure bought the same bequiet psu with the two 16 pins just to be sure. With the 90 deg turners there were an issue a month ago CableMod who sold them, made an announcement to immediately stop using them because many users experienced the melting issue.
May I ask if you using the card from day1 I mean for nearly a year or so, and everything is fine so far?

 

[Tim D]

The Gigabyte (Windforce Version2) cards were only available in the UK from late June 2023. I bought mine in August put machine together at end of month. No issues at all with card or connector. Studio driver installed updated at least twice, didn't bother with GTX Experience. Win 11 clean build.

I also read about the cooked connectors which is why I was so wary of the extra power required and the integrity of the connection. Weird really as so many cards used to have the connector on the back annyway. The only reason to go on top is card length. My old GTX460 is rear connect, later 980ti was on top. Never ran SLI or Crossfire though had one board at least that could. Someone at Gigqabyte must have been thinking along similar lines as the V2 is thinner and the connector put in a cutaway forward of the rear. No announcement was made by the company has been made as far as I am aware it was only by checking reviews and tech sites that I became alerted to it.

Traditionally Nvidia better for open GL CAD drivers than AMD cards. May need to run something more serious as 3D CAD is Solid Works, Creo. The Pro cards are pretty pricey for little if any benefit at the level I require. Go back far enough you could use Quadro drivers on consumer cards...

The BeQuiet also has the twin 8 pin older style connectors which presumably would fit into the 'converter' connector some card manufacturers supply?. Would not be my favourite but presumably there for lower spec cards.

Had to watch case width (height for card and air cooler) carefully too. There is quite a bit of variation here and I am mindful that this dimension could be one that has had an effect on bending or distorting the connectors. I used a Fractal Design Meshify2 Compact which is fine for space just taking the Windforce card for length with 10mm+ to spare, and easily taking the Noctua12a coooler. The lead in for the Windforce is easy and I would be amazed if I get a problem at all. If I do get a problem I will update this site, as those of use who use these cards are professional or semi professional and need to be aware of any issues that may be ahead.

 

[Alex Glawion]

Hi Alex, read on Reddit several stories when people even power limited the cards and the connectors still melted. Ofc I don’t have info if they carefully plugged in the cable but still quite concerning. Basically I plan to use for modelling, motion design, rendering. May I ask if you have the cards from day 1, asking it as Nvidia changed the connectors in mid 2023? Just curious

No these are newer cards, I have some from Inno3D. As IgorsLab also found out a few weeks ago, the issue doesn't seem to be a loose connector but rather components beneath the connector that get hot and because heat rises, the plastic connector then gets impacted.

Schmorende Header an NVIDIAs GeForce RTX 4090 - Neue Erkenntnisse, Messungen und (un)bekannte Ursachen zum 12VHPWR und 12V-2×6 Problem | Update | igor´sLAB

Der heutige Artikel ist das Ergebnis von mehreren Monaten Laborarbeit, langen Messreihen, Entwicklungsarbeit und ständiger Gegenkontrolle. Die Materie der 12-Volt-Steckverbinder ist leider so komplex…

www.igorslab.de

It's in german, but the autotranslator should do just fine.

 

[Ben Gubis]

No these are newer cards, I have some from Inno3D. As IgorsLab also found out a few weeks ago, the issue doesn't seem to be a loose connector but rather components beneath the connector that get hot and because heat rises, the plastic connector then gets impacted.

Schmorende Header an NVIDIAs GeForce RTX 4090 - Neue Erkenntnisse, Messungen und (un)bekannte Ursachen zum 12VHPWR und 12V-2×6 Problem | Update | igor´sLAB

Der heutige Artikel ist das Ergebnis von mehreren Monaten Laborarbeit, langen Messreihen, Entwicklungsarbeit und ständiger Gegenkontrolle. Die Materie der 12-Volt-Steckverbinder ist leider so komplex…

www.igorslab.de

It's in german, but the autotranslator should do just fine.

Thanks Alex for the article, I am taking back the card and skipping this gen with a lower tier card, I will be able to practice, and latter go for the 50 series top card. Shame that with top tier cards its even a question…