Is the 12 pin (12VHPWR) power connector for GPUs really a death sentence?
Posted by Cargillicus@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 22 comments
Hi all,
I've finally decided to upgrade my pc after about 6 years and have just pre-ordered a 9070xt, specifically a Sapphire Nitro + Radeon RX 9070 XT.
It had great reviews and the specs and design looked better than the other, more expensive Acer versions. One of the good reviews mentioned something about a "controversial 12 pin connector".
I was doing some research and came across a slew of horrible reviews of the 12 pin connector. Apparently it breaks GPUs or catches fire or melts.
Has anyone had an experience like this? Have I wasted £700 by buying a GPU that will I won't be able to power safely? Or is there a certain kind of power supply I need?
Any help would be appreciated as this is my first time trying AMD 👍🏼
Working_Look6163@reddit
They run those wires at 100% when it comes to high power gpus. Electrical code states that it needs to be 80% or lower. Which means that power connector if balenced correctly would be like 450 watts. Not 600 lol. Should be at least 14awg 105C to be able to barely even handle it. In case your wondering ive gone through like 50 of these cables and its killing my wallet because they dont make a better one.
LordWerty300@reddit
I was baffled when I watched someone tear down one of the connectors and there was nothing to evenly distribute the current between the live pins of the connector, if some pins don’t make contact the others have to deal with the extra current
aragorn18@reddit
As a percentage, a very tiny amount of 12VHPWR connectors have melted. The ones that have a predominantly on the higher power models. The 9070XT doesn't actually draw that much power.
You'll be fine.
Cargillicus@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for clarifying!!!
EugenesDI@reddit
I hope you bought aorus or mercury instead
Schnydesdale@reddit
Something like this. I hope I don't jynx myself, but I have one of these on a 1k Corsair TUF PSU on a 4080. I don't have any of these issues, so I don't know what to believe or how to prepare for something like this. I actually love the connector because it's that easy to use and, if I'm not having any problems, I have no f'ing clue why anyone does.
ValuxTheRuthless@reddit
Hi, I am planning on using this card in my new build, but was also concerned about melting isues, how is your build doin?
Cargillicus@reddit (OP)
Hey, 6 months in and no melting. The only issue is one of the LEDs on the light bar has broken. Otherwise no issues :)
Siliconfrustration@reddit
You'll be fine on that card. Just get a PSU with the native 12HPWR or 12V-2x6 connector and cable. They have sixteen pins - 12 carry power. Look for an ATX 3.0 or 3.1 PSU. The card comes with an adapter so you can connect three 8-pin cables if your PSU doesn't have native support, but it will look better if you skip the adapter and just use a more modern PSU with the native cable. Even though your card doesn't draw so much power that it will be problematic, you should still make sure to insert the cable into the card completely.
MtnNerd@reddit
Thanks, this answered my question about my recent GPU. I felt weird about not using the cable it came with but it only came with the adapter for three 8 pin and my PSU is indeed ATX 3.0.
Moscato359@reddit
I have this connector on two gpus and both are totally fine
firefox190@reddit
are the gpus still fine now? im debating between 2 cards and the worry of the 12 pin connector is stressing me out.
Moscato359@reddit
Mine are fine
Ive heard about 0.1% of them melt, which requires the manufacturer to replace the card and psu under warranty
LongjumpingTown7919@reddit
It's only an issue in power hungry GPUs like the 5090
KFC_Junior@reddit
Only on 5090s. AFAIK the only 5080 that had an issue with it was on the PSU side. 5080 and below shouldnt draw enough power for it to be an issue
Wiertlo@reddit
Nah 4090s issues were due to user related mistakes, I ve got 4090 for over a year, no issues whatsoever, the cause were bad cables/psu/cable mounting, 4090 doesnt draw that much juice compared to 5090 to make it burn, plus you still have undervolting oc
KillEvilThings@reddit
Not really.
if you're not using an XX90 series nvidia GPU the connector is fine as long as you properly insert it and follow instructions.
Of course Nvidia being fucking stupid and making the regular power draw the MAXIMUM SAFE LIMIT of the fucking plug of the 5090 (yes it was raised to what, 650? vs the 600 of the 5090 big fucking whup) is dumb as shit and guaranteed to cause problems.
Wiertlo@reddit
I'd say its more of a issue for 5090 rather than 4090, because the latter melting issues was more due to psu/inproper cable mount or some chinese ripoff. 5090 on the other hand can melt even in perfect conditions but so far from what I ve seen it was mostly on one brand of psu, dont remember which one (Asus I think) but yeah, nVidia is fucking dumb by pushing cable tdp to the max instead of separating the load
Affectionate-Memory4@reddit
The 9070XT doesn't pull nearly as much power as a 4090 or 5090, but it could technically still melt. It is probably fine, but you did take a bigger risk than if you bought a card with 8-pins instead.
KFC_Junior@reddit
the 9070xt is a 304w card (lets say 300 to make things easier). The pcie slot provides 75w so the cable only needs to provide 225w. Even if it goes through just one cable it should be fine.
As long as your card using it doesnt go above 375w total (5080 is 360w) (300w through the 12vhpwr) you should be fine unless you fucked something.
Yoruha01@reddit
Only really happens on the 5090, 4090 and rare on the 80s. Mostly due to cables not fully seated and the staggering amount of power tbey can draw.
9okm@reddit
Think of it this way… maybe 1/1,000 people have issues, vs. 1/10,000 with the older 8-pin connectors.
That’s a 10x greater likelihood of issues, holy cow! But at the same time, still very unlikely.