Nvidia says RTX 50 GPUs won't suffer a repeat of melting 4090 power cables
Nvidia promises safer RTX 50 series cables after past RTX 4090 cable issues.
Nvidia has confirmed that the RTX 50 series graphics cards will not face the same issues with power cables that plagued the RTX 4090. The previous 12VHPWR cables used with the RTX 4090 suffered from overheating and led to a class-action lawsuit, but the new 12V-2x6 cables have been tested to maintain safe temperatures, even when improperly connected.
The RTX 50 series will include models like the RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 Ti, coming out in early 2025. MSI is taking additional precautions by offering yellow-tipped power cables that indicate proper insertion. The company is trying to avoid the user error controversies that occurred with the RTX 4090.
While Nvidia moves to the new cable standard, other companies like Intel and AMD continue to use the older, reliable 8-pin format. Nvidia's high-performance cards target power levels above 300W, unlike competitors, who remain under that threshold. Additionally, Asus is exploring a BTF format to eliminate power cables altogether, aiming for a future where hardware connects without them.