Nvidia RTX 4090: So hot they're melting power cables
(2022/10/25)
- Reference: 1666729807
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/10/25/nvidia_rtx_4090_so_hot/
- Source link:
GPUs have been a hot commodity but this is ridiculous. Nvidia's use of a 600W power socket and cable with its RTX graphics cards may have sounded like a good idea at the time but some users have reported overheating issues.
One unlucky user [1]uploaded photos of an Nv-branded 12VHPWR power cable that had melted where it plugs into their RTX 4090. The cable feeds power from the PC's PSU into the GPU card.
"It smelled badly and I saw smoke," the Redditor explained, adding that the power connector appeared to be the issue since the card still worked despite the damage sustained.
[2]
A second Reddit post described a similar experience with an RTX 4090, which only went on sale earlier this month, sharing [3]photos of their card, which showed less damage, but still sported melted power connectors on the GPU board and cable end.
[4]
[5]
The [6]12VHPWR power connector and cabling used by Nvidia RTX 4090s was revealed earlier this year along with Intel's new ATX power supply specs. Those PSUs were designed to support power-hungry PCIe gen-5 graphics cards that require more power. The 12VHPWR connector and cable can deliver 600W to the GPU from a suitable PSU.
There is actually a problem with those power adapters, said the industry group responsible for PCI standards, PCI-SIG. In a letter sent to members in September, PCI-SIG [7]said it was "aware that some implementations of the 12VHPWR connectors and assemblies have demonstrated thermal variance, which could result in safety issues under certain conditions."
[8]Nvidia admits mistake, 'unlaunches' 12GB RTX 4080
[9]The new GPU world order is beginning to take shape
[10]Nvidia unveils RTX 4090 – but it's the 4080 to watch out for
[11]You can liquid cool this Linux laptop to let the GPU soar
Custom cable maker Cablemod goes into [12]more detail about the cause of the problems, namely that any bending of the wires within 35mm of the connector "may lead to an uneven load across the other wires, increasing the risk of overheating damage." It's even worse if the cable is bent vertically, we're told.
Whether these users had bent their cables in such a fashion is unknown, as is Nvidia's response to the problem. In the original Reddit post, a moderator noted that Nvidia was in direct contact with the original poster, but the content of their discussion and Nvidia's possible responses, are unknown.
[13]
Nvidia's 40-series graphics cards were only revealed by the company [14]in September , but check the date on that linked story: It's from the 20th, whereas news of PCI-SIG's letter came out on the 10th of the month. [15]Nvidia is a member of PCI-SIG , and so should have known there were issues in the cables being used to power its newest flagship cards.
Right around the time the RTX 4090 went on sale, [16]Nvidia pulled the release of the lower-end version of its other new card, the RTX 4080, because of concerns over confusion stemming from two cards with the same designation. Melting cables, on the other hand, appear to be less of a concern - at least not one great enough to stop the card from going on sale.
"We are investigating the reports. We are in contact with the first owner and will be reaching out to the other for additional information," Nvidia told The Register . We will update if we get further word. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yc6g3u/rtx_4090_adapter_burned/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yc6g3u/comment/itmjt9d/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/24/intel_updates_atx_psu_specs/
[7] https://wccftech.com/atx-3-0-12vhpwr-gen-5-connector-major-safety-risk-using-adapter-confirms-pci-sig/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/14/nvidia_admits_mistake_unlaunches_12gb/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/11/gpu_intel_nvidia_amd/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/20/nvidia_rtx_40_series/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/18/liquid_cooled_laptop/
[12] https://cablemod.com/12vhpwr/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/20/nvidia_rtx_40_series/
[15] https://pcisig.com/membership/member-companies?combine=nvidia
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/14/nvidia_admits_mistake_unlaunches_12gb/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
One unlucky user [1]uploaded photos of an Nv-branded 12VHPWR power cable that had melted where it plugs into their RTX 4090. The cable feeds power from the PC's PSU into the GPU card.
"It smelled badly and I saw smoke," the Redditor explained, adding that the power connector appeared to be the issue since the card still worked despite the damage sustained.
[2]
A second Reddit post described a similar experience with an RTX 4090, which only went on sale earlier this month, sharing [3]photos of their card, which showed less damage, but still sported melted power connectors on the GPU board and cable end.
[4]
[5]
The [6]12VHPWR power connector and cabling used by Nvidia RTX 4090s was revealed earlier this year along with Intel's new ATX power supply specs. Those PSUs were designed to support power-hungry PCIe gen-5 graphics cards that require more power. The 12VHPWR connector and cable can deliver 600W to the GPU from a suitable PSU.
There is actually a problem with those power adapters, said the industry group responsible for PCI standards, PCI-SIG. In a letter sent to members in September, PCI-SIG [7]said it was "aware that some implementations of the 12VHPWR connectors and assemblies have demonstrated thermal variance, which could result in safety issues under certain conditions."
[8]Nvidia admits mistake, 'unlaunches' 12GB RTX 4080
[9]The new GPU world order is beginning to take shape
[10]Nvidia unveils RTX 4090 – but it's the 4080 to watch out for
[11]You can liquid cool this Linux laptop to let the GPU soar
Custom cable maker Cablemod goes into [12]more detail about the cause of the problems, namely that any bending of the wires within 35mm of the connector "may lead to an uneven load across the other wires, increasing the risk of overheating damage." It's even worse if the cable is bent vertically, we're told.
Whether these users had bent their cables in such a fashion is unknown, as is Nvidia's response to the problem. In the original Reddit post, a moderator noted that Nvidia was in direct contact with the original poster, but the content of their discussion and Nvidia's possible responses, are unknown.
[13]
Nvidia's 40-series graphics cards were only revealed by the company [14]in September , but check the date on that linked story: It's from the 20th, whereas news of PCI-SIG's letter came out on the 10th of the month. [15]Nvidia is a member of PCI-SIG , and so should have known there were issues in the cables being used to power its newest flagship cards.
Right around the time the RTX 4090 went on sale, [16]Nvidia pulled the release of the lower-end version of its other new card, the RTX 4080, because of concerns over confusion stemming from two cards with the same designation. Melting cables, on the other hand, appear to be less of a concern - at least not one great enough to stop the card from going on sale.
"We are investigating the reports. We are in contact with the first owner and will be reaching out to the other for additional information," Nvidia told The Register . We will update if we get further word. ®
Get our [17]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yc6g3u/rtx_4090_adapter_burned/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.reddit.com/r/nvidia/comments/yc6g3u/comment/itmjt9d/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/24/intel_updates_atx_psu_specs/
[7] https://wccftech.com/atx-3-0-12vhpwr-gen-5-connector-major-safety-risk-using-adapter-confirms-pci-sig/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/14/nvidia_admits_mistake_unlaunches_12gb/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/11/gpu_intel_nvidia_amd/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/20/nvidia_rtx_40_series/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/18/liquid_cooled_laptop/
[12] https://cablemod.com/12vhpwr/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y1hcdj@90f5DlhqMRdumLQAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/20/nvidia_rtx_40_series/
[15] https://pcisig.com/membership/member-companies?combine=nvidia
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/14/nvidia_admits_mistake_unlaunches_12gb/
[17] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Is this Nvidia's pentium P4 moment
Gene Cash
Well, it's got 16K cuda cores, so I can imagine it being power-hungry.
Of course it's only needing the nuclear reactor feed when it's doing a serious game.
My big question is with all this power dissipation, what do the fans sound like? I remember having one card where you started a game, and it sounded like the computer was going to levitate on fan power.
If you look at modern cards, they're 70% heatsink and heatpipes, 2 or 4 fans, and all other sorts of cooling gimcrackery.
Sooo,
Alistair
Does this mean that Nvidia 4090 cards are hot sh?t?
Looking at that cable and connector set (both in the images linked in TFA and in diagrams for the spec) I'm not too certain that someone hasn't dropped a decimal point in a calculation somewhere. But I've not done that level of engineering math in quite some time. Perhaps the materials in use aren't what they used to be?
Is this Nvidia's pentium P4 moment
600WFT for a graphics card or room heater?