The PCI-SIG has issued a statement regarding ongoing issues with the 12VHPWR adapter bundled with Nvidia's RTX 40 series graphics cards. the consortium responsible for many standards in PC gaming, including power delivery to GPUs, It wants to remind Nvidia, AMD, and all other members responsible for small components and parts that they must conduct testing to ensure the safety of end users who use 12VHPWR adapters.

The 12VHPWR adapters in the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (open in new tab) and RTX 4080 (open in new tab) have been involved in recent controversy regarding their safety, with reports of melting and thermal damage (open in new tab) during use. The issue has affected a number of Nvidia GPUs today (about 50 according to Nvidia, but arguably too many) and is currently the subject of a class action lawsuit. In an email sent to PC Gamer, [PCI-SIG] stated, "We previously sent an email informing you that a manufacturer had reported a potential safety issue with the use of 12VHPWR connections to the PCI-SIG. "Additionally, we have been informed of a recent lawsuit: Genova v. Nvidia Corporation, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case No. 1. In this case, the 12VHPWR cable The plug "melted and ...... . and posed a serious electrical and fire hazard," the lawsuit alleges, in part.

The lawsuit is a class action brought by individuals as purchasers of Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards and alleges: "The gist of this lawsuit is that Defendants sold the RTX 4090 with a defective and dangerous power cable plug and socket, This rendered the consumer's card inoperable and posed a serious electrical and fire hazard to each and every purchaser.

The PCI-SIG has released in response to this lawsuit: [The PCI-SIG urges all members who manufacture, market, or sell PCI-SIG technology (including 12VHPWR connections) to conduct appropriate testing for the reported problem cases involving consumers alleged in the above lawsuit, including and wish to impress upon them the need to take all appropriate and prudent steps to ensure the safety of end users. [Members are reminded that the PCI-SIG specifications provide the technical information necessary for interoperability and do not attempt to address proper design, manufacturing methods, materials, safety testing, safety tolerances, or workmanship. When implementing PCI-SIG specifications, members should ensure that their products responsible for the design, manufacture, and testing (including safety testing).

Basically, test your own cables. [The 12VHPWR connector is outlined in the PCIe 5.0 specification and is also part of Intel's ATX 3.0 power specification; AMD has confirmed that it will not use this connector in the next generation, but this decision was undoubtedly made many months before the connector issue first reared its head There is no doubt that this decision was made many months before the connector issue first came to a head.

Nvidia, as the primary manufacturer affected by this issue (but the connector is not unique to Nvidia), has stated that it is investigating the issue. Based on initial inquiries and an examination of the affected cards collected, the company has stated that, for now, they believe the problem is caused by the connector not being fully plugged in.

"We are actively investigating the reports. We are aware of approximately 50 cases worldwide," Nvidia said in a post on its support knowledge base titled "Power Connector Update - GeForce RTX 4090" (opens in new tab).

"Based on our research to date, a common issue is that the connector is not fully plugged into the graphics card. To ensure that the connectors are secure, it is recommended that you first plug the power dongle into the graphics card and make sure it is firmly and evenly plugged in before plugging the graphics card into the motherboard."

Nvidia has stated that they are looking into ways to ensure that this connection is secure before powering up the graphics card.

The 12VHPWR connector is capable of outputting up to 600W, so proper connection is certainly essential to safely deliver that wattage. However, according to a third-party report, two different 12VHPWR adapter manufacturers (opens in new tab) with different connection points could affect whether this problem occurs. One of those companies, Astron, is listed as a member of the PCI-SIG, and the other, NTK, is likely to be as well. However, I cannot find their name directly listed, so it may be a different company.

Perhaps this is why the PCI-SIG feels the need to remind its members that testing and proper design are their responsibility. In any case, a $1,599+ graphics card going up in smoke is not good for anyone, not to mention the risk of fire associated with it.