Алексей on X (formally Twitter) published two images of the PCIe 5.0 16-pin power connector in both flavors, 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6. The new images reveal that both connectors feature different identification marks directly on the connector itself, giving owners of the best graphics cards a clear way to identify which variant of the highly controversial 16-pin connector they have. The 12VHPWR features the H+ identification while the 12V-2x6 features the H++ identification.
None of this is new information, but the X poster also revealed that not all of Nvidia's new RTX 40-series Super graphics cards are sporting the revised 12V-2x6 connector. Some AIC (Add-in-Card) partners are still using the original 12VHPWR on their RTX 4070 Super, 4070 Ti Super, and 4080 Super graphics cards. The images Алексей showed off (including the one with the 12VHPWR connector) are from RTX 40-series Super graphics cards.
H++ 12V-2X6 (max:675w)H+ 12VHPWR (max:600w)Some AIC's 4070super 4070ti super 4080super are still using the H+12VHPWR interface pic.twitter.com/QHah921JuTFebruary 19, 2024
This news will inevitably cause a stir among the PC gaming community. The 12VHPWR connector was responsible for killing most (if not all) of the RTX 4090s last year. The connector has proven to be extremely sensitive to any unusual environmental stress, including aggressive cable bending, improper cable insertions, and even sensitivity to lackluster build quality in certain cables. This is especially true of Nvidia's 16-pin adapters which have been found to not be of the best quality.
The 12V-2x6 connector is the successor to the 12VHPWR power connector and was quickly rolled out after the RTX 4090 meltdown catastrophe started in 2023. The new connector received several modifications to boost its durability and a minor power boost from 600W to 675W. The biggest change of the revised connector is its 16 connecting pins which have been trimmed down and been made more conductive compared to its predecessor. Hardware Busters found that these two changes alone significantly improved the 12V-2x6's thermal operation, which should make the connector virtually immune to any sort of melting.
The good news is that the melting failures have only been seen on RTX 4090, so it's unlikely that any of Nvidia's new RTX 40 Super GPUs will have melting issues, whether or not they have the new 12V-2x6 power connector. Nvidia's non-4090 series GPUs simply don't have the power budget to get the 12VHPWR to a high enough temperature to cause the connector to melt, at least based on the lack of reports of melting 4080 and lower tier parts.
But for those of you who do have an RTX 4090, at least now you can fully verify which connector your card has by the identification signature. Again, the 12VHPWR is marked as H+ while the 12V-2x6 is marked as H++. You'll probably have to take the graphics card cooler off to check it, but at least it's possible to see what you have. Nvidia has been using the 12V-2x6 plug in the RTX 4090 since 2023, but there is no guarantee that all later manufactured 4090's use the updated connector.
We aren't sure why some of Nvidia's partner's cards are still using the older 12VHPWR standard. It could be due to excess supply or due to some design limitation. Either way, at least it's mostly a nonissue now. Any RTX GPU tiered below the RTX 4090 (and 4090 D) that uses the older 12VHPWR connector should be safe to use. Just... make sure the connector is fully inserted and that you hear the 'click' that secures the cable in place.
