Nvidia's continuing issues with its first-gen 16-pin power connectors continue to intensify. Due to safety issues and reports of damage from melting connectors, CableMod has announced a recall on its 90-degree and 180-degree 16-pin adapters (ver 1.0 and 1.1) that are designed to work with Nvidia's failure-prone power connectors. CableMod will post an official notice with more details to its users in a few days. Still, it has pre-emptively advised users to stop using these adapters immediately, irrespective of signs of melting or overheating. In other news, reports of black screen issues with all 16-pin cables and connectors have also emerged, which we'll cover further below.
The custom cable provider made the announcement explaining the issue in its subreddit. The post states the company's 90-degree and 180-degree angled 12VHPWR adapters (v.1.0 and v1.1) are defective. If the connector comes loose, it can cause overheating and eventually melt the connector on the GPU.
Nvidia and its board partners do not cover damage to GPUs that use third-party power adaptors. Before the recall was announced, CableMod offered to repair affected GPUs whose RMA was refused because of their adapters. CableMod is known to send these impacted units to the repair shop NorthridgeFix.
Reports of melting connectors on Nvidia's GPUs continue to mount — repair firm NorthridgeFix reported receiving an average of 100 burnt RTX 4090 GPUs monthly. Naturally, these repairs come from all users, not just those sent from CableMod. NorthridgeFix says that not all issues are due to user error; instead, they are often caused by adapters or cables, with the poorly designed 12VHPWR being the root cause.
CableMod's new v1.1 power adapter was said to comply with PCI SIG CEM 5.1 specification and include an improved friction fit, but the problems obviously still persist. When the new v1.1 adapters were announced, the company provided these to v1 customers at no extra cost except for the shipping expenses. Fast forward to Dec. 2023, and CableMod is issuing a blanket recall.
Other issues with 12VHPWR cables
CableMod's safety recall applies to adapters and not cables, but there are a plethora of complaints of a different nature found in its subreddit: Unlike the issue with the adapter, this issue isn't exclusive to CableMod because adaptors and cables from power supply manufacturers and Nvidia and its AIC partners are known to have the same problem. This issue with 16-pin GPUs causes blank screens and the fan to run at 100% while the system is still active.
For this issue, CableMod suggests changing the Nvidia GPU power management mode to 'Prefer maximum performance' via Nvidia's control panel. The firm admits this isn't guaranteed to fix everyone's problems, though it does work for some. This issue is not exclusive to RTX 4090 either, as it happens on any Nvidia GPU with the 12VHPWR connector.
Other problems persist as well. We expressed certain concerns when Akasa introduced 12VHPWR converters, adapters, and cables as its solution potentially introduces more points of failure. A plethora of third-party adaptors of questionable quality from lesser-known companies are also concerning, as it appears that the initial revision of the 12VHPWR standard presents a serious potential fire and electric hazard.
Nvidia silently moved to a purportedly safer 12x6 connector that might be used by default on some of the upcoming RTX 40 Super series graphics cards, but the company's complete radio silence on the matter has left users in the dark.
In the meantime, it is best if the users stick to the adapters and cables provided by the GPU manufacturer, therefore limiting your RMA trip down to one company if you face the worst-case scenario.
