There have been numerous findings since the first instance of an NVIDIA 16-pin connector melting on a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card was reported. It appears that GamersNexus and Igor’s Lab have resolved the problems some days after they were initially brought to their attention.

The PC IT community is working hard to identify the true cause of the 16-pin connector difficulties while NVIDIA and its AIB partners try to fix them. In the previous report, we learned that the melting was unquestionably caused by the adapter and not the card or the card’s connector. When appropriate contact was not made or if the cable was overbent, the 16-pin connector became extremely hot. This resulted in the cable receiving an excessive amount of current, which in turn raised the temperature to the point where melting took place.

While the cables themselves are the problem, Steve Burke of GamersNexus has since revealed that not all cords can result in the scorching or melting of the card. The tech outlet noticed that all of their cables had the label “300V 14AWG,” but the wires that Igor had displayed were only rated for 150V. What a significant difference. Not only that, but the solder used to connect the two cables varied.

Because both outlets tore the connection off, it was discovered that the 300V cables employ high-quality soldering whereas the 150V cables have independent cable lines that are soldered with smaller soldering surfaces, which might cause damage when bent. This must account for the cable coming out of Igor’s casing unfastened. Through a series of endurance and durability testing, the cable utilized by Steve (GamersNexus) and Ronaldo (TecLab) was able to withstand torture. GamersNexus and TecLab ran the wire under strain for hours on end as well.

GamersNexus’ NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics cards ran continuously for more than 48 hours, whereas TecLab’s 16-pin adapter cable was subjected to a constant 1530W load in a load tester.

As a result, we may infer that the problem is simply being caused by faulty cables, however, the reason why they exist in the first place is a mystery that can only be solved by NVIDIA and its AIBs.

Since we have quite a large number of buyers of the GeForce RTX 4090 in our forum @hardwareluxx_de, I asked the question which adapter comes with the card. 3x 8-pin 150/300 V or 4x 8-pin 150/300 v. So far the result looks like this. So there are some 150 V rated circulating. pic.twitter.com/BiWdDSbuD2
— Andreas Schilling 🇺🇦 🇮🇱 (@aschilling) October 30, 2022

Just keeping everyone updated: Out of about 130 emails so far to the 4090cable inbox, we've received 7 that are 150V rated wires (and therefore potentially indicative of different supply), so 5%. That rating doesn't instantly mean it's bad. Replying to a few for info
— GamersNexus (@GamersNexus) October 31, 2022

Unless you slightly loosen the sleeve, you have no way of knowing which cable you will receive. If you received a 150V 16-pin cable, you can request a replacement from the manufacturer for a 300V cable if necessary. The fact that the 150V 16-pin cable wasn’t sent to many people is a plus. Even if there have only been 20 complaints of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card melting, there are still enough of them to raise suspicions. According to surveys by HardwareLuxx and GamersNexus, less than 7% of users appear to have received the 150V adaptor.

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