On the last reports of melted 12V-2×6 connectors, we’re not going to lie, it was pretty disappointing. Indeed, the power supply connectors only showed small burn marks, but nothing exceptional… Until today, when a colleague brought up the case of an RTX 5090 Solid from Zotac. The connector is burnt to a crisp, with all the pins running through it!
RTX 5090 Solid: a 12V-2×6 connector melted down just right!
As you can see, the connector on this graphics card has suffered particularly badly and has melted like chewing gum. It’s not a pretty sight, especially when you consider that it’s an RTX 5090. It’s hard to predict what caused this connector to melt… Was it poorly inserted? Or was the 850W power supply insufficient? Or was it the result of bad luck?
In fact, the card was plugged into a system equipped with a Ryzen 5 5600X, clearly not the most power-hungry processor. As the card consumed up to 600W at maximum, with a MWE Gold 850W V2 block, the card benefited from a sufficient power supply… All the more so as this power supply benefits from a single 12V rail providing up to 850W on its own. After all, the MWE Gold isn’t the most high-end power supply on the market either, especially as Zotac recommends the use of a power supply of 1000W or more.
Alternatively, you could blame the connector for being poorly inserted, which could lead to overheating of the pins if there isn’t sufficient contact. Then there’s the usual hypothesis of poor load distribution between the connector’s various pins…
Whatever the case, the connector is seriously damaged, and the user can open an RMA ticket with Zotac. In short, the recommendations are always the same: make sure you have a power supply large enough to power your graphics card. If possible, make maximum use of the cable supplied with your power supply, and plug it in all the way. If, despite everything, the card’s connector melts, you’ve done everything you need to do!
