Poor Performance with NVIDIA 4090

[Cpt_Piett 4,703]

16 minutes ago, turbomax said:

this could be a solution: CableMod 12VHPWR Right Angle Adapter

Probably not a bad idea. I’ve got a quirky setup with my case in a reverse position, and the GPU is in a vertical mount, so instead of the cable pointing to the side panel it’s pointing down. Lol, that probably didn’t make sense at all.

Also considered ordering from cablemod, but no thank you sir. 1) the EU store doesn’t ship to Norway 2) the US-based global store does 3 ) they wouldn’t let me order just the cable as they have a minimum order price.

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

Would elevating the case off the desk a few centimetres give you breathing space temporarily ?

Of course, it is only a matter of time before multiple adapters are available from a range of suppliers. For older GPU's you can even get adapters that flip the GPU power socket 180 degrees.

[Alpine Scenery 1,609]

57 minutes ago, turbomax said:

remenber? Smoke on the Water + I'm on fire + The heat is on + The pressure is high - on NVidia:

https://videocardz.com/newz/first-users-report-nvidia-rtx-4090-gpus-with-melted-16-pin-power-connectors

this could be a solution: CableMod 12VHPWR Right Angle Adapter

99.9% of the time something like that happens, it was from a bad power supply or a surge, not a bad connector. Unless someone had the connector barely touching causing it to overheat from a bad connection, as those power cables are usually rated to take double the power at a minimum in real-world tests. Otherwise, an AMD marketing rep probably took a lighter to it and then posted the pic online. I don't trust some of the people claiming these cables catch on fire easily, as people are always looking for attention online and there are always X% of people willing to make stuff up for that attention.

 

Edited October 25, 2022 by Alpine Scenery

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

37 minutes ago, Alpine Scenery said:

Unless someone had the connector barely touching causing it to overheat from a bad connection, as those power cables are usually rated to take double the power at a minimum in real-world tests.

The fact that all the melting is in the upper row suggests that the connector was not seated properly and the top row was failing to connect properly with a resultant high resistance which, if arcing occurred, would get gradually worse. I believe the upper row is also the ground pins but it hard to see how that would make any difference.

NOW ... what caused this less than optimal connection in the top row is another question altogether. It is certainly possible that a bent cable pulling on the connector MIGHT cause the connector to fail to seat correctly causing that sort of result but it is hard to tell just from a photo.

What is clear though is the damage in the photo was NOT the result of a failure in the cables themselves, that has all the signs of a poorly seated or poorly designed connector.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[Alpine Scenery 1,609]

4 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

What is clear though is the damage in the photo was NOT the result of a failure in the cables themselves, that has all the signs of a poorly seated or poorly designed connector.

Yah, I agree, it is like leaving a plug halfway plugged into a wall and it comes loose but is still touching, it can start a fire as the end will start to melt. Though most wire is pretty much self-melting and will break off before starting a fire, unless there is something near it.

 

[Cpt_Piett 4,703]

To prevent connection issues cablemod recommend this:

The launch of PCIE5 GPUs with the new 12VHPWR connector is an exciting move to the next generation of graphical power. This new connector can deliver the power required for these power-hungry cards, but also comes with some caveats that users need to be aware of.

The 12VHPWR connector and the terminals used in it are much smaller than the previous generation. Through our extensive testing, it appears that bending the wires too close to the connector could result in some of the terminals coming loose or misaligning within the connector itself. This may lead to an uneven load across the other wires, increasing the risk of overheating damage. The risk of this is substantially higher if the bend is done horizontally in relation to the connector orientation (left to right).

As such, please be very careful with this connector and make sure not to overbend too close to the connector itself. We suggest a minimum distance of 35mm from the connector before any bends occur.
https://cablemod.com/12vhpwr/

Edited October 25, 2022 by Cpt_Piett

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

  

4 minutes ago, Alpine Scenery said:

Yah, I agree, it is like leaving a plug halfway plugged into a wall and it comes loose but is still touching, it can start a fire as the end will start to melt. Though most wire is pretty much self-melting and will break off before starting a fire, unless there is something near it.

 

 

 

Yeah, the other issue is the original 12VHPWR standard was only rated at 600 watts, which translates to 8.3 amps per pin at full load. Some of these cards are overclocked are going to be borderline with that even before connection issues.

 

https://m.hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/148492-diagrams-12vhpwr-600w-connectors-gpus-spotted/

Edited October 25, 2022 by Glenn Fitzpatrick

[Cpt_Piett 4,703]

Apparently the Reddit user with the melted cable that went viral had done a slight left-right bend close to the connector.

Or, AMD staged this.Apparently they’re also using the 12VHPWR connector though. Interestingly Intel, which designed the connector is using the standard 8-pin. The plot thickens…

Edited October 25, 2022 by Cpt_Piett

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

1 minute ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Apparently the Reddit user with the melted cable that went viral had done a slight left-right bend close to the connector.

Or, AMD staged this.

 

I strongly suspect if the cable was bent gently beforehand and there was no residual tension on the connector when eventually plugged in later it may have been fine.

On the other hand plugging the connector into the card and then bending the cable to suit your routing afterwards is likely asking for trouble.

No way of knowing for sure without a batch of cards to destroy while testing it out though.

[Cpt_Piett 4,703]

4 minutes ago, Glenn Fitzpatrick said:

On the other hand plugging the connector into the card and then bending the cable to suit your routing afterwards is likely asking for trouble.

And this seems to be a potential weakness with this. As I’m sure a lot of people are used to plugging it in then bending for cable management. Especially as it points straight into the side panel on regular horizontal mounts. It’s possible more of these issues will surface, which will not benefit nVidia as the 4090 is already getting considerable heat. No pun intended. I think.

Edited October 25, 2022 by Cpt_Piett

[Glenn Fitzpatrick 3,798]

Agreed.

Also the pin taking the most damage in that photo was pin 7 which would fit with something pulling the connector down and to the right. Firmly bending the cable to the right and slightly downward, close to the GPU after the connector was already seated, could potentially lift pin 7 slightly and is one of the more likely causes.

[VeryBumpy 272]

Loading my 4090 with heavy settings, max watts I see is 430w or so, and that is briefly. Its usually in the 380w range on average.

What in the world are these guys running with their cards to crank super high wattages?

[elee 46]

2 hours ago, VeryBumpy said:

Loading my 4090 with heavy settings, max watts I see is 430w or so, and that is briefly. Its usually in the 380w range on average.

What in the world are these guys running with their cards to crank super high wattages?

Same here

[GSalden 4,673]

7 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

Agree. DLSS quality is not bad at all with a bit of sharpening added. I recommend trying TAA + frame generation though. 

Happy with the 4090 so far? I know, you've only had it up and running for a short while. 

The 4090 is very capable of handling 2x 4K in DSLL3 mode + filter sharpening. Using TAA icw 40+ AI ac then eveh the 4090 is showing the yellow bar.
With one display no problem…

Today I will make a flight as I have to test for Prosim. 

Btw : my 1000W Ps is very capable of the job. I still have the 1300W Ps in the box. Thanks 

Edited October 26, 2022 by GSalden

[steve310002 1,198]

7 hours ago, Cpt_Piett said:

As such, please be very careful with this connector and make sure not to overbend too close to the connector itself. We suggest a minimum distance of 35mm from the connector before any bends occur.
https://cablemod.com/12vhpwr/

It seems like most PC cases don't have the clearance for leaving 35mm for a bend according to the Jayz2cents video. I could well imagine that being true from what I have seen. Surely Nvidia would know that.