Modern problems require modern measures: Seasonic recommends a hair dryer to safely connect your RTX 4090.
The Geforce RTX 4090 celebrated its release more than a year ago. Especially at the market launch of the current Nvidia flagship, there were increasing reports that the new 12VHPWR connection was struggling with overheating problems.
Although the situation has largely calmed down in the 14 months since then, there are still occasional user reports that the RTX 4090 connector has melted – or a corresponding angle adapter sold by Cablemod.
Exactly these angle adapters were made by Cablemod has since been recalled. This in turn raises the question of how owners of an RTX 4090 can bend the corresponding power cable in order to be able to safely establish the desired connection.
Power supply manufacturer Seasonic suggests an unusual method for this. In one FAQ section Regarding the in-house PSUs in conjunction with the 12VHPWR connector, the company states that you should use a hair dryer (or equivalent heat source) to heat the cable before plugging it in.
This should make the corresponding cable easier to bend in order to prevent damage. However, you should not overheat it so as not to damage the insulation.
The usual safety precautions should then be taken to be on the safe side. Users should make sure that the cable is completely plugged into the RTX 4090 until it clicks into place. Once the 12VHPWR plug is in, it should be left alone if possible.
In general, the cable should only be bent after the first 35 millimeters from the connection. The hair dryer measure mentioned is explicitly recommended by Seasonic only for the company’s own power supplies and associated cables.
Other manufacturers have also developed their own workarounds in recent months to prevent the 12VHPWR connector from melting. Nvidia itself has probably also reacted and secretly, quietly launched a new revision of the RTX 4090 Founder’s Edition with shorter pins.
Now the question is: What is your opinion on the issue of the melting 12VHPWR connector? Is the connection a fundamental problem with the RTX 4090, just a little more vulnerable, or are such incidents purely operator errors? Have you tried the hairdryer trick or used other “tools” to connect your graphics card? Let us know in the comments!
