Nvidia Issues Statement Saying 12VHPWR Melting Issue is (Basically) User Error!

Given that it’s basically been a month since Nvidia launched the 4090, the lack of any formal statement from the company regarding the numerous reported instances of 12VHPWR adaptors melting has clearly been more than a little worrying for owners. – Earlier this week, however, a video post by Gamers Nexus did seem to conclude that the matter was primarily due to users not fully inserting the cable into their graphics card.

In something that seems more than a little coincidental, however, Nvidia has just released a formal statement which, overall, seems to just mirror this opinion. – Put simply, Nvidia is blaming user error for 12VHPWR adaptors and GPU ports melting. I can’t help but feel though that the rabbit hole must go deeper than it just being the consumers’ fault!

Nvidia Blames User Error For Melting 12VHPWR Adaptors

As part of the official statement (which you can check out in full here) Nvidia has said:

“We are actively investigating the reports. We are aware of about 50 cases globally.

Our findings to date suggest that a common issue is that connectors are not fully plugged into the graphics card. To help ensure the connector is secure we recommend plugging the power dongle into the graphics card first to ensure it’s firmly and evenly plugged in, before plugging the graphics card into the motherboard.

We are investigating additional ways to ensure that the connector is secure before powering on the graphics card.”

Now, this clearly needs a little breaking down and let me start by expressing some surprise that (at least according to Nvidia) the current number of confirmed 12VHPWR melting cases is only around 50. I would’ve personally guestimated a much higher figure, but with that being said, I haven’t seen masses of user reports which does seem to support this. Overall though, if this is the cause, then I think it’s somewhat disingenuous to just blame user error.

Don’t Jump to Conclusions

While Nvidia is seemingly putting an incorrect cable insertion down as the current key factor in 12VHPWR adaptors melting, it should be noted that they are still very much investigating the matter. There is, however, clearly something wrong with a cable which can ‘feel’ inserted when, in actuality, it is not. – Another problem in this matter, of course, is the fact that the 4090 is so huge and, with tight wiggle room in many cases, actually seeing how well the cable is fitted could be problematic.

Put simply, this has to go way beyond just being ‘user error’ if an adaptor has a flaw which can be so easily (and accidentally) exposed. And I’m still not personally ruling out the possibility that while this is likely the primary cause, it might not be the only one. I have, for example, seen a number of reports from users who adamantly claim their 12VHPWR adaptor was fully inserted and yet still ended up melting!

Of course, the solid consumer advice for 4090 and 4080 owners right now is to make 100% certain your 12VHPWR adaptor is fully inserted. Don’t be surprised though if, over the coming weeks, we get an update revealing another potential flaw in what is clearly already a problematic and clearly not foolproof design.

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!