Item: (Updated: Removed) Seasonic Recommends Users To Bend 12VHPWR Connector With The Help Of Hair Dryers
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Author: Low Boon Shen

(Updated: Removed) Seasonic Recommends Users To Bend 12VHPWR Connector With The Help Of Hair Dryers

Update @ 29/12: According to Tom’s Hardware, Seasonic has since removed the recommendation from its support page (the change likely occurred in between 25th or 26th December). However, no reason was provided for this change.

Seasonic Recommends Users To Bend 12VHPWR Connector With The Help Of Hair Dryers

Suppose you’re among the owners of NVIDIA’s higher-end RTX 40 series GPUs. In that case, there’s a chance you are either using a dedicated 12VHPWR connector, or you’re using the “pig-tail” adapter that converts the 12-pin connection into multiple PCIe 8-pin connectors.

As everyone is well aware by now – this connector is marred by overheating issues, causing the connector to melt, and sometimes rendering the GPU unusable. While the organization behind the connector is currently revising the design (plus a cable-less one being developed elsewhere), the issue remains for all the existing owners that use this connector that are especially susceptible to accidental unseating, especially when a bend is introduced due to the connector’s orientation, to fit the small gap that stands between the case panel and the GPU itself.

This is a problem that the power supply manufacturer Seasonic acknowledges. GPUs like RTX 4090 are often wide, tall, and massive in general – the bend introduced to the connectors is difficult to ensure it’s within the safe operating window of bends occurring after 35mm of length from the GPU side connector.

However, the company’s guidelines introduce a rather novel, if not unusual, solution: use a hair dryer to help bend the cable to minimize potential damage. Interestingly, this recommendation applies to both the existing 12VHPWR and the slightly revised 12V-2×6 connector, the latter of which in theory provides a safer design as a result of fixing the former’s mechanical shortfalls. (Here’s a demonstration video showing how this works.)

The list of recommendations from Seasonic also points out that one should ensure there is a click that signifies the connector is latched into place, and to avoid pulling the cable once connected to prevent unseating the cable. It’s worth noting that most of the melting connector incidents relating to the 12VHPWR design involved the RTX 4090 – which is infamous for its obscene levels of power draw.

Perhaps try to ask around in your family if someone has a hair dryer lying around, for PC building purposes? Maybe you can tell them it’s for safety.

Source: Wccftech

Pokdepinion: Maybe we need to start thinking about the connector placement. As it is today, it’s not going to stick – given just how huge GPUs get these days.