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Igor’s lab (opens in new tab) has published an article discussing possible solutions to prevent damage to one of the best graphics cards on the market – the GeForce RTX 4090 – with a 16-pin Nvidia power adapter. Editor-in-chief Igor Vallossek said the solution could be to crimp the connectors instead of soldering them, which would cause the connectors themselves to overheat.
Vallossek considers soldering the enemy of the 16-pin power connector. Soldering can cause several problems, which he says can break the connector’s design. The potential problems he lists include hard tinning and soldering stranded wire that is already under tension, handling stranded wire in such a way that it untangles and breaks, and more. However, one of the biggest problems is the welding process, during which air bubbles form, leading to corrosion.
Ideally, Vallossek says, manufacturers should crimp individual wires into a 16-pin bundle, which eliminates all potential soldering issues and improves the structural integrity of the wires.
A good example of a proper 12VHPWR suspension is Quiet, says Igor’s lab! Using Dark Power Pro 12 power, which converts two 12-pin connectors to one 16-pin power connector. Each wire consists of a very flexible 18AWG cable – this will result in a cooler temperature on the wire itself, for a total of 6 12V and 6 ground wires per connector. Connecting the two 12-pin power supply pins to the 16-pins included in the video card is to keep a crimp connection on each cable where the 12-pin wires are connected and converted into one wire.
Wallosek says the be quiet! is one of the safest ways to create a 16-pin harness. The wire is very flexible and large in size, which reduces heat buildup in the wire itself and allows the user to manipulate the wire freely without damaging the connector or wiring harness. In addition, switching to crimp connections eliminates any heat or corrosion problems that can occur when soldering.
This solution is specifically for 16-pin harnesses and not for Nvidia power adapters, but the implicit method can be easily used for Nvidia adapters, in particular the method of crimping connections instead of soldering them.
Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer at Tom’s Hardware US covering news topics related to computer hardware such as processors and graphics cards.
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Post time: Nov-02-2022