To prevent a repeat of RTX 4090 melting incidents, Zotac is introducing a new feature for its RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 offerings. Dubbed "Safety Light," this safety measure prevents the GPU from powering on if the 16-pin (12VHPWR) power cable is not seated correctly. Likewise, these GPUs also include gold-plated connection pins that are reportedly more corrosion-resistant and offer enhanced electrical conductivity.
In late 2022, the news of melting RTX 4090 power connectors spread like wildfire. For the uninitiated, Nvidia was the first and still the only one to use the 16-pin power connector on a mainstream graphics card to supply more power over a single connector instead of multiple smaller ones, up to 600W. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that an improper connection would lead to increased resistance and heat, which would cause the connector to melt. A newer revision, dubbed "12V-2x6", was rolled out afterward, which offers better performance and reliability, even when the cable isn't fully inserted.
