12VHPWR is a Dumpster Fire | Investigation into Contradicting Specs & Corner Cutting
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This investigation digs deep into the 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6 specifications, highlighting the contradictory design documents leading to confusion as manufacturers cut corners. We talk about the CableMod recall of its angled adapters, including a deep-dive failure analysis into its solutions that we hired a lab for. We also cover PCIe 6/8-pin melting failures of the past and the differences with 12VHPWR. For this content, we collaborated with Aris of Cybenetics (Hardware Busters), Der8auer, Elmor of Elmor Labs, and others to fact check the research.
With the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 on the horizon, now is a good time to revisit the 12VHPWR standard (and its follow-ups, like 12V-2x6) to try and come to an understanding as to what it all means. This also covers the differences between 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6, alongside other connector standards.
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HUGE THANKS to our fact checkers & peer reviewers. Find them below!
Aris (Hardware Busters & Cybenetics): @HardwareBusters & https://www.cybenetics.com/
Roman (Der8auer): @der8auer
Elmor Labs: https://www.elmorlabs.com/ (they sell great tools for PCs)
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - 12VHPWR is a Mess
01:54 - Peer Reviewers
03:13 - New Cable Standards
04:25 - CableMod Failure Analysis (vs WireView & Corsair)
11:22 - Conclusions of Failure Analysis (CableMod)
12:55 - Why Connectors Melt (Energy)
16:36 - PCIe 8-Pin Failures & Melting
17:53 - Why 12VHPWR Even Exists
21:25 - NVIDIA's Domineering Strategy
27:01 - CHAOS
38:50 - The Melting, CableMod Edition
47:52 - The Recall
51:18 - Conclusion & What You Should Do
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Steve Burke: Host, Writing
Patrick Lathan: Research, Writing
Vitalii Makhnovets: Camera, Video Editing
Tim Phetdara: Camera
Andrew Coleman: 3D Animation, Timeline