Flammable Connectors Dramatically Highlight Tech Safety Gaps

Another incident involving the hazardous 12V-2×6 (12VHPWR) power connector nearly ended in tragedy. Typically, issues arise when the connector begins to melt, but in this case, the cable caught fire completely. A Reddit user recounted how they noticed a strange smell before witnessing the fire inside their PC. This involved an MSI RTX 5090 graphics card.

This 5090 has been with me for about nine months, but it decided to celebrate Christmas by roasting in open flame! Indeed, the cable not only melted when I got the strange smell, it immediately caught on fire. I’m posting here because Nvidia quickly deleted it due to statistics. People asked there, so it’s an ATX 3.1 power supply, and yes, it came with 12V-2×6. It was never used with another graphics card, bought new for this 5090. I don’t know if the power supply itself is good – I’m not very familiar with PSUs from different manufacturers.

Images clearly show that the fire managed to burn part of the cable and the upper part of the plug itself. Judging by the photos, the video card itself physically seems undamaged, though it’s unlikely operational at this moment. Had the user not been nearby, the cable fire might have led to a full-scale blaze.

Recently, manufacturers of power supplies and graphics cards have not reached a consensus on whether to use the power supply’s native cables or the adapters provided with graphics cards. According to recent industry analysis, these incidents may drastically affect consumer confidence in high-powered GPUs and their associated power supplies. Some experts in the electronics industry recommend using verified adapters and being cautious with high-power setups to mitigate potential risks. Nvidia has acknowledged the issue and is reportedly investigating further safety measures.