Nvidia Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Melting 12VHPWR Cables

The melting problems with Nvidia’s connector cable for the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card has resulted in a class-action lawsuit.

New York resident Lucas Genova filed the lawsuit last week, which was later spotted(Opens in a new window) by Tom’s Hardware. The complaint revolves around the 12VHPWR connector, which comes bundled with the RTX 4090, Nvidia’s most powerful gaming graphics card to date.

The cable is designed to funnel enough energy into the RTX 4090 through a single 16-pin connector. But since the product launched, over 20 consumers have encountered the connector partially melting, according(Opens in a new window) to users on Nvidia’s Reddit page.

image of the 16-pin connector melting.

(Credit: Lucas Genova’s lawsuit)

In his lawsuit(Opens in a new window), Genova says he also bought an RTX 4090, and noticed the 12VHPWR connector had begun to melt shortly after using the graphics card. “The cause of the melting appears to be a design flaw, relating to the high wattage flowing through each of the 16 pins,” the lawsuit says. “If there is even a temporary break in the electrical connection for any of the pins, too high a current will flow through the remaining pins, causing a meltdown.”

Genova is now demanding the company pay damages to affected consumers. His lawsuit calls for the court or jury to determine the amount on claims Nvidia unjustly enriched itself, violated the product’s warranty and engaged in fraud.

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Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment. But the company told(Opens in a new window) Kitguru last week that it was still investigating the reported problems with the 12VHPWR connector.

In the meantime, GamersNexus published(Opens in a new window) an in-depth analysis that shows the melting issues may be a combination of users incorrectly inserting the 16-pin connector into the graphics card and poor design. So if you do own an RTX 4090, it’s best to ensure you remove any debris from the 16-pin connectors, firmly insert them into the GPU and avoid pulling the cable at an angle.

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