A Chinese GPU repair channel says seven Nvidia graphics cards with burned 12+4-pin power connectors reached its workbench in just two days, according to PC Gamer. The outlet cites a video posted by the YouTube channel 修电脑的张哥, which PC Gamer roughly translates as “Zhang the Computer Repairman.”
PC Gamer, which credits Uniko’s Hardware for the find, says most of the cards were RTX 5090s, along with RTX 4090 models from Asus and MSI. The RTX 5090s came from several brands, including Asus, MSI, Gainward and Nvidia’s own Founders Edition.
Every card had failed in the same spot: where the power cable plugs into the card. On some, the socket was scorched and the circuit board around it had turned black. On others, the plug had melted into the socket, and the owner had to cut the cable to ship the card in.
Zhang removed each damaged socket, cleaned the contacts and soldered on a new 12+4-pin connector. He then ran each card through 3DMark benchmarks and checked card and cable temperatures. PC Gamer reports that all the repaired cards worked again. A few still ran somewhat warm, and the cables were also warm at the power supply end, but the outlet says the readings were not alarming.
According to PC Gamer, Zhang says the affected owners were not necessarily using underpowered PSUs, and some of the cards came from lab machines. The outlet notes that lab hardware may be worked harder than a home gaming PC. It also points out that his channel is popular on Bilibili and YouTube, so he may get more of these repairs than a typical shop.
Zhang shared two ways for owners to check their cards. While the GPU is under load, touch the cable with the back of a finger about an inch above the connector. It should feel slightly warm, and if it’s too hot to touch, something is likely wrong. He also suggests using GPU-Z to watch the 12+4-pin voltage reading. On the failing cards he saw, the voltage fell well below 12 V, to around 11.3 or 11.4 V. If that happens, he says to check the cable temperature by hand.
PC Gamer adds that some new accessories, including an overcurrent protection dongle from Super Flower, can warn users before a connector fails.
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