As reported by foreign media, a streamer overseas was in the midst of live - streaming the game "Marvel Rivals" when disaster struck. The power connector of their RTX 4090 graphics card suddenly started smoking and then melted. The intense heat caused the plastic outer layer of the cable to melt, leaving sections of the wiring charred and blackened. This particular graphics card had been in use since March 2025, clocking in nearly two years of operation.

This incident has reignited concerns regarding the safety of the 12VHPWR connector. While this connector is capable of transmitting up to 600W of power, it has inherent contact vulnerabilities. In cases where the cable isn't inserted fully or is bent excessively, these vulnerabilities can easily lead to increased electrical resistance. This, in turn, causes localized high temperatures, which may not only result in permanent damage to the hardware but also pose a fire hazard.

Although the industry has introduced an improved 12v - 2x6 standard, which aims to address these issues by incorporating a mandatory tight - insertion mechanism. This is achieved by shortening the length of the sensing pins. However, similar failures are still occurring frequently, indicating that more needs to be done to ensure the safety and reliability of these high - power connectors.