How ASRock's Green 16-Pin Power Cable Can Prevent A GPU Meltdown
ASRock is going green with its newest L-type 12V-2x6 PCI Express cable connector, though it has nothing to do with being energy-conscious or adding a splash of color to your gaming build. Instead, the new cables sport a series of green tips designed to help ensure that users fully insert the cable ends into their power supply unit (PSU) and graphics card's power connector.
Following in MSI's footsteps, it's a simple and clever solution to address the issue of cable connectors sometimes melting when not fully inserted. This became a pain point for some users when NVIDIA switched over to using 12VHPWR connectors with four sensing pins on its GeForce RTX 40 series, and also with the more recent implementation of updated 12V-2x6 connectors with 1.5mm shorter sensing pins and 0.25mm longer conducting terminals.
These cables can deliver up to 600W of power over a single cable, reducing the need for multiple cables on high-end graphics cards. Not without controversy, however, there have been multiple reports of these cables melting. One of the main culprits is not fully inserting the cables, which in turn can cause an imbalance of load on the power pins.
Newer 12V-2x6 connectors are supposed to mitigate this, but there have been reports of GeForce RTX 5090 power connectors melting too. While NVIDIA's GPUs have dominated the headlines over this issue, the first report of a melted connector attached to a Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card surfaced. Fortunately, the card itself survived the ordeal.
In theory, ASRock's green-tipped cables should make it obvious if a cable is not fully inserted into its connector, as shown in ASRock's image above. If the cable is fully inserted, you shouldn't be able to see any of the green connectors, as depicted on the left side of the image. However, if the cable is not inserted all the way, the green connectors should be partially visible, as shown on the right.
ASRock's guidance is as follows...
- Please follow the recommendations of your VGA card manufacturer on the power requirement.
- 12V-2x6 connectors must be plugged in at all times to your power supply.
- All connectors must be INSERTED, CLICK-LOCKED and SEATED properly.
- DO NOT bend the cable in any direction once it is plugged into place.
- DO NOT bend or apply force to the cable too close to the connector.
Beyond the green tips, ASRock's new cables, which are 16 AWG (American Wire Gauge), also feature over-temperature protection. An NTC sensor built into the connector monitors temps and relays the information to the PSU to prevent overheating. However, this only works when paired with one of ASRock's compatible Taichi or Phantom Gaming power supplies.
According to Hermitage Akihabara in Japan (as spotted by the folks at Videocardz), ASRock's green-tipped cables will be available starting Friday, August 29 for 5,980 Japanese Yen, which is around $40 in U.S. currency.
