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ZDNET's key takeaways
DisplayPort cables are designed to transfer power to monitors.
With cheaper options, misaligned pins may cause power failures.
You can avoid this by opting for a VESA-certified DisplayPort cable.
The DisplayPort "Death Pin" -- officially recognized as the Pin 20 Problem -- is a notorious manufacturing oversight where the final pin on a cable is wired to carry a live current it was never meant to handle.
By creating an unwanted electrical bridge between your monitor and graphics card, this defect allows power to flow in both directions, often leading to fried circuits and total system failure. In an era where a high-end GPU can easily set you back $1,500, double-checking your cables is a necessary bit of insurance to keep your Nvidia or AMD hardware from turning into a very high-tech paperweight.
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Fortunately, the best solution is as easy as selecting the right DisplayPort cable. But there are a few things you need to understand first in order to see how the Death Pin can wreak havoc on your PC or workstation.
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