GoKawiilIn a nutshell: The Nvidia RTX 5090 has long been plagued by catastrophic thermal failures that can cause its 16-pin power connector to melt under heavy workloads. In an effort to find a solution to the overheating issue, a team of tech YouTubers has reportedly created the world's first RTX 5090 graphics card to use 8-pin power connectors instead of a 16-pin design.
Brazilian YouTube channel TecLab has demonstrated that an RTX 5090 can be connected to a PSU using standard 8-pin connectors instead of 16-pin ones, despite its 575W TDP. To perform the experiment, the modders used a Galax HOF OC LAB RTX 5090, which is designed to use two 16-pin connectors. However, the team claims that the card can even function with three 8-pin connectors.
As part of its effort to find an alternative to the 16-pin design, the team initially tested the card using XT90 power connectors, which support up to 90 amps each. They eventually opted for three 8-pin Mini-Fit Jr. connectors after making the necessary modifications, which involved tricking the sensors into accepting the new configuration.
The YouTubers put their plan into action by connecting the Sense 0 and Sense 1 pins, allowing the card to continue operating at its full TDP despite switching from a dual 16-pin to a triple 8-pin design. The modified card had nine +12V rails, each supporting around 8 – 8.5 amps. The team says the changes were limited to the hardware and did not require any firmware modifications.
To test the modified card, TecLab gradually increased the power threshold from 400W to 900W while closely monitoring the voltages and temperatures. The card operated at an impressive 3.4GHz while drawing around 70 amps on the 12V rails. The setup remained stable throughout the test, staying well within the recommended electrical and thermal safety margins.
The card was also tested with a peak current of 120A at 3.4GHz, and it still passed the test with flying colors, with operating temperatures reaching only around 35 degrees Celsius. The modders also tested the card with just two 8-pin connectors instead of three, and even that configuration was able to keep temperatures below 25 degrees Celsius, with the card drawing 66A while running at more than 3.2GHz.
Just days before releasing the latest video, TecLab demonstrated another solution to the RTX 5090's overheating problem by routing the power wiring directly to the GPU's PCB. The channel claimed that bypassing the 16-pin power connectors was a foolproof way to end "meltgate" for good, but acknowledged that it is not a practical solution for most gamers.