I've never bought a FE/direct from Nvidia before - would the "buy now" link on their site just take you to a retail affiliate (eg, newegg) like it does with the partner cards listed there?

I noticed on Amazon some 4090 Asus cards going for $2500-$3500-ish US - that's gotta be a "scalper" price, right? Absurd.

IgorsLab has a good write up of the current issues around 4090 power failures/ fire hazard .

tldr; nVidia's 12VHPWR adapter has a significant design flaw that can cause the connection to break/ melt/ catch fire at high voltages. It isn't a flaw with the standard in general as some have suggested, just nVidia's implementation; so anyone using PSU supplied/native cables should be fine.

9 hours ago, Zoraptor said:

IgorsLab has a good write up of the current issues around 4090 power failures/ fire hazard .

tldr; nVidia's 12VHPWR adapter has a significant design flaw that can cause the connection to break/ melt/ catch fire at high voltages. It isn't a flaw with the standard in general as some have suggested, just nVidia's implementation; so anyone using PSU supplied/native cables should be fine.

I hope Bokishi is okay.

Jokes aside 😄  stuff like this is why I never rush to buy the first release of hardware. Initial drivers, connectors etc ... I let others be guinea pigs.

I think I might just skip the 40 series entirely. We'll see how good the 4080 actually is, and whether its worth upgrading from a 3070

Here's a teardown of a GPU you can't buy:

 

More on Nvidia's RTX Fire Hazard 4090 12V connector issues.

 

Edited November 16, 20223 yr by Keyrock

By the time they figure out a solution to the point where buying that gpu from a store would actually have the solution already included in the box (if they ever do), the 50xx series will be out.

This 40xx launch does not breed over confidence for 50xx tho.  Edit: maybe they should all start a new cycle of letting 4 years elapse between each "series" of cards so there's a little less rushing. Not that they will.

Edited November 18, 20223 yr by LadyCrimson

It's too bad because the RTX 4XXX cards seem like good GPUs, the performance uplift over 3XXX is impressive. However the melting connector issue, granted it's affecting a very small percentage of users, and the astronomical prices leave a bad taste in my mouth. Also, I'm not going to feel bad for Jensen & Co., they're not exactly struggling to put food on their tables.

New test shows loose RTX 4090 power connectors cause overheating and melting | Ars Technica

We are talking about an improper seating though, that can be avoided completely with care. They don't click to indicate a good seating which leaves some people to just mash the connector around instead of pressing down with moderate pressure. 

It can also be avoided by designing the socket/ pins properly, eg a simple end user error can't have a live and unearthed 3 pin electrical plug because the earth pin is longer than the live ones, so if it is not engaged the live ones cannot be either. If there's no way to prevent a bad connection and no indication of a good connection end user error is inevitable and it's badly designed. It's just badly designed by pcisig instead of/ as well as nVidia.

Edited November 18, 20223 yr by Zoraptor

Agreed, but now that I know the solution, I  wouldn't be too worried about using one. 

1 hour ago, Gorgon said:

Agreed, but now that I know the solution, I  wouldn't be too worried about using one. 

Sure, but then you realize there are companies shipping pre-built computers with terrible cooling designs or wrongly installed CPU fans, and all of a sudden having a power cable that can end up not being fully secured but looking like it is becomes scary again. Next up on GN, testing the 5000$ pre-built that runs burning hot. Literally.

Edited November 18, 20223 yr by majestic

On 10/27/2022 at 11:20 PM, kirottu said:

I hope Bokishi is okay.

Haha, yeah Zotac got a sample out to me and I actually been sitting on this for awhile, deciding if I should install it now, or wait for my cablemod adapter to arrive. I mean the 3080ti is still plenty fast and not a fire hazard 

Y'know, I'm still a basic-box/function over aesthetics type of case person, but I must admit cases like that are very room-pretty.

PCI-SIG should just adopt UK power plugs to hook up video cards, the 4090 is certainly big enough to fit four of these things side by side. Voilà, new 12-pin standard.

@LadyCrimsonYes it’s the Hyte Y60. It’s a nice affordable case that kind of resembles fancy furniture. Many people say it looks like a fish tank 

The 4090 is one chonky boi, it’s kind of goofy how big it is

Adapter seems to be working ok, just make sure it’s fully seated and that it clicks into place. I still want the cablemod cable though

Performance is great so far. This is the first true 8K card; every game I tried so far runs good maxed out in 8K, even Cyberpunk (except if you use psycho raytracing, then it’s only smooth with 8K + DLSS). 16K is semi playable, 30-40fps in older games like GTA 5. 

Biggest drawback is only having Displayport 1.4, I mean 8K 240hz will only be possible with DP 2.1

Edited November 22, 20223 yr by Bokishi

TDPs (and actual energy consumption) ever going up, unlike with CPUs
Sizes ever increasing, unlike with CPUs.
Heat......
Prices...

At this rate, I'm going to keep using my 4GB 1050ti until either it stops starting up. Or until an ~8GB card comes out assembled from "leftover parts" no doubt and sold at a reasonable price. 

Luckily I barely play any AAA blockbuster games pushing hardware anymore as there's this paradox that with each generation, it needs more and more people (and higher budgets) to do just that. Higher budgets == lower risk games. (Plus, there's barely any PC exclusives actually pushing PC hardware to their limit anyway... there's only so much gain from increasing details and resolutions for game experiences that else would be fundamentally the same game as on a console.  Heck, even enthusiast YT channels have started publishing how going "ultra details" would be just "dumb"). 

In a sense Nvidia and Co. have found a way to sell ice to eskimos truly. (And that's not a dig at enthusiasts -- it's that the mainstream has accepted what's happened on the GPU market in the past ~10 years).

Edited November 20, 20223 yr by Sven_

ICs are going to replace the GPU eventually, and considering how GPU manufacturers have been able to hoodwink everyone with massive price hikes, it can't come fast enough. 

I looked up that Hyte case and uhh...

How about even 'better', the Sakura line of GPUs by Yeston:

NOPE! Don't think you could pay me to have that in my PC...well, unless you wanna get crazy with the offer, anyways.

Edited November 20, 20223 yr by Bartimaeus

The upside to the GPU is that you can hide it inside your case where no one has to see it. The case, on the other hand, is always on display for everyone to see your shame.

3 minutes ago, Keyrock said:

The upside to the GPU is that you can hide it inside your case where no one has to see it. The case, on the other hand, is always on display for everyone to see your shame.

Exactly, couldn't care less how it look inside. I think free would be my offer.

I'd unironically buy a Yeston card because of the 'art'.