First report of RX 9070 XT melting 12V-2×6 connector confirmed, luckily most stick to the trusty 8-pin design
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If you’re a PC gaming enthusiast, there’s a decent chance you’ve heard about melting cables/adapters on high-end Nvidia graphics cards. This first became a problem during the RTX 40 series, and continued to be an issue for GPU repair stores long after the release, particularly on the RTX 4090. And now, the first reports of an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT melting the 12V-2×6 adapter have surfaced online.
The melting problem has been most prevalent on the 16-pin 12VHPWR connector. Nvidia later revised this by developing the 12V-2×6 standard, but the power connector upgrade hasn’t made much difference in every case. Most RX 9070 XT GPUs use the tried and tested dual or triple 8-pin design, though some custom AIB models opt for 12V-2×6.
ASRock RX 9070 XT hit by melting connector issue
A user on Reddit has reported that their ASRock Taichi OC RX 9070 XT has fallen victim to the melting issue. Unlike the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, which draw 575W and 450W, respectively, the RX 9070 XT typically draws 304W, or up to 330/340W on some custom models like the ASRock Taichi when factory overclocked. Back when AMD first announced the flagship 9000 series card, it confirmed some higher-priced partner models could go up to 340W.
Even still, this is an unusual occurrence given that we don’t typically see reports of melting outside of the high-end Nvidia models with significantly higher power draw. There could be a few explanations for this, with the user admitting that “the PSU is cheap and under the recommendation, however it has sufficient capacity for my system,” continuing to say that “I still think this would have happened with a good PSU”.
The ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT OC card we reviewed uses a 3x 8-pin design, which has solidified itself as the more reliable power connector setup for these high-end graphics cards. So, if you’re looking for that added peace of mind, opting for a GPU using this kind of design is your best bet. If you’re going with Nvidia, though, you don’t have much choice. The latest RTX 5070 and up models use the new 16-pin (12V-2×6) power connector, including the ASUS TUF 5070 we reviewed.
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ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT OC power connectors, Image by PC Guide
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 OC power connector, Image by PC Guide
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