{"video_id":"9mjRNcrD3SA","title":"The REAL Solution to Burning GPU Connectors","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2025-06-08T14:53:29Z","duration_s":377,"segments":[{"start_s":0.08,"end_s":7.68,"text":"In spite of its well publicized issues, the infamous 12pin GPU power connector","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":5.12,"end_s":12.32,"text":"championed by companies that shall not be named is still out there and still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.32,"end_s":17.279,"text":"overheating, sometimes to the point of catastrophic failure. And while we could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":14.719,"end_s":23.359,"text":"leave it to gamers and influencers to fix it, CIC, who sponsored this video,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":20.0,"end_s":24.8,"text":"has a better idea. It's called Opiggard,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":23.359,"end_s":28.64,"text":"and we're expecting it to show up on their high-end Prime Series power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.4,"end_s":33.28,"text":"supplies sometime later this year. But how does a power supply, which is way","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.96,"end_s":37.44,"text":"over here, fix a burned out connector on a GPU, which is way over here? To answer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.32,"end_s":41.92,"text":"that, we need a little bit of background. So bear with me here. Wires","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":39.92,"end_s":45.6,"text":"that are carrying an electrical current heat up due to the collisions between","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":44.16,"end_s":49.84,"text":"the electrons that are flowing through them and the aluminum or copper atoms","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":48.0,"end_s":53.92,"text":"that make up the wire. More current means more collisions and therefore more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":52.16,"end_s":58.64,"text":"heat. But there's a simple solution to this. Ohm's law states that if we lower","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.16,"end_s":63.68,"text":"the resistance of our wire, usually by using a big chunky one, we can carry","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":61.199,"end_s":69.84,"text":"more current at a consistent voltage. And while a 5090 at full load will","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.72,"end_s":72.08,"text":"result in a noticeably warm power cable,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.84,"end_s":76.479,"text":"9 amps is well below the generally accepted safe current capabilities of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":74.56,"end_s":82.56,"text":"the 16 gauge copper wire that you would find in a 12vt 2x6 power cable. So what","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.759,"end_s":87.439,"text":"causes it to overheat? Well, as usual, it's that pesky real rain that always","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":85.28,"end_s":92.4,"text":"seems to show up and ruin our theoretical parades. Whether it's due to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":89.84,"end_s":96.72,"text":"user error or manufacturing variance, sometimes the connection between your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":94.32,"end_s":101.2,"text":"cable and your power hungry GPU just plain isn't perfect. And when this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":98.72,"end_s":106.079,"text":"happens, that resulting poor connection acts like a much smaller gauge wire,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":104.0,"end_s":110.479,"text":"dramatically increasing resistance in that spot, which if you remember,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.479,"end_s":115.92,"text":"reduces the current that we can safely carry without overheating. And once one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":113.92,"end_s":120.24,"text":"of the pins in a connector fails, the situation can go from bad to worse as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":118.64,"end_s":124.759,"text":"the remaining ones try to pick up the slack, increasing their temperature,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":122.399,"end_s":130.08,"text":"increasing their chance of failure until finally. Now, there are ways for GPUs to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":127.92,"end_s":136.4,"text":"protect themselves. But for what we can only assume are cost and space-saving","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.239,"end_s":139.2,"text":"reasons, many 50 series GPUs don't. That","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.4,"end_s":144.239,"text":"is where CIC comes in. By implementing the current and temperature sensing that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.68,"end_s":149.599,"text":"GPU manufacturers have neglected directly into their power supply, CSIC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.52,"end_s":155.599,"text":"can constantly monitor to ensure that current draw is balanced across every","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":152.48,"end_s":157.68,"text":"pin in a 12vt 2x6 connector and then","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.599,"end_s":161.28,"text":"they can proactively power down the system in the event of a poor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.36,"end_s":166.0,"text":"connection. And this has the potential to become even more important as time","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.599,"end_s":169.68,"text":"goes on. Mark from Overclock 3D illustrated this perfectly in an article","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.239,"end_s":174.239,"text":"where he showed the difference in current balance between a well-used","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":171.76,"end_s":179.68,"text":"cable from his test bench versus a brand new one. And you got to remember this is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.4,"end_s":182.159,"text":"on the exact same power supply and GPU.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":179.68,"end_s":186.959,"text":"Only the cable changed. And it kind of makes sense. I mean the 12vt 2x6","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":184.56,"end_s":192.0,"text":"connector is only rated for about 30 mating cycles. Meaning that over the 12","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.76,"end_s":196.159,"text":"years that your CS Sonic Prime power supply is going to be under warranty,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.84,"end_s":199.84,"text":"you could easily wear that cable out, especially if you're a frequent upgrader","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.84,"end_s":203.92,"text":"or a tinkerer. I'd like to believe that by then the industry will have moved on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.519,"end_s":208.239,"text":"from this catastrophe of a connector or at least improved the safety on the GPU","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":206.08,"end_s":213.68,"text":"side, but you know what they say, hope for success, plan for failure. Oh, this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":211.2,"end_s":219.28,"text":"is cool. CIC is iterating on their Opsync technology with Opticync 2.0, to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.64,"end_s":224.879,"text":"the original idea was to move more of the components away from manual assembly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":222.08,"end_s":228.72,"text":"and integrate more cooling into the PCB of the power supply. And now they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.2,"end_s":233.04,"text":"taking that to another level by automating the placement of heat sinks","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":230.879,"end_s":237.36,"text":"over MOSS components on the board, helping to improve both the consistency","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":234.879,"end_s":240.56,"text":"of their manufacturing and cooling. Keeping with our theme of cool stuff,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":239.04,"end_s":247.04,"text":"there's a couple other cool things here in the booth that are worth checking out. After finding what they described","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":244.159,"end_s":253.68,"text":"as a surprising amount of success with their 2200 watt prime power supply, CIC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.879,"end_s":257.959,"text":"is upping the ante with the beefiest ATX power supply that I have ever held in my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.079,"end_s":263.919,"text":"hands. A 3,200 W 80 Plus platinum efficiency unit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":261.199,"end_s":271.04,"text":"for AI applications that has a total of I kid you not, six 12vt 2x6 power","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.0,"end_s":273.36,"text":"connectors. Unfortunately for me and my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.04,"end_s":278.84,"text":"120 volt friends, this unit will only operate at that output on 230 volt input","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":276.639,"end_s":283.479,"text":"power. So that's a downer. But all I have to do to feel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.12,"end_s":288.88,"text":"better is take two steps right over here. This is so cool. Designed by the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":286.88,"end_s":294.0,"text":"king of wing, who bearded Linus collaborated with on the impossible","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":290.639,"end_s":296.88,"text":"build back in 2021. This is a monitoring","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":294.0,"end_s":302.16,"text":"solution for 12volt 2x6 connectors that includes much of the functionality of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.0,"end_s":304.639,"text":"CIX per pin current sensing, temperature","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.16,"end_s":310.32,"text":"monitoring, and the ability to trigger your GPU's safety shutdown. It also does","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.0,"end_s":315.36,"text":"more. It has a screen that you can position wherever you want for constant","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.479,"end_s":320.639,"text":"monitoring. And the whole thing is built into a smart cable, meaning that it can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":318.16,"end_s":326.639,"text":"work on any power supply. And the best part, he's apparently making the design","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.96,"end_s":328.639,"text":"open source. What an absolute Chad. I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.639,"end_s":333.6,"text":"can see this being incredibly useful for reviewers and hobbyists alike. Less","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":331.12,"end_s":338.32,"text":"useful, per se, but definitely cool, is the new colors coming for CIC's Focus","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":335.84,"end_s":342.08,"text":"series. I've been asking for years why this isn't a thing. So, it's nice to see","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":340.16,"end_s":347.12,"text":"a major player noticing the trend towards themed builds and providing a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":344.639,"end_s":351.759,"text":"quality option. Speaking of quality, that brings us finally to this. Building","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":349.759,"end_s":357.6,"text":"on the success of their collaboration on the Prime TX 1600 watt Noctua edition,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.88,"end_s":362.0,"text":"CIC is announcing that their Prime high power density series will now use Noctua","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":360.16,"end_s":365.68,"text":"fans for their outstanding performance and acoustic profile. If you guys","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":364.24,"end_s":369.36,"text":"enjoyed this video, why not check out the one we did last year where we talked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":367.36,"end_s":375.36,"text":"about that collaboration between Conic and Noctua and how I wanted to be the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":372.639,"end_s":377.919,"text":"one to do it. That's okay. They did a great job.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"In spite of its well publicized issues, the infamous 12pin GPU power connector championed by companies that shall not be named is still out there and still overheating, sometimes to the point of catastrophic failure. And while we could leave it to gamers and influencers to fix it, CIC, who sponsored this video, has a better idea. It's called Opiggard, and we're expecting it to show up on their high-end Prime Series power supplies sometime later this year. But how does a power supply, which is way over here, fix a burned out connector on a GPU, which is way over here? To answer that, we need a little bit of background. So bear with me here. Wires that are carrying an electrical current heat up due to the collisions between the electrons that are flowing through them and the aluminum or copper atoms that make up the wire. More current means more collisions and therefore more heat. But there's a simple solution to this. Ohm's law states that if we lower the resistance of our wire, usually by using a big chunky one, we can carry more current at a consistent voltage. And while a 5090 at full load will result in a noticeably warm power cable, 9 amps is well below the generally accepted safe current capabilities of the 16 gauge copper wire that you would find in a 12vt 2x6 power cable. So what causes it to overheat? Well, as usual, it's that pesky real rain that always seems to show up and ruin our theoretical parades. Whether it's due to user error or manufacturing variance, sometimes the connection between your cable and your power hungry GPU just plain isn't perfect. And when this happens, that resulting poor connection acts like a much smaller gauge wire, dramatically increasing resistance in that spot, which if you remember, reduces the current that we can safely carry without overheating. And once one of the pins in a connector fails, the situation can go from bad to worse as the remaining ones try to pick up the slack, increasing their temperature, increasing their chance of failure until finally. Now, there are ways for GPUs to protect themselves. But for what we can only assume are cost and space-saving reasons, many 50 series GPUs don't. That is where CIC comes in. By implementing the current and temperature sensing that GPU manufacturers have neglected directly into their power supply, CSIC can constantly monitor to ensure that current draw is balanced across every pin in a 12vt 2x6 connector and then they can proactively power down the system in the event of a poor connection. And this has the potential to become even more important as time goes on. Mark from Overclock 3D illustrated this perfectly in an article where he showed the difference in current balance between a well-used cable from his test bench versus a brand new one. And you got to remember this is on the exact same power supply and GPU. Only the cable changed. And it kind of makes sense. I mean the 12vt 2x6 connector is only rated for about 30 mating cycles. Meaning that over the 12 years that your CS Sonic Prime power supply is going to be under warranty, you could easily wear that cable out, especially if you're a frequent upgrader or a tinkerer. I'd like to believe that by then the industry will have moved on from this catastrophe of a connector or at least improved the safety on the GPU side, but you know what they say, hope for success, plan for failure. Oh, this is cool. CIC is iterating on their Opsync technology with Opticync 2.0, to the original idea was to move more of the components away from manual assembly and integrate more cooling into the PCB of the power supply. And now they're taking that to another level by automating the placement of heat sinks over MOSS components on the board, helping to improve both the consistency of their manufacturing and cooling. Keeping with our theme of cool stuff, there's a couple other cool things here in the booth that are worth checking out. After finding what they described as a surprising amount of success with their 2200 watt prime power supply, CIC is upping the ante with the beefiest ATX power supply that I have ever held in my hands. A 3,200 W 80 Plus platinum efficiency unit for AI applications that has a total of I kid you not, six 12vt 2x6 power connectors. Unfortunately for me and my 120 volt friends, this unit will only operate at that output on 230 volt input power. So that's a downer. But all I have to do to feel better is take two steps right over here. This is so cool. Designed by the king of wing, who bearded Linus collaborated with on the impossible build back in 2021. This is a monitoring solution for 12volt 2x6 connectors that includes much of the functionality of CIX per pin current sensing, temperature monitoring, and the ability to trigger your GPU's safety shutdown. It also does more. It has a screen that you can position wherever you want for constant monitoring. And the whole thing is built into a smart cable, meaning that it can work on any power supply. And the best part, he's apparently making the design open source. What an absolute Chad. I can see this being incredibly useful for reviewers and hobbyists alike. Less useful, per se, but definitely cool, is the new colors coming for CIC's Focus series. I've been asking for years why this isn't a thing. So, it's nice to see a major player noticing the trend towards themed builds and providing a quality option. Speaking of quality, that brings us finally to this. Building on the success of their collaboration on the Prime TX 1600 watt Noctua edition, CIC is announcing that their Prime high power density series will now use Noctua fans for their outstanding performance and acoustic profile. If you guys enjoyed this video, why not check out the one we did last year where we talked about that collaboration between Conic and Noctua and how I wanted to be the one to do it. That's okay. They did a great job."}