● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
User develops tool to shut down PC if GPU power connector pin exceeds 9.5A for 15 seconds
Key points
- Tool monitors per-pin power draw on NVIDIA GPUs.
- Shuts down PC if current exceeds 9.5A for 15 seconds.
- Supports ASUS ROG Astral and Matrix RTX 5080/5090 cards.
- Thresholds are configurable by the user.
Addressing GPU Power Connector Reliability
A user on Reddit created a free tool named "12VHPWR Guard" to safeguard high-end NVIDIA graphics cards against potential power connector failures. The tool monitors the per-pin power draw of the GPU's 12+4-pin connector, which has been a source of reliability concerns due to melting issues.
Functionality and Supported Hardware
The application polls the I2C bus on the graphics card twice per second to retrieve current values for each of the six +12V pins. It is primarily designed for ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 GPUs, as well as the ROG Matrix RTX 5090, which feature dedicated per-pin current sensors. The tool is configured to trigger a system shutdown if any pin's current draw surpasses 9.5A for a continuous period of 15 seconds.
Customization and Resource Usage
Users can customize both the current threshold and the duration before a shutdown is initiated. The application, developed by Humza Khalid and Claude AI, requires 35MB of RAM and minimal CPU resources. It provides a system tray icon that displays the current maximum power draw for the connector's pins.
Context of Connector Issues
The tool responds to ongoing issues with the 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6 power connectors used in high-end NVIDIA cards. While the 12V-2x6 connector attempts to mitigate melting problems through slight dimensional adjustments to ensure full insertion, the core power delivery wires and contact points remain unchanged, leading to continued concerns about reliability.
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Primary sources
GitHub humza-khalid/12vhpwr-guardReporting from
A Reddit user developed a free tool called "12VHPWR Guard" that monitors per-pin power draw on specific NVIDIA GPUs and shuts down the system if any pin exceeds 9.5A for more than 15 seconds. This tool addresses concerns about the reliability of high-density 12+4-pin power connectors on high-end graphics cards, which have been prone to melting issues.