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Watch On The GPU used for this test was a very high-end Galax HOF OC LAB XOC variant of the RTX 5090D . Unlike standard RTX 5090s that come with a single 16-pin connector for their 575W TDPs, this bad boy is equipped with twice the firepower (literally) since you can use up to 2,000W OC BIOSes on it. That already sounds like a bad idea, but TecLab went further and removed the heatsink and fans entirely to liquid-cool the core.
The modders took two sets of wires and soldered them right above either power connector on the PCB, linking them to the connectors' traces. They used two adapters to intercept standard 16-pin power cables coming from a PSU and convert them into bare wires that could be soldered easily. From the looks of it, the poor soldering job was only going to put these guys in more danger, but it somehow worked.
The card booted and ran just fine, even benchmarking pretty well. Remember, there was no cooler on the GPU. Instead, it was being tamed by two 120mm fans loosely zip-tied to the PCB and an industrial liquid chiller running ice-cold water across the core. We didn't get any temps, but the card was running at around 600W based on the ~50A reading from the power meter clamped to the 12V rail.
PC gamer vibe-codes a safeguard against RTX 5090 power connector failures
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/gpus/modders-solder-power-cables-directly-to-rtx-5090-pcb-to-eliminate-notorious-melting-16-pin-connector-bare-board-galax-hof-card-pulls-600w-under-chiller-cooling#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.