Modder DallasGrave splits RTX 5090 power across two added 8-pin connectors
Reddit modder DallasGrave says his modified RTX 5090 ran 48 hours at 550W with its power cables never passing 40C. The result supports spreading current across more wires, though it comes from one card he measured himself.
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What happened
- The fix feeds an auxiliary dual 8-pin board from the card's power connections, spreading the load across three sets of cables.
- DallasGrave appears to be affiliated with Grave PC, a company that specializes in CPU and GPU cooling and compact system design.
- He said he is working on a "relatively affordable" service to convert existing cards, complete with a warranty.
- Tom's Hardware says it is unknown whether he designed the distributor himself or whether it contains capacitors and fuses.
Why it matters
- What doesn't add up contradiction DallasGrave pitches the board as a universal option across GPU brands, but Tom's Hardware says the resin-printed housing appears custom-made for his card, so fit on other boards is unproven.
- Who's exposed exposure Buyers of a converted card carry the risk that a promised warranty goes unhonored, given Tom's Hardware's report that PNY has been poor at honoring 12VHPWR claims involving third-party cables.
- What it limits constraint The fix needs wires soldered to the card's power rails, which Tom's Hardware calls invasive, so owners either do board-level work themselves or wait for a converter.
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The stock connector has 16 pins, and four of them are sense pins. The other 12 split into six +12V and six ground connections [15]. On the 16AWG cable it typically uses, the design should in theory handle 600W [16]. At the test's 550W, the 12V side carries about 45.8A, or roughly 7.6A per +12V pin if all six share evenly [21][22]. Tom's Hardware attributes some melting to pins that make too little contact and heat up from the added resistance. It also calls uneven current distribution a frequent source of trouble [17].
A cool cable after the mod fits the idea that concentrated current causes the failures, though it does not separate those two faults. Splitting current across more wires lowers what each contact carries [4]. That helps whether the original problem was a bad pin or lopsided sharing [17]. Tom's Hardware reports that his card's 12VHPWR connector had been overheating before the fix [20]. Neither report includes a temperature for the stock setup at 550W to compare against [3].
I think he changed the right part. A higher-current header would leave the same six +12V wires in the cable [15]. He said as much: he could have replaced the header, but that does not fix the cable [11]. "12VHPWR is simply rated too high," he said [12]. He added that the connector never should have been approved beyond about 350W [13]. His stress test ran 200W past that figure, about 57 percent over it [23]. Tom's Hardware makes a related point about headroom. The older multi-8-pin setups rarely failed this way because their safety margins were higher [18].
The two reports place the solder work slightly differently. TechSpot describes a pickup PCB soldered to the contacts of the original 12VHPWR header [1]. Tom's Hardware describes extra connections soldered to the power rails on the card's PCB, routed to a distributor board that holds two female 8-pin sockets [5]. TechSpot rates it one of the cleanest fixes yet [8]. The comparison it draws is a TecLab mod from the summer that wired power straight to the GPU's PCB, which worked but was not pretty [7]. The temperature log is the modder's own measurement of a product he intends to sell [3][26].
The commercial plan so far comes from his Reddit replies. Asked whether PNY's warranty would cover the mod, he said: "We're a PNY partner. You'll be able to buy a PNY-specific card with a similar modification directly from us with a full warranty." [25] Tom's Hardware notes the mod is not currently on his website [14].
What to watch
- Grave PC listing the conversion service with a price and written warranty terms that say whether PNY or the converter stands behind the card.
- A statement from PNY on whether it honors warranties on partner-modified RTX 5090s, given its record on third-party cable claims.
- Independent temperature logs from the mod on other brands' RTX 5090 boards, testing the universal-fit claim against the custom-looking housing.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence30
- Adoption5
- Hype gap+30
- Incentives70
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The fix uses a pickup PCB soldered to the contacts of the RTX 5090's original 12VHPWR header, which feeds an auxiliary dual eight-pin board.
- [2]
The mod spreads the load across three sets of cables, which TechSpot says significantly reduces temperature.
- [3]
According to DallasGrave, the modded card was tested at full load for 48 hours at 550W and cable temperatures never climbed above 40 degrees Celsius.
- [4]
The module is a custom-made power distributor that splits the current load across more wires to lower connector temperatures.
- [5]
The modder soldered additional connections to the power rails directly on the RTX 5090's PCB and routed them to a power distributor containing a PCB with two female 8-pin connectors.
- [6]
DallasGrave appears to be affiliated with Grave PC, a company that specializes in CPU/GPU cooling and compact system design.
- [7]
Over the summer, YouTube channel TecLab shared a fix that connected power wires directly to the GPU's PCB; it seemed to work but was not aesthetically pleasing.
- [8]
TechSpot says the mod appears to be one of the cleanest solutions yet to the melting-connector issue.
- [9]
It is unknown whether the modder designed the distributor himself and whether it contains other power-delivery or protection components such as capacitors and fuses.
- [10]
The distributor appears custom-made to fit his specific graphics card, and the housing shows signs of resin printing.
- [11]
DallasGrave said he could have replaced the header with a higher current model but that does not fix the cable.
- [12]
"12VHPWR is simply rated too high,"
- [13]
DallasGrave said 12VHPWR never should have been approved beyond 350-ish watts.
- [14]
The mod is not currently on his website.
- [15]
The 16-pin connector's four smaller pins are sensors, and the remaining 12 are split between six +12V and ground connections.
- [16]
The connector typically uses high-current-rated 16AWG cables and in theory should handle up to 600W.
- [17]
Some melting cases are due to poor connections where pins don't make enough contact, causing high resistance and heat buildup, and uneven current distribution is often a source of issues.
- [18]
This was rarely the case with older multi-8-pin connector setups, as the safety margins were higher.
- [19]
The mod is still invasive, requiring wires to be soldered directly to the card's power rails.
- [20]
DallasGrave's RTX 5090's 12VHPWR connector was overheating before he shared the fix.
- [21]
At 550W on the 12V side, the card draws about 45.8A.
- [22]
If the six +12V pins of the stock connector share 45.8A evenly, each carries roughly 7.6A.
- [23]
The 550W test load is 200W, or about 57 percent, above the roughly 350W ceiling DallasGrave says the connector should have been approved for.
- [24]
DallasGrave said the solution would be more of a universal option that could work across multiple GPU brands.
- [25]
"We're a PNY partner. You'll be able to buy a PNY-specific card with a similar modification directly from us with a full warranty."
- [26]
DallasGrave said they are working on a "relatively affordable" service to convert existing cards, complete with warranty.
- [27]
PNY hasn't been great at honoring warranties for the 12VHPWR issue with third-party cables.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- techspot.comRTX 5090 modder claims to have solved melting power connectors with auxiliary 8-pin board
1 article · October 5, 2026
- tomshardware.comModder fixes melting RTX 5090 power connectors with custom distributor
1 article · October 4, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- GPU hardware modding
- 12VHPWR connector melting