During my routine 3-month PC maintenance, I always unplug and inspect the 12VHPWR connector. I hadn't played any demanding AAA games on my PC for a long time, but since May 19th, I've been playing Forza Horizon 6. I keep the frame rate capped at 120 FPS, and the card draws an average of 240 watts.

My hardware configuration:

PSU: Corsair RM1000x (CP-9020201-EU)

Cable: Official Corsair Type 4 12VHPWR cable (CP-8920284)

I have a sensor panel right next to my PC, allowing me to monitor telemetry data in real-time. The biggest issue I’ve noticed with Corsair power supplies is the 12VHPWR voltage drop; when the load hits around 350 watts, the voltage drops down to 11.4V. At 450-watt power draws, I observe it dropping as low as 11.15 - 11.2V. That is specifically why I play Forza with an FPS limit. However, even with the 120 FPS cap, I noticed it still spikes to 450 watts during certain scene transitions and when selecting cars in the garage. These are transient loads lasting a maximum of 30 seconds to a minute.

As a result, when I checked the connector at the end of this 3-week gaming period, this is the sight I was met with: a burnt 12VHPWR cable and a blackened GPU power socket. It feels like the inevitable outcome when a cable already operating at its absolute limits under load is paired with a power supply that fails to maintain 12 volts.

Regarding the physical setup: My graphics card is vertically mounted. The cable enters the socket straight at a perpendicular angle, with at least 7-9 cm of straight clearance above the connector before any bend occurs. Furthermore, every month when I blow out the dust inside the chassis, I always manually check and push the connector to ensure it remains fully and securely seated.

The terminal end of the cable is completely melted and crumbling apart. The GPU socket has distinct, visible blackening. I previously had an issue with Corsair regarding a spare part, and because they cannot ship replacement parts directly to Turkey, resolving the problem through the local distributor took an incredibly long time.

What should my next steps be?

Melted 12vhpwr cable & Blackened 5090 power pin