MSI has unveiled coloured 12VHPWR power cables meant to avoid improper connection that may cause cable burning.
Those who follow hardware news have probably learned about issues regarding the new 12VHPWR connector found on Nvidia’s RTX 40 Series cards, causing overheating and subsequently burning when unproperly seated, which is a safety hazard, to say the least.
Simple yet clever, MSI’s solution to the matter doesn’t require new PSUs or power connectors – though a revision of the latter may be preferable for the long run. The fix is to add colour-coded pins on a contrasting plastic frame and hardware headers.
This little change allows the user to visually see if the cable is completely seated inside its slot, as any visible colour indicates that there is still a gap between the cable’s connector and the graphics card or PSU. Especially useful for a quick check-up after periodic cleaning sessions where the cable can get dislodged by accident.
MSI went with yellow-coloured pins which contrast well with the black frame of the PSU and, most importantly, graphics card power headers. The cable itself isn’t different by any means, and the same goes for the connector. That’s the brilliant part about all of this; users who care only need to get the new cable and replace their old one, and this way they can be sure that the connection is secured.
