RTX 4090 ‘cablegate’ controversy hots up as Nvidia is hit with lawsuit
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We’ve been closely following the “cablegate” controversy surrounding the new Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card, and in a new development in this ongoing saga, a consumer has filed a class action lawsuit against the GPU manufacturer.
Lucas Genova, the plaintiff, originally filed the suit in a California court on Nov. 11. Tom’s hardware (opens in new tab) saw the submission on process registration aggregator Justia (opens in new tab)and we can see from the updates that an official summons was sent to Nvidia on November 15th.
If you haven’t been following this controversy, we’ve published an extensive explanation, but we’ll summarize briefly here. In short, the 16-pin ’12VHPWR’ power adapter used to connect the RTX 4090 to an ATX 2.0 power supply contains an unknown flaw that could cause the adapter to reach high temperatures, posing an immediate safety risk, especially fire hazard, as well as the risk of damage to the high-end GPU.
A Reddit megathread (opens in new tab) has been monitoring reported instances of cable meltdowns, with the first Founders Edition RTX 4090 falling victim to the fatal flaw just this week. At the time of writing, the number of confirmed cases stands at 26 (with six unconfirmed cases remaining). The megathread is expected to be presented as evidence in the upcoming court case.
Analysis: Nvidia is really in trouble right now
Genova’s class action lawsuit alleges that Nvidia sold GPUs with “faulty and dangerous power cord plugs and sockets, rendering consumer cards useless and posing a serious electrical and fire hazard to any purchaser.”
It’s a bold statement, and not one we necessarily disagree with, but it’s fair to say that the “each and every” part is a bit hyperbolic. In a recent Gamers Nexus Video it was claimed on YouTube that an Nvidia partner estimated the failure rate of the 12VHPWR adapter to be 0.05-0.1% – in other words, an average of one in 1,500 RTX 4090 cards.
So if you’ve been lucky enough to get your hands on the most powerful GPU in the world, don’t panic right away: although the exact cause of the error has still not been determined, it seems that correctly inserting the adapter and using a small amount of dielectric grease should prevent the card from catching fire. PSU expert JonnyGuru explained this in his recent blog post (opens in new tab) regarding the issue.
Despite this, it sounds like Lucas Genova is not convinced. He states that he is “experienced in installing computer components such as graphics cards”, presumably in an effort to avoid an immediate ‘user error’ response from Nvidia. His lawsuit charges Team Green with a litany of crimes, including unjust enrichment, breach of warranty, and even fraud.
Since this is a class action lawsuit, there’s a possibility that other involved parties will join the original plaintiff, meaning this case could quickly explode in Nvidia’s face. We’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation, and you hope Nvidia does too, but so far the GPU giant’s official line remains that “we’ll continue to investigate the reports,” with no further updates.