3060 Melted

[Sedowynt]

So 12VHPWR connectors are prone to melting on newer nVidia graphics cards. But a low power card like a 3060 that draws no more than about 160 watts shouldn't be at risk, right? Wrong! My 12 GB 3060 just melted the connector and now it doesn't display anything. I was playing some hardware intensive games and started to notice my display cutting out and my computer just outright restarting. It got to the point where it wouldn't even work outside of games. I turned it off for the night, and started tearing down the PC in the morning. I noticed that the PCIe power connector was difficult to pull out, and when I finally did, it was melted. There is visible damage on the card's PCIe power connector, on both ends of the extension cable, and on one of the outputs (on the one which was in use) of the modular PSU cable. Now yes, I was using extension cables (accidentally bought an SFX PSU, cables were too short). But I've been using the same PSU with the same extension cables for about 3-4 years on my old system, with a much more power hungry 1080 Ti. And all connections were secure.  They are genuine Phanteks extension cables, and have worked fine for one and a half years on this system. If the PCIe socket supplies 75 Watts, then there shouldn't have been more that about 85 watts running through the cables. I have a Cooler Master 850 watt power supply, which should be overspec by 331 watts, according to Seasonic's wattage calculator. I must also add, I did enable nVidia's auto overclock, but it didn't really do anything anyway. I don't know what to do guys, should I just buy a new graphics card and power supply, could the card be repaired?

 

My specs:

-CPU: Intel Core I9-10900KF
-GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12 GB OC
-MOBO: AsRock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4
-RAM: Kingston 2X32 GB 3600 MT/s
-PSU: Cooler Master V850 SFX 80 PLUS Gold
-System Drive: Corsair MP600 PRO XT 1TB 

[ewitte]

I've had an 8 pin do that.  I think Seasonic actually replaced the PSU for me.  This was a while back, so it was either the 1080ti or 2080.  It only damaged the cable.

[OhYou_]

your melted extension cable probably used like 0.25mm2 size wires which would cause something like this.
ensure there is no more debris left inside the port of the 3060, then use the secondary 8 pin connector of your psu into the gpu and ensure it fully fits in like normal
with all that it should work fine again. there isnt enough damage to really have concerns about on the gpu connector.

[Tetras]

GN like looking into things like this, you could ask them if they want to buy it.

[Sedowynt]

Thanks for the replies guys. I did try cleaning out the connector, but to no avail. Based on the suggestions of a tech savvy family member, I will attempt an RMA, and if that doesn't work out, I'll get the connector replaced. As for the PSU, it looks completely fine, so I think I'm just gonna get some custom cablemod cables to eliminate the problem with the extensions.

[Sedowynt]

Update! I ended up prodding and prying at the connector for a few more hours, and managed to clean out the connector. Put the whole thing back together, without the extensions, and low and behold, the 3060 lives to see another day. Thanks to OhYou_ for the tip. As for the PSU, the custom cables from cablemod would cost almost as much as just buying a new one, so that is exactly what I did. I got a, ATX this time, Seasonic Focus GX with the same wattage and efficiency.