12VHPWR &12v 2x6 Fire Risk Discussion

so i recently had to replace an aging power supply in my parents computer which uses a graphics card with 2 x 6pin pci-e. so no problem. i end up going with an MSI MPG A850GS which is ATX 3.1 and both 80 plus Gold and Cybenetics Gold. reviews and specs here: Hardware Busters & Cybenetics

but then as i'm looking at it while installing i notice what you can clearly see in the picture. now i'm not sure if the new ATX 3.1 spec has anything to do with the connectors and they are interchangeble between brands but if this IS the standard, i can clearly see why so many people have had problems. you can clearly see that the posts for the 12v 2x6 (revised HiPwr) are clearly HALF THE SIZE of the standard ones we've been using for years! so a little background, i'm an electrician of 30yrs, why in the Funk would they use smaller posts and push more power through them? it's no wonder there are problems, those posts look to be around 22 awg(?) wire and they're steel, not copper, but the bigger problem is that little post has probably HALF the surface area of the bigger ones, now being steel doesn't add a whole lot of resistance, but the small diameter and contact area SURE DOES! especially when pushing twice the current! you get what's called thermal runaway. because the more resistance there is, the more heat is produced, which more heat in turn, adds more resistance which adds more heat until FINALLY you get melt down. man whoever designed this spec should be dragged behind the shed and shot. and that's the new standard? what happened to UL certification and whatever the Canadian equivalent is? did ANYONE test it or is everyone buying into the newest ATX standard a working beta tester?

so this is my call to anyone with a brain. buy cards with standard pci-e connectors. save yourself a future head ache and do the world a favor by making 12vHiPwr go the way of the dodo.

yeah i was thinking about it and another thing that's probably adding to the number of things causing meltdown, is the same reason we stopped wiring houses with aluminum wire, when it heats up and cools down (when running high loads) it expands and contracts and eventually the connectors won't be making good contact, which like i said before, will add more resistance which adds more heat.... etc etc. plus that happens gradually over time so that's probably the reason you see people say "it was running fine for a year, then all of a sudden..." it kind of makes perfect sense now.

still blows my mind that this "standard" ever made it out the underwriters lab. they're job is to torture test stuff.

who knows, maybe jensen lined some people's pockets to get the standard rushed through so they could save money on their "tiny pcb" design that's not big enough for standard 8 pin connectors. which still doesn't make much sense, to me, being the card still takes 3.5 spaces. how much are they really saving by shrinking the pcb? it can't be that much?

edit: interesting, just looked at the box and there's no UL stamp anywhere on the box. i thought that was a requirement for all electrical appliances sold in the US? there is a C and a CE right before like 5 or 6 "recycle" logos, so not sure if those are the equivalent canadian testing labs? doesn't say anything below it.

I'm pretty sure most of the savings is coming from the PCB design- the single bus instead of separating each pin into its own trace.

Tsumi said:

m pretty sure most of the savings is coming from the PCB design- the single bus instead of separating each pin into its own trace.

Click to expand...

Seems so counter productive though. There are already designs popping up that are built around monitoring each pins power delivery. So insanely dumb...Full circle solving a problem that shouldn't of existed in the first place.