It’s not usually easy to get excited about a PSU cable, but the simple design of this new be quiet! right-angled GPU cable at CES 2024 looks like it could solve several problems in one fell swoop. At the top of the list is, of course, reducing the risk of your new Nvidia graphics card melting with its adherence to the new 12V-6×6, but we also like the individually sleeved cables.
While we’ve already seen plenty of sleeved, right-angled 12vHPWR cables from the likes of CableMod, this is the first one we’ve seen from be quiet!, a mainstream PSU maker that’s featured on our best power supply guide. This new be quiet! cable also conforms to the new 12V-6×6 standard, which is designed to be more reliable than the original 12VHPWR connector.
The latter is a standard feature of the latest top-end Nvidia GPUs, such as the GeForce RTX 4090. The new socket cut down on the need for multiple 6-pin or 8-pin PCIe cables, and it’s compact, while also allowing direct communication with an ATX 3 PSU.
However, shortly after the Nvidia Ada launch in 2022, reports started appearing about smoking 12VHPWR sockets, ending up with melted graphics cards, and even melted power supplies – a phenomena that was recreated by Gamers Nexus in the video below.
Custom cable maker CableMod was quick to respond with the CableMod right-angled 12VHPWR adapter that the company said would stop so much strain being put on the socket and reduce the chance of a bad connection. However, even these didn’t solve the problem, with plenty of RMAs still being issued for melted graphics cards using CableMod adaptors.
This new cable from be quiet! could be the answer, though. There’s nothing it does individually that hasn’t been done before, but it’s great to see a mainstream PSU maker getting the whole lot together in a single cable. The right-angle plug is a part of the cable, rather than a separate adapter, and the cables are all individually sleeved as well, rather than being bunched together in a single sleeve. We’re told by be quiet! that these separately sleeved cables will also reduce the chances of inner cable damage.
Most importantly, though, the new be quiet! cable also adheres to the new 12V-6×6 standard, which improves on the original 12VHPWR standard to make the connection more stable. The main differences are longer conductor terminals and shorter sensing pins, which basically mean there’s no power being passed through the plug unless it’s properly connected.
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