Dell PC with locked 12V-2x6 connector for graphics card
A test of a Japanese pre-built PC from Dell reveals a new design for the error-prone power connector of modern graphics cards.
(Image: c't)
The Japanese website Chimolog has tested a current complete PC from Dell. When disassembling the computer, an interesting detail was found on the RTX 5070 Ti graphics card: The adapter cable from a 12V-2x6 socket to two PCIe 8-pin sockets features a mechanical lock.
This appears to be a proprietary design. According to the extensively illustrated report, it comes from the large supplier Amphenol. Its logo is also on the connector. While Amphenol has some 12V-2x6 components on its websites, we could not find a connector like the one in the Dell PC there. It is not uncommon for major manufacturers like Dell to order custom designs from suppliers. According to Chimolog, the connector sits rock solid and can hardly be moved. This is not the case with conventional connectors of this type.
Individual wires and side cable routing
The Amphenol adapter not only has a mechanical lock that can be released by pressing a large tab – which looks significantly more reliable than the usual connectors – but the twelve wires for power are also routed individually to the side, so that the large bending radii identified as a source of error, as with rigid cable bundles, do not occur at all. It is somewhat incomprehensible why Dell continues to rely on an adapter for the old PCIe connectors and did not order a cable with two 12V-2x6 connectors directly. The component used is likely intended for use with older power supplies in various PC series. The computer tested by Chimolog, model number EBT2250, is also available from Dell Germany. Dell's offer does not specify whether it also has this adapter there.
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A proper cable lock can not only ensure less damage during transport. The hardware industry has already pointed out with the first 12VHPWR connector and then also with the revised 12V-2x6 that the defects reported by users, up to and including graphics card fires, can be caused by their own fault. The delicate connectors can be plugged in, even without significant negligence, in such a way that the system works, but no full contact is made on all pins. Then high currents can flow through the better-connected pins, causing them and the plastic housings of the connectors and sockets to overheat.
Such often-cited “user errors” could be reduced by a connector like Amphenol's. However, not every such adapter reliably solves the fundamental problems of the delicate PCIe 5 power connectors. The experienced accessory company Cablemod had to recall its first version of angled 12VHPWR cables two years ago.
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