GIGABYTE redesigns its RTX 4090 to change the position of the power connector
As seen in new potential promotional images for its graphics cards, Gigabyte has changed the design of its RTX 4090 WindForce graphics cards. In those redesigns, changed the position of the problematic 16-pin 12VHPWR power connector. Twitter leaker @Harukaze5719 noted that Gigabyte has quietly introduced a V2 iteration of the RTX 4090 WindForce design, and you can see the change in the leaked images.
In the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 WindForce V2 design, it can be seen that the power cable gap extends for one-third of the length of the triple-fan air sink. In one section of the product page, it says that the design “use an extended heatsink".
GIGABYTE decides to change the RTX 4090 to avoid connector problems
In the hole of this design you can see the power connector of 12VHPWR, with the socket facing the front of the PC if you were in a standard tower. This position would offer some advantages for cable management, and with an extension of 100mm or more, when installed it should be possible to avoid any bending, twisting or shearing of the cable near the PCB connector. Finally, the third fan blows through some slots that could help cool the connector.
When comparing it against two RTX 4090 WindForce graphics cards, Tom's Hardware found that both are very similar, running at NVIDIA's benchmark GPU and memory clocks. The WindForce V2 looks quite a bit smaller and the new model would benefit from having an anti-drop bracket in the box. This would be because cases of large graphics that end up bending under their own weight and breaking down. It also features an HDMI 2.1a connector, a slight improvement over HDMI 2.1 in its support for source-based tone mapping.
New Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4090 WindForce V2 designs have also been seen in circulation. Harukaze5719's image appears to have been found on a Chinese tech chat site.
