The fact remains a custom after-market cable is not an NVIDIA design problem. If you didn't use the cable in the OEM box, than ethically one should eat the loss if something broke.
I considered publishing a mod tutorial for amateurs (including why crimped-copper is so much better than soldered-steel), and changed my mind given GamersNexus is already looking into the issues. Have a nice day =3
I mean that's very true, but that the same time it would be remiss not to chastise Nvidia for selecting a standard that teeters on the edge of design constraints even while using the provided cable. Especially when removing any sort of balancing feature to even things out.
It's the same with the USB standard and various USB cables' current/data carrying capabilities which are often completely transparent to consumers; just totally bad design.
Others have suggested new a new standard that supports 48v or whatever out of the PSU. It does seem a little ridiculous to bring this in for the occasional card that hits a new high but at the same time, why _shouldn't_ our PSUs follow a standard like USB PD has where voltage/current limits budget is negotiated?
That said I'd hope that they include a speck of silicon in cables as well, that outlays the cable's capabilities to the controller on each side - no capabilities present then you only get 5v1a, bub.
What I would hope that this would mean is that we'd no longer have the various different cables, just a single type varying by current/power carrying capabilities.
48v supplies are not practical for certified end-user products due to National Electrical Codes which limit the risk of electrocution on UL/CE/IC certified power supplies. Note, commercial Telecommunications equipment standards have a very different design market goal, so do use this DC standard already.
The current NEC code (pun intended) effectively limits most supplies to around under 32vDC in most jurisdictions for amateurs (equipment does not need retested in a lab, or signed off by a municipal ticketed EE.) Thus, a standard 24vDC (28vDC actual) equipment rail makes more sense in terms of design economics for the CPU/GPU buck-converters, and is indeed already very common to see in industrial/military rated hardware.
"speck of silicon in cables as well", Maybe... note USBC uses resister values to identify the plug initial behavior... but practically there comes a point where IT workers/hobbyists will have to know first-year ohms law again. At bare minimum people still need to calculate when the wall outlet power-limits are exceeded to avoid posing a fire-hazard in older homes.
I will spare you the xkcd cartoon about standards (and rants about ESD in USBC), but a power-requirement sticker would likely be just as effective for novices.
We all have mixed opinions on NVIDIAs silly GPU design kludges, but the industry has reached a sort of stagnation years ago. Cheers =3
