The median EU retail price of an RTX 5090 rose from €5,900 to €7,730 between 19 September and 19 October 2026 — a +31% move across about 20 tracked EU shops. On a fixed 11-card basket, the price index is up 84% since 25 May, with roughly 10% in the last week alone.
FWIW, lots of power connectors are indeed only rated for a low number of mating cycles (only 30), not just 12VHPWR. This includes the old PCIe 8 pin (same 30 limit). Realistically you will probably not reach the rated limit.
The actual problem, I think, is that the connector could operate without being fully plugged in, especially without current balancing on the side of the card. This is an actual fire hazard, as you now get at least some connections with very high resistance, forcing extreme current on the remaining wires with low resistance connections. This is combined with the fact that the safety margin on 12VHPWR is a lot lower than that of the PCIe 8 pin (which I believe can safely carry a lot more than its 150W rating).
Yeah, the connector spec is definitely bad given the incidents we’ve seen. I was just pointing out it’s not actually the mating cycle limit that’s the issue here (especially given older connectors like the 8 pin evidently don’t have this problem, despite equivalent mating cycle ratings), but rather the rest of the spec.
FWIW, lots of power connectors are indeed only rated for a low number of mating cycles (only 30), not just 12VHPWR. This includes the old PCIe 8 pin (same 30 limit). Realistically you will probably not reach the rated limit.
The actual problem, I think, is that the connector could operate without being fully plugged in, especially without current balancing on the side of the card. This is an actual fire hazard, as you now get at least some connections with very high resistance, forcing extreme current on the remaining wires with low resistance connections. This is combined with the fact that the safety margin on 12VHPWR is a lot lower than that of the PCIe 8 pin (which I believe can safely carry a lot more than its 150W rating).
I see you start off with a bit of devils advocacy before acknowledging the risks, but this is what happens with the 12VHPWR cables:
This is not normal. This is new.
Yeah, the connector spec is definitely bad given the incidents we’ve seen. I was just pointing out it’s not actually the mating cycle limit that’s the issue here (especially given older connectors like the 8 pin evidently don’t have this problem, despite equivalent mating cycle ratings), but rather the rest of the spec.
It’s so fluffy!
Because it’s a poorly designed connector.