YouTube channel TecLab has just built the world’s first GeForce RTX 5090 with 8-pin power connectors. Swapping out the 16-pin design that continues to melt both graphics cards and power supplies, the Brazilian tech team has managed to get the Blackwell flagship running reliably with just three 8-pin sockets.
Bringing this modification to life was no small feat, with a super high-end Galax HOF OC LAB XOC card featuring two 16-pin connectors serving as TecLab’s base. After stripping back the card to its PCB, the team soldered three 8-pin connections, rewired the on-board sense pins to ensure maximum power load, and strapped on a custom GPU die-cooling system for good measure.
8-pin power cables carry an official limit of 150W, but the actual maximum capacity is much higher, as TecLab proved via its trio of wires. In an hour-long livestream (embedded above), the team is able to raise peak power all the way up to 900W, double the 450W maximum you’d expect from this array.
Importantly, there were no alarming deviations in current or temperature during this process, which you’ll typically see from faulty 16-pin cables. Temperatures across the 8-pin wires peaked at a reasonable 35°C, despite the graphics card pulling a whopping 120A and running at 3,400MHz.
To further demonstrate the higher resilience of 8-pin connectors, TecLab ran the RTX 5090 with just two cables. Power draw and clock speeds fell to 66A and 3,200MHz, respectively, but the card continued to work without issue. The channel went a step further with a single connection, pushing these values to just 65A and 3,100MHz, with wire temperatures peaking at a toastier 65°C.
While this Frankenstein’s monster of a graphics card certainly isn’t usable in a standard case, the design does highlight that there is potentially room for 8-pin designs across the GeForce RTX 50 series lineup. Following our own experience with melting 16-pin connectors, I’d certainly be up for trading convenience for reliability.
Check out Fahd’s list of the best graphics cards without 12V-2×6 connectors, if you’re understandably hesitant to make the switch to a 16-pin design.
