Don’t try this at home: Der8auer shows how to run more power through a 16-pin power connector without swapping BIOSes on ROG MATRIX RTX 5090
German overclocker Roman “der8auer” Hartung has demonstrated how to push up to 750W through a single 12V-2×6 connector on ASUS’s ROG MATRIX RTX 5090. He did this without a shunt mod or BIOS flash, by modifying the included BTF adapter rather than the graphics card itself.
Der8auer focuses on the MATRIX power configuration. The card ships with an 800W BIOS that requires both the 12V-2×6 connector and the ASUS BTF edge connector. With only the 12V-2×6 plugged in, the card is limited to 600W board power and the same goes for GC-HWPR adapter. Using a riser and a stripped-down test stand, he probes the BTF adapter contact pins and identifies the shorter “presence” pin and a ground pin, and first bridges those on the adapter. This makes the card report a connected “motherboard” in GPU Tweak, but power draw still caps at 600W, confirming that additional sense pins must be involved.
Source: Der8auer
By measuring resistance between the 12V-2×6 sense pins and the small contacts on the BTF edge, he tracks down the two sense lines used to unlock higher power limits. He then adds two more wires to the adapter, tying presence and both sense pins to ground. The BTF connector still carries no current, but the card now believes a full BTF power path is present and enables the 800W power configuration.
Source: Der8auer
With this modded adapter in place, GPU Tweak reports around 700 W board power and peaks of roughly 750 W, all through the single 12V-2×6 cable. Current per power pin exceeds 10A, the status LED near the connector turns red, and Roman notes that the cable feels warm to the touch. He stresses that this is a technical experiment, not a daily-use recommendation, since the setup pushes both connector and cable well beyond their specification. He didn’t even test the card in 3DMark later.
Source: Der8auer
Why this mod is interesting is that it leaves the ROG MATRIX RTX 5090 itself untouched and fully reversible, since only the ASUS BTF adapter is modified, no shunt mods are required here. Of course it makes no sense for daily use and basically an interesting video confirming that something is possible, perhaps usable for a single test, but not recommended for longer use. Unfortunately, gamers whose systems are prepared for vertical GPU mounting will not find an easy way to have full 800W BIOS enabled without such tricks.
Also let us remind you, this is already the fastest RTX 5090 on the market that costs $4000 . Der8auer even showcased that running custom OC settings alone gives you near 50th place in 3DMark Speed Way ranking, if that’s not enough, they maybe just wait for the RTX 6090 at this point.
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