$4000 limited edition card does not support all 16-pin power cables by design
ASUS has issued a response to the ROG Matrix Platinum GeForce RTX 5090 30th Anniversary Edition power connector complaint. The company says the connector’s off-center placement is intentional. The issue surfaced after a buyer said their card arrived with the 12V-2×6 socket shifted to the right relative to the cooler cutout. They claim that leaves too little clearance to plug in the cable.
Official response from Asus:
“After review by our engineering team, the non-centered positioning of the power connector is part of the original product design, determined based on overall structural and electrical layout considerations.”
The 12V-2×6 needs to be fully inserted, especially on such a high-end model like the RTX 5090. If the cooler frame blocks the housing even slightly, the connector may not seat correctly. That is a problem on a model that ASUS markets around a “dual power input” path, where the card can draw up to 800W when paired with a compatible BTF setup and a 12V-2×6 cable. The Redditor who brought this issue to light can’t use the card at the advertised 800W, and may not be able to use it at all if he doens’t have a BTF motherboard.
This lands on top of earlier reports that ASUS temporarily delayed shipments to partners while it worked on product changes, then said availability would resume. ASUS has not linked that delay to this connector complaint.
Source: ASUS
If ASUS says the offset is intentional, the next question is simple: what cable and what clearance should buyers plan for in a normal case? And why is there no information that the connector is misaligned by design and what power cables are supported? So far, ASUS has not provided those practical details, and the response comes off as evasive for a $3,999 limited card.
Honestly, it seems like ASUS has focused on influencer coverage this time around, I have definitely seen more reviews than reports from actual users who actually paid $4000 for this GPU. But not all money is list, Redditor “Adrenaline424” later said, while ASUS denied any defect exists, they confirmed the card is still within the 30-day return window. The buyer says they will return the card. Happy 30th ASUS GPU anniversary to Redditor, I guess.
Source: Reddit
