ASRock's TempGuard sensor didn't prevent 12V-2x6 meltdown on $15k RTX PRO 6000 rig

A repair shop technician posted to Reddit that an ASRock Taichi TC-1650T power supply's 12V-2x6 connector melted on the PSU side, even with ASRock's NTC TempGuard sensor installed on the cable. The PSU was feeding a $15,000 NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition GPU. Both ends of the cable were fully seated, according to the post.

The damage was limited to the PSU-side socket — the GPU survived. The technician says the sensor sits on the cable itself, not directly at the connector junction where the heat concentrates. That placement likely explains why the temperature cutoff didn't trigger before the plastic melted.

This is another data point in the 12V-2x6 reliability debate. Native cables with sensors were supposed to close the gap on user-error failures (partial insertion, bent pins). A PSU-side melt with a seated cable and a live sensor suggests either the sensor's placement is wrong or the shutdown threshold is too conservative to catch a runaway thermal event. Either way, it didn't work here.

If you're running high-wattage cards (RTX 5090, 5080, or workstation SKUs), inspect your 12V-2x6 connectors monthly. Look for discoloration, melted plastic, or resistance when unplugging. A $1,500 PSU replacement beats a $15,000 GPU replacement. Run a system health check at BetterFPS to see if your PSU's rated capacity and efficiency tier still match your current hardware draw.