MSI Afterburner adds 16-pin power connector warning for its MPG AI PSUs — new update could save your expensive GPU from melting

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: MSI

Last month, MSI unveiled its new power supplies at CES 2026 that included two models with GPU Safeguard+. This feature pops up a warning on your computer if something is wrong with your GPU, aiming to protect high‑power cards like the RTX 5080 and RTX 5090 from overheating or worse.

GPU Safeguard+ Overview

• Supported PSUs: MPG Ai1300TS and MPG Ai1600TS.
• Non‑plus models: MAG A1200PLS and MAG A1000PLS have the basic GPU Safeguard, which still sounds an audible alarm but lacks the Afterburner‑synced pop‑up.
• Protection mechanism: All four units can lower a card’s power limit to 75 % and load a predefined emergency profile automatically, preventing overheating or potential fire hazards.

Afterburner Update Adds 16‑Pin Power Connector Warning

The latest MSI Afterburner update introduces a PSU.dll monitoring plugin that:

• Connects to the smart MPG Ai series PSUs.
• Reads telemetry data (voltage, temperature) from the power supply.
• Communicates with Afterburner to display on‑screen warnings and trigger audible alerts when abnormal current is detected on the 12 V 2×6 (16‑pin) connector.

This protection works for both Nvidia and AMD GPUs that use the 16‑pin connector, as detailed in a related incident involving a scorched 16‑pin connector on an AMD card.

Additional Support for RTX 5090 LIGHTNING Series

Alongside the new safety features, the update also adds full compatibility with MSI’s RTX 5090 LIGHTNING series GPUs, which are targeted at extreme overclocking scenarios.

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