A new form of power supply for graphics cards is pending, as the 12VHPWR connector with PCIe 5.0 must also come in accordance with the ATX 3.0 standard. Instead of connecting several 6- or 8-pin cables, in the future only one connector may be sufficient for the required power. But that means you need a new power supply if you want to buy a next-generation AMD or Nvidia graphics card.
We already reported in October last year about the new 12VHPWR connector, which will debut in future GPU generations with the PCI-Express 5.0 standard. Although graphics cards are becoming more efficient, they are somehow more power-hungry in terms of power consumption. So that you don’t have to pack four or more 8-pin connectors on a graphics card in the future, the tech industry seems to have a new connector on its starting blocks.
Answers the plug name “12VHPWR” (12 Volt High Power) And probably for the first time on Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 series As well as AMD’s Radeon RX 7000 graphics card Since Intel is responsible for setting the ATX standard, among other things, the desktop versions of Arch GPUs will likely have new connections as well – but that’s currently just speculation.
Power: 600 watts max from a plug
As the official documentation from Intel shows, the new connector Specified in four performance levels. According to the ATX version 3.0 guide, the connector can Up to 600 watts max distribution, but only provides 150, 300 or 450 watts. This is made possible by a binary configuration of Sense0 and Sense1 sideband signals.
When both signals are grounded, the GPU is initially supplied with 375 watts at system startup and a maximum of 600 watts as continuous power according to software configuration. When both signals are “open”, the graphics card receives 100 watts initially and 150 watts maximum (see graphic).
However, the new 12VHPWR connector is not “compatible” with previous standards (ie 6-pin and 8-pin). The connection is total 12 contacts for power transmission My max is 9.2 Amps including temperature monitoring and four additional contacts for “sideband” signals. In addition, the distance between individual pins is 3 mm, which is much smaller than the 4.2 mm of previous ATX connectors.
Meanwhile, PCI-SIG, the PCI Express standard’s specification consortium, has announced that the ATX 3.0 standard can and will do without 12VHPWR connectors. However, in this context, a warning is also given against the use of adapters, which will then become necessary.
as Wccftech Reportedly, there can be uneven load distribution and critical temperatures – which can also be a fire hazard. Because the 6/8-pin connector can (theoretically) deliver a maximum of 75 or 150 watts, but up to 600 watts is possible with the 12VHPWR connector. Even a 3-way adapter (ie 3x 8-pin to 1x 12VHPWR) can exceed the specification with a load of 450 or even 600 watts.
Plans for new power supply are already in place
Power supply manufacturers are already preparing and equipping for the new standard The first model is already with fresh connections From, for example from Seasonic with the new Prime model or from MSI with MEG Ai1300P PCIe5. Other companies may follow in the next few months, and so will likely more details about the ATX 3.0 standard.
It is currently unclear which graphics cards from AMD, Nvidia or Intel will have the new connector. The RTX 3090 Ti, which is still a long time coming, was already considered a contender for the first GPU with a 12VHPWR connection. It remains to be seen whether the 12-to-4-pin connector will be available only on reference cards or custom models.
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