Whilst being more powerful than even before, current gen GPUs are known to be very power hungry. The most powerful gaming GPU out there, the Nvidia RTX 3090 is already rated to gulp around 350W of power and it is said to go even higher with Nvidia’s RTX 40 Series GPUs just around the corner.
Seeing this Intel has unveiled two new ATX12VO 2.0 and ATX 3.0 standards for upcoming PSUs (Power Supply Units) that will include a new connector for GPUs that is rated to support up to 600 watts of power.
The new 12VHPWR connector that offers a 12+4-pin configuration is rated to supply power ranging for 150W to as high as 600W to an add-on card, like a GPU, using 12 rails which refers to a single voltage provided by a PSU. Additionally, the new connector also has four pins to communicate the power limit a PSU can stream to any PCIe 5.0-compliant add-in-board i.e. GPU, PCIe Capture card and so on.
While the introduction of a new standard also means that the cost of new power supplies is likely to go up, Intel states that “Power supplies based on the ATX 3.0 and ATX12VO 2.0 standards will ensure anyone looking to get the most stable and cost optimized performance possible with highest power efficiency out of their desktop PCs will be able to do so” which means it will offer benifits to new customers but in the long run.
This also implies that we can expect the power requirements of upcoming graphics cards to climb even higher in the coming years which is a bummer as more power consumption always leads to more heat generated which in turn asks for more cooling and airflow.
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What do you think about the new power supply connector that will be powering the next-gen GPUs? Let us know in the comments section below. Until then stay tuned to Oyprice and join us on Telegram, Facebook, or Twitter for more tech news like this.
