NVIDIA Confirms 12-pin GPU Power Connector
by Dr. Ian Cutress on August 26, 2020 9:00 AM EST
Today as part of a video showcasing NVIDIA’s mechanical and industrial design of its GPUs, and how it gets a large GPU to dissipate heat, the company went into some detail about how it needed to improve the design of all mechanical and electrical aspects of the board to aid cooling. This means implementing leaf springs for a back plate solution, as well as vapor chamber technology and using the right sorts of fans and fan management software.
As part of this video showcase, the company also shows its new 12-pin power connector. It also shows the 12-pin connector running perpendicular to the PCB, which is very interesting indeed.
Users who follow the tech news may have seen a few posts circling the internet regarding this 12-pin power connector, with a Seasonic cable that puts together two of the standard PCIe 8-pin connectors into one of NVIDIA’s new 12-pin designs.
Image from Hardwareluxx
NVIDIA states in the video that this 12-pin design is of its own creation. It isn’t clear if this is set to become a new standard in power cable connectivity for power supplies, however going forward we assume that most graphics cards that have this 12-pin power design will have to come with an additional 2x8-pin to 12-pin power cable included. We wait to see if that's the case, or if it will be up to future power supplies to bundle the appropriate connector.
More details about the connector are expected to appear on September 1st during NVIDIA’s GeForce Special Event.
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imaheadcase - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
Are you sure? From the picture here and on seasonic it looks like just they are normalizing the connector instead of doing the ol standard attach two 6 pin ones together.Which would make sense because most power supplies now (at least modular ones) come with TWO 6 pin connectors in the box, would would make upgrading easier for people IF its not included with card..though i'm sure it will be.
DanNeely - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
From Toms, the 12 is with a hair of being the same length as the 8.https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5YcitNp9eMSUC4VF...
Full article: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/seasonic-outs-nv...
DanNeely - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
this is the image I was looking for:https://hardforum.com/data/attachment-files/2020/0...
Lord of the Bored - Thursday, August 27, 2020 - link
" If you hook a 12 pin card up thought with 2 6 pins, you can start fires potentially "I think you've underestimated the value of fuses. The power supply should cut power if excessive current draws are seen.
That's not a "nice design addition" thing, that's a "can't legally sell it without that feature" thing. Most regulatory agencies look very dimly upon devices that run enough power through underspec'ed cables and connectors to start fires.
mode_13h - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
You might dial back the outrage a little bit, Peach. The point about mechanical stability is understandable, but higher-end graphics cards have long featured a 6-pin + 8-pin connector pair or even 2x 8-pin. I think I might've even seen a card with 3x 8-pin, but perhaps I'm imagining that.Anyway, it sounds like it's equivalent to 2x 8-pin, which really isn't moving the bar. As ATC9001 points out, it's probably more about saving board real estate, which is in keeping with its unusual orientation.
intelati - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
You're not imagining the 3x8 pin card.I distinctly remember a triple width card with 3 connections. I'm thinking it was a special halo GTX 590
intelati - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
ASUS ROG MARS IIIan Cutress - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
3x8-pin cards do exist, although they're usually AIB super powered up versions, like Powercolor's Devil 13 and things. Or overclockers that want to mod on a completely different power delivery to the GPU, those things often have 5-6x 8-pin connectors.evilpaul666 - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
"Well, that's going to break" was what I immediately thought when I saw the connector. If the photos floating around of the "3090" next to a 2080 Ti are real, then I'd like to know how big the thing would have been without that space savings.nikaru - Monday, August 31, 2020 - link
On the internet forums, one plug and unplug his GPU card on a daily basis. In real life, you put it in the motherboard and dont touch it for years.