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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catavalon21 - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
And you're sure authentic Seasonic branded adapters aren't made in China?EdgeOfDetroit - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
It _was_ a Seasonic adapter, it wasn't a knockoff. I didn't look at where it was manufactured or assembled. Bought from Newegg. The power supply was undamaged, just what it was plugged in to and the wire and the adapter.sonny73n - Friday, August 28, 2020 - link
@DigitalFreakBased on your comment, you’re most likely an American and like most Americans, you have tendency to blame others for your mistakes and problems. But the next thing you buy will still be made in China.
Quantumz0d - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
Hoping AIB cards do not push this non standard BS. Founders trash can do it and keep it for themselves.Guspaz - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
It's smaller and involves less wires going to the GPU, allowing for cleaner installations. I hope it gets adopted industry-wide. We'll probably start seeing them included with all PSUs soon.limitedaccess - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
There doesn't seem to be much will to actually iterate the very dated ATX standard as a whole. So I guess the best we can do is maybe chip away at it a little bit at a time.TheinsanegamerN - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
Largely over intertia. The gamign market is rich but also niche, it doesnt have the huge multi million sales every quarter to support a evolving standard like the smartphone market does. A big change like that would require a lot of cooperation from all PSU, mobo, and GPU AIBs to change the standard at the same time and smooth the operation out.Even then youd still have lasting demand from previous systems that need new power supplies for whatever reason. And get the motherboard manufacturers to agree tot ake on the additional complexity of including power circuitry on board, which could be an issue for mini ITX and micro ATX boards. Even full ATX boards are stuffed already.
damianrobertjones - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
"The gamign market is rich but also niche" - Blimey! It's so 'niche' that I've never heard of this 'gamign' market.DanNeely - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
Agreed. The real question is if NVidia is planning to push this to ATX to try and get it added after the fact; or going to pull proprietary BS and force AMD to come up with a different high density power plug. That in turn will result in PSU makers having to include separate NVidia and AMD power cables. A few years later the EU will beat both of them over the head with an e-waste club and force them to agree to a shared standard that will probably result in both proprietary cables being obsoleted.ikjadoon - Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - link
Technically, it's not proprietary to NVIDIA. It's actually a 12-pin Molex Micro-fit 3.0 connector. It's readily available even on Amazon (not bulk pricing).Molex Micro-Fit 3.0™ dual row (12 Circuits) Male & Female receptacle plug, w/Terminal sockets, (Pack of 1 Complete Set) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0799GQR6G/ref=cm_sw_r_c...
But, agreed. This should be pushed to ATX. Perhaps all these changes can be bundled into the ATX12VO standard.
If more compact Micro-Fit 3.0 is available, let's bring it to the entire ATX plug set.