News Asus Demos RTX 4070 GPU With Zero Power Connectors

[Admin]

Asus is working on a concept GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card that doesn't require any power cables.

Asus Demos RTX 4070 GPU With Zero Power Connectors : Read more

 

[Deleted member 2731765]

On the other hand, MSI is taking a more practical/novel approach by introducing "coloured" 12VHPWR cables. This idea and concept sounds pretty good though.

They are supplying coloured 12VHPWR connectors that use bright yellow plastic terminals. This coloured plastic is only visible when the cable is not fully connected to the 12VHPWR connector on your power supply or graphics card, so we can easily spot if the cables are incorrectly seated.

NOT connected properly. Yellow color is visible here.

Fully connected properly:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1WLq4arovo&t=2s

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

That looks very cool, and minimalist in terms of garish cabling.

I also liked the PSU rotated by 90 degrees article. I think innovation is good, but not just for the sake of it. I hope more manufacturers think a little outside the box, instead of the same old, same old!!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

That's a nice touch. I don't know though, if it's as clean looking as the Asus look.

Here's a pic of my own innards, and I would love to get that cable out of there.

https://imgur.com/zx5sZr3

View: https://imgur.com/zx5sZr3
. Taking that power cable out, and somehow making the AIO pipes sit hidden (I can still dream . Still cleaner look IMO.

 

[Nazosan]

I'm a bit concerned that this is potentially a really bad idea for the simple reason that this means all that power is running through the motherboard. Even assuming dedicated pathways it adds more complexity and more points for something to go wrong. Many GPUs can easily hit power draws as high as 20 amps or more and that's why they normally would have a direct power connection to the PSU itself. After all, the motherboard already provides a pretty fair bit of power to the PCI-E slots -- enough to power lower end videocards directly -- but sets a limit for a good reason. Even with dedicated separate pathways, we're talking many amps going through, and ultimately crossing paths (I'm assuming a multi-layered board of course.) The only way I can see this not being potentially a pretty big problem is if the board has a separate plug dedicated just to GPU power that connects as closely to the card's location as possible. Which... kind of defeats the entire purpose anyway.

 

[slurmsmckenzie]

The only way I can see this not being potentially a pretty big problem is if the board has a separate plug dedicated just to GPU power that connects as closely to the card's location as possible. Which... kind of defeats the entire purpose anyway.

I think I read that this custom motherboard has some connectors at the back so maybe that is the idea, to keep things looking neat? I'm not fussed about that personally though, as long as cables don't mess with airflow too much I don't mind what they look like as I don't have them on display!

 

[Amdlova]

Nice now will melt the cpu the motherboard and the graphics...
Easy way to rma the case for asus.

 

[btmedic04]

looks like asus is pushing the boundaries one potential house fire at a time. no thanks, never asus again

 

[Nazosan]

I think I read that this custom motherboard has some connectors at the back so maybe that is the idea, to keep things looking neat? I'm not fussed about that personally though, as long as cables don't mess with airflow too much I don't mind what they look like as I don't have them on display!

I have no doubt that this is to look neat, yes. It's also just a bit more convenient not having to run cords through to the GPU (might even help a tiny tiny bit with airflow, though usually they're pretty small except on dual power input GPUs.) Still, we're talking about potentially in excess of 50A passing through that board at times and even if it's split up pretty well that sounds like trouble brewing to me.

 

[tamalero]

On the other hand, MSI is taking a more practical/novel approach by introducing "coloured" 12VHPWR cables. This idea and concept sounds pretty good though.

They are supplying coloured 12VHPWR connectors that use bright yellow plastic terminals. This coloured plastic is only visible when the cable is not fully connected to the 12VHPWR connector on your power supply or graphics card, so we can easily spot if the cables are incorrectly seated.

NOT connected properly. Yellow color is visible here.

Fully connected properly:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1WLq4arovo&t=2s

As long ASUS's software doesnt f.. up and overvolts too much and fries the connector, the card and the motherboard.

 

[BillyBuerger]

As someone who likes to avoid cable clutter, I think this is an interesting idea. Although I'm not sold on the power connectors on the back. You could still have the GPU power on the motherboard with a direct supply to the GPU power connector. It's interesting at least.

As for the concern about the power running through the motherboard, that's exactly what is happening on the GPU already. All that current is passing through the GPU PCB from the power connector to the VRMs to feed the GPU. So doing the same thing on the MB doesn't sound like a huge deal to me. Not to mention server CPUs pull some crazy high power as well and they have to do so through the MB PCB as well. This isn't unheard of and can work. Although yes, it does mean more points of failure on the MB. But the 12VHPWR connector has shown that not putting this power on the motherboard has issues as well. Having 3x 8-pin (or maybe a single 20pin ?) connectors on the motherboard for GPU power would be easier to work with than the 12VHPWR or having 3x 8-pin power connectors on the GPU.

 

[PlaneInTheSky]

there's 600 watt going to go through those tiny pins?

woah, just a matter of time before something goes wrong

 

[Amdlova]

600w at 12v is a small car batery. You can melt some wrenches with this power. (the power supply have protection) but not see that on melting cpus and graphics Connectors 🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[BillyBuerger]

there's 600 watt going to go through those tiny pins?

woah, just a matter of time before something goes wrong

Most of the connector is one large "pin", not a bunch of tiny pins. Also, per my previous comment, the connector doesn't look that much different than what hot-swap server PSUs use and they push 1KW+ through those connectors. So again, this isn't without precedent.

 

[bigdragon]

I do appreciate how much cleaner the slotted power connector makes the inside of the case. I think the industry can implement this idea in a non-proprietary way. I would prefer the power plug be moved to the motherboard side of the GPU and a cutout/notch be added to the motherboard to allow space for the existing power cables to fit through. The idea of running all that power through the board instead of dedicated wires doesn't seem like a good idea. Also, being locked into the Asus ecosystem is a hard no given their QC and warranty issues.

 

[EMsky]

A neat idea. But what will happen with the GPU sag from a massive 4 slot cooler? Will it snap the connector, causing the power pins to touch each other, thus, turning into a mini arc wielder? How many people will assume that the connector would be the perfect thing to keep a 4 slot gpu from sagging and not add in the hardware to keep it from sagging?

 

[lmcnabney]

As others have said - pushing that much power through those thin traces on 6-7 layer boards is just asking for trouble. We now have active cooling on the speediest M.2 drives. Will the entire board need better ventilation to dissipate the extra heat that these thin traces will shed?

 

[tamalero]

Most of the connector is one large "pin", not a bunch of tiny pins. Also, per my previous comment, the connector doesn't look that much different than what hot-swap server PSUs use and they push 1KW+ through those connectors. So again, this isn't without precedent.

Well.. they put more attention and quality on datacenter than consumer.. so theres that

 

[Eximo]

Apple did this with the last Intel Mac Pros. Longer cards with power planes just like server power supplies as mentioned. What Apple also had was motherboard PCIe dongles for non-Apple expansion cards. So the best of both worlds.

The only issue is that you are going to get people that buy the wrong type or buy a chassis that isn't EATX friendly and their motherboard won't fit.

 

[edzieba]

there's 600 watt going to go through those tiny pins?

woah, just a matter of time before something goes wrong

Nah, card-edge connectors are pretty common for workstation PSUs (so swapping a dead PSU is as simple as sliding the old one out the back and the new one right in again), and those can easily push north of 1000W over a strip of PCB narrower than a PCIe card-edge.

12V 600W is 50A, so a 10mm^2 conductor area is more than sufficient. If you assume a 20mm wide connector and 2oz Cu layers that's 8 layers needed (w/ via stitching), and most boards nowadays are 10-layer to handle the PCIe 5.0 traces. Wider traces = fewer layers (or thinner Cu) needed.