News Asus Reportedly Mass Producing Cable-Free GPUs

[thestryker]

The problem isn't simply people moving the video card around, the problem is people not sure if the connector is secured in place, which is independent of how you move the video card around.

Uh... sure... all you have to do is plug it in all the way which is probably why no reviewer had a card go up except on purpose.

You can fudge up a 12VHPwr install on a motherboard just as badly as a video card. And depending on how much clearance there is on the right side of the case, it could make things as bad if not worse depending on what sort of weird angles the cable has to bend to or if the act of moving the panel around with the cable rubbing up against it could wiggle it around.

Only if you're incapable of plugging a cable in can you mess it up at all. Regular cases aren't compatible with any of the backside power motherboards (they're located on an edge) so there's no weird bending needed. There's also more room between the motherboard and side panel than there is video card and side panel on a regular install. You're also never moving the motherboard with the cables plugged in.

 

[Eximo]

Something is fishy here. I understand you can add a power connector to the motherboard to provide power to a card when it is docked. But where does that power come from? Seems like it will require the motherboard to have additional power cables from a power supply to provide additional power to the motherboard, then bigger power planes to deliver that power to the PCIe card slots. The connector really isn't gone, it is just moved to the motherboard. Right? So there's no real benefit.

The benefit is appearances, that is the whole concept and the only significant advantage.

Heavy power planes are not new. You can look at how pretty much any hot swappable power supply has been built. Generally a circuit board that then connects to cables, or straight into the main board of the server/computer.

Not to mention the 12VO standard which moves 5V and 3.3V production to the motherboard and also requires significant power planes. (And proprietary 12VO standards like Dell and HP)

Yes, it moves the power cable to the motherboard. There are already common cable management options there in most chassis, whereas with GPUs the ideal spot for a cable tends to move. In my build there is a cut out for the GPU power cables, but it is off just a little that it angles down rather than going straight down. And that will vary with each GPU and the number of cables.

 

[hotaru.hino]

Uh... sure... all you have to do is plug it in all the way which is probably why no reviewer had a card go up except on purpose.

Again, what does that have to do with moving the video card around? I plug my cables in after it's installed and secured, so it's not moving anyway. I'm pretty sure most people do this too.

Regular cases aren't compatible with any of the backside power motherboards (they're located on an edge) so there's no weird bending needed.

?

If they're not compatible, by which I mean you can't access the connectors in any form or fashion because the motherboard tray is in the way, then how do you plug in the cable?

There's also more room between the motherboard and side panel than there is video card and side panel on a regular install. You're also never moving the motherboard with the cables plugged in.

I would argue there's about as much room, if not less in most cases. There's barely enough clearance to route a 24-pin cable in my case (A Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact). Also if the if the cable is rubbed up against the side panel, it can still shift unless the panel plops right on. A lot of cases I've worked with require that side panel to be nudged backwards, then it can pop out.

 

[thestryker]

If they're not compatible, by which I mean you can't access the connectors in any form or fashion because the motherboard tray is in the way, then how do you plug in the cable?

You buy a case that's compatible with backside power connections? Have you not seen the motherboards with these connectors before? The connectors are all along the edges of the motherboards which means you absolutely need a case designed for them whether they are angled connectors or straight.

MSI, Maxsun Make Back-Connector Motherboards Based on Asus's DIY-APE Standard

Hide all your motherboard cables behind your case.

www.tomshardware.com

MSI's Computex Boards Include Project Zero with Rear Connectors and Z790 Max Refreshes

A new USB4 expansion card may come with some of the motherboards.

www.tomshardware.com

Enermax Case Supports Both Rear-Connected and Standard Motherboards

The Cable Master 20 is the first we've seen that can work with both types.

www.tomshardware.com

I would argue there's about as much room, if not less in most cases. There's barely enough clearance to route a 24-pin cable in my case (A Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact). Also if the if the cable is rubbed up against the side panel, it can still shift unless the panel plops right on. A lot of cases I've worked with require that side panel to be nudged backwards, then it can pop out.

Your case made the sacrifice of usable cable routing so it could be smaller. Most current cases have an inch or more of space for cable routing and as you can see from the Enermax case in the above link you'd never be able to use backside connectors on a case that cuts corners here period. Compare this to the room a 4090 leaves for the 12VHPWR connector when installed in most cases and you should be able to see what I'm getting at.