Thursday, July 16th 2020
The Curious Case of the 12-pin Power Connector: It's Real and Coming with NVIDIA Ampere GPUs
Over the past few days, we've heard chatter about a new 12-pin PCIe power connector for graphics cards being introduced, particularly from Chinese language publication FCPowerUp, including a picture of the connector itself. Igor's Lab also did an in-depth technical breakdown of the connector. TechPowerUp has some new information on this from a well placed industry source. The connector is real, and will be introduced with NVIDIA's next-generation "Ampere" graphics cards. The connector appears to be NVIDIA's brain-child, and not that of any other IP- or trading group, such as the PCI-SIG, Molex or Intel. The connector was designed in response to two market realities - that high-end graphics cards inevitably need two power connectors; and it would be neater for consumers to have a single cable than having to wrestle with two; and that lower-end (<225 W) graphics cards can make do with one 8-pin or 6-pin connector.
The new NVIDIA 12-pin connector has six 12 V and six ground pins. Its designers specify higher quality contacts both on the male and female ends, which can handle higher current than the pins on 8-pin/6-pin PCIe power connectors. Depending on the PSU vendor, the 12-pin connector can even split in the middle into two 6-pin, and could be marketed as "6+6 pin." The point of contact between the two 6-pin halves are kept leveled so they align seamlessly.
As for the power delivery, we have learned that the designers will also specify the cable gauge, and with the right combination of wire gauge and pins, the connector should be capable of delivering 600 Watts of power (so it's not 2*75 W = 150 W), and not a scaling of 6-pin. Igor's Lab published an investigative report yesterday with some numbers on cable gauge that helps explain how the connector could deliver a lot more power than a combination of two common 6-pin PCIe connectors.
Looking at the keying, we can see that it will not be possible to connect two classic six-pins to it. For example pin 1 is square on the PCIe 6-pin, but on NVIDIA's 12-pin is has one corner angled. It also won't be possible to use weird combinations like 8-pin + EPS 4 pin, or similar—NVIDIA made sure people won't be able to connect their cables the wrong way.
On topic of the connector's proliferation, in addition to PSU manufacturers launching new generations of products with 12-pin connectors, most prominent manufacturers are expected to release aftermarket modular cables that can plug in to their existing PSUs. Graphics card vendors will include ketchup-and-mustard adapters that convert 2x 8-pin to 1x 12-pin; while most case/power manufacturers will release fancy aftermarket adapters with better aesthetics.
Update 08:37 UTC: I made an image in Photoshop to show the new connector layout, keying and voltage lines in a single, easy to understand graphic.
Sources:
FCPowerUp (photo), Igor's Lab
The new NVIDIA 12-pin connector has six 12 V and six ground pins. Its designers specify higher quality contacts both on the male and female ends, which can handle higher current than the pins on 8-pin/6-pin PCIe power connectors. Depending on the PSU vendor, the 12-pin connector can even split in the middle into two 6-pin, and could be marketed as "6+6 pin." The point of contact between the two 6-pin halves are kept leveled so they align seamlessly.
Looking at the keying, we can see that it will not be possible to connect two classic six-pins to it. For example pin 1 is square on the PCIe 6-pin, but on NVIDIA's 12-pin is has one corner angled. It also won't be possible to use weird combinations like 8-pin + EPS 4 pin, or similar—NVIDIA made sure people won't be able to connect their cables the wrong way.
On topic of the connector's proliferation, in addition to PSU manufacturers launching new generations of products with 12-pin connectors, most prominent manufacturers are expected to release aftermarket modular cables that can plug in to their existing PSUs. Graphics card vendors will include ketchup-and-mustard adapters that convert 2x 8-pin to 1x 12-pin; while most case/power manufacturers will release fancy aftermarket adapters with better aesthetics.
Update 08:37 UTC: I made an image in Photoshop to show the new connector layout, keying and voltage lines in a single, easy to understand graphic.
178 Comments on The Curious Case of the 12-pin Power Connector: It's Real and Coming with NVIDIA Ampere GPUs
Even in 2019 there was no excuse for a card costing $350 to not have at least 8GB RAM, and the $350 founders edition was as rare as hen's teeth with all of the partner cards coming in at $370-$410. For a 6GB card? Ouch!
Without Navi, Nvidia would have continued to take the piss with such stellar values as the $600 2070FE. The "Super" lineup and price cuts were Nvidia's answer to Navi. They didn't upgrade all their shader counts and reduce prices out of the goodness of their hearts or charity, that's not how businesses run.... ;)
It's not marketing team, but product development team that failed to deliver.
AMD seems to have stopped saying things just because some kids want to hear them.AMD was also cramming more transistors into the same area on the same process, but running them at lower clocks (e.g. Polaris). It has changed with Vega/Navi.Is on other side when monopolies or, often, even duopolies are involved.
AIBs are still going for 2x8-pin,3x8-pin for the overclocking versions
Also... let's turn this around. We can moan about 6GB, but what about die size, hm? Navi is what... 255mm2. A 2060 is twice as big. Why pay nearly 400 for something with much better yields?
it's amd what need to haul assand a reference that doesn't suck
I like what nvidia are doing with FE coolers on rtx2000
it drives aib prices down.
example:
my 2070s trio is the best cooler tpu ever tested.it cost me 2560 while fe was 2400.
meanwhile 5700xt reference was 1900pln,but decent aibs were 2200 pln.
see the markup ? percentage wise it's twice as big on amd partner cards
All I read out of your example above here is that quality solutions are priced accordingly, both in Navi and Turing's cases. Navi stock cooler = shit value. AIB coolers = good value. Nvidia's FE which is also open air = good value, but not quite as good as the best tested one.
msrp on fe was 500 and on trio it was 515
entry level aibs were 500
you get the idea of "what I'm selling" ?
now check 5700xt msrp
$40 premium over a $400 card for a good aib
you pay a lower % markup on best 2070s cooler than best 5700xt coolers like nitro
15 bucks on a 500 card vs 20-40 dollars on a 400 card ?
how do I make it easier for you ?
Since when did one price statement suit reality.
www.techpowerup.com/review/powercolor-radeon-rx-5700-xt-red-devil/
www.techpowerup.com/review/msi-radeon-rx-5700-xt-gaming-x/
www.techpowerup.com/review/sapphire-radeon-rx-5700-xt-nitro/
40-50 dollar markup on a 400 card vs $15 for 2070 super trio
I read your comments, but feel the price of one card on day one means nothing to anyone now.
So I checked up , provided facts, and there you go staying calm :)
Stop grabbing at one offs like they're the law too.
but one store in one country at one given time is "the law"
good grief
you can't be taught
It was an example , your just pushing your same Nvidia best mantra with release price's, which I think ridiculous.
No need to teach or preach ,and what right anyway.
wasn't my point at all
my point was,the better the reference model,the harder aibs have to try to sell theirs.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial
The comparison to Navi reference is also unfair because Navi reference is pretty shit, its comparable to the initial FE, more so than the current one. The two aren't the same thing.
So we can be all 'oh my its so cheap compared to XYZ' but what really happens is 'you get what you pay for'.