Report: ASUS to Start Production of GPUs With No External Power Connectors

[AleksandarK]

We witnessed an exciting concept during the Computex 2023 show in late May. ASUS has developed a GPU without an external power connector called GC_HPWR. Unlike current solutions, this connection type doesn't require additional cables. Using the GC_HPWR means that power is being supplied directly from the motherboard and that these special-edition GPUs also require special-edition motherboards. Thanks to the latest information from the Bilibili content creator Eixa Studio, attending Bilibili World 2023 exhibition in Shanghai, China, we have information that ASUS is preparing mass production of these zero-cable GPU solutions. Scheduled to enter mass production in Fall, ASUS plans to deliver these GPUs and accompanying motherboards before the year ends.

Additionally, it is worth noting that the motherboard lineup is called Back To Future (BTF), and the first GPU showcased was the GeForce RTX 4070 Megalodon. The PSU connectors are placed on the back side of the BTF board, while the CG_HPWR connector sits right next to the PCIe x16 expansion slot and looks like a PCIe x1 connector. You can see images of both products below.



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[Assimilator]

These boards require custom chassis so there's no way this is going to enter mass production, unless other vendors sign on to what is effectively a proprietary standard - and I don't see that happening.

But that isn't an oversight from ASUS, it's a choice. A proprietary motherboard means you need a proprietary GPU, which locks you into the ASUS ecosystem. (Sure you can use a standard GPU with external power connectors, but why would you once you've bought into this concept?) Dell and the other OEMs figured this out decades ago and it seems ASUS wants a piece of that pie. Of course that goes against the openness and wide compatibility that the PC form factor engenders, but hey, who cares about that when you can make money selling shiny turds to idiots?

 

[Broken Processor]

I like innovation but unless this is a standard agreed by all motherboard and GPU manufacturers and they are all going to be making parts and not charging a huge premium I'd never buy this platform because I'd be afraid of being locked in to a manufacturer.

 

[Vya Domus]

Good initiative, time to get rid of this power connector shit show.

 

[KrazyT]

Yes, why not, but as the others says it must became a standard amongst the manufacturers and not a proprietary design
I like the idea !

 

[Assimilator]

Good initiative, time to get rid of this power connector shit show.

Yes, because moving it to the board is "getting rid of it".

 

[Chrispy_]

Moving the dubious power connector to the back of the board doesn't solve anything, it's just adds one additional connector to the entire system.

As for this proprietary GPU that only works in a proprietary board that only works in a proprietary case, there are no pre-built reviews that praise the concept. AFAIK, it's a massive point of criticism that does nothing apart from lock customers into overpriced, under-available parts and generate e-waste.

Step one, if ASUS want to do this - is make an open standard, release it to the industry for royalty-free use, and sponsor a few case manufacturers to produce ATX-compatible cases that also work with Asus's new standard.

 

[claes]

A few manufacturers showed cases that support this, search diy-ape iirc

The power plugs from the PSU still exist, they're just out of sight.
Hiding a problem out of sight is only a solution if you're an idiot.

Maybe you’re an idiot, or maybe you have a solution to cables?

 

[ixi]

For additional at least 100€ - No thanks. And neither do I look at PC when I'm using it.

 

[jabbadap]

Well that would be the end of short "ITX cards"...

 

[OverFlow]

this is not a solution - this is a whole new can of problems... we do not need it we do not want to pay for it.... yes you and I will pay for this dumb idea

 

[Deleted member 185088]

We definitely need some sort of standard for this.

 

[Bomby569]

From a business perspective this is genius, it makes everything obsolete, so sell more units even for people that functionally has no need to upgrade. The market is stagnant, price hikes are not working and are destroying sales, so make changes and more changes, create obsolescence, charge premium, at least the whales should give them more money.

From a consumer perspective this is a nightmare, no standard, incompatible cases, incompatibility between mobos and gpus, a lot of people will be confused and buy wrong parts not being able to fit them together.

Mobos should get even more expensive, the cost of not seeing a cable i guess. I have no issue with the cables, charge me less please and milk the idiots.

 

[ZoneDymo]

again...update the PCI-E spec, allow that to give a LOT more power then 75 watts.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Industry standards is the reason why we're still using the ATX form factor some 28 years after its inception. Not that the AT motherboard form factor didn't manage to live for around 20 years, but if we're going to change things, this isn't enough, as the ATX form factor is getting too long in the tooth and making some minor changes to where the ports are located, doesn't solve those problems. The industry needs to sit down and agree on a proper, new standard for PC components that makes sense and that solves cooling and power delivery in a sensible way.
BTX was a failure because it solved an Intel only problem at the time, but we're now at a point where we're having the same problem, pretty much and need something that solves it, as no-one really wants 1kg+ coolers in their PC.

 

[Magician]

As the comments above mention, a new standard where the power cables are hidden would be pretty neat (pun not intended). But as a proprietary solution, hard pass (unless I was building a showcase pc or something)

 

[zlobby]

This is doomed to fail.

 

[Parn]

Good concept especially for ITX builds. However unless this becomes an industrial standard where all mobo/GPU manufacturers sign up to, no thanks I don't want to be locked into some sort of premium Asus ecosystem.

 

[Chomiq]

No way this isn't going to result in increased motherboard cost.

 

[Dimitriman]

 

[Fishymachine]

This will likely fail, but it's an interesting anti-sag mechanism

 

[Minus Infinity]

Asucks doesn't think ROG boards cost enough I presume.

 

[Deleted member 232534]

i could have psu/case cables routed in the back,

if it was same price why not,

 

[Chaitanya]

i could have psu/case cables routed in the back,

if it was same price why not,


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View attachment 306359

If its same price and all board makers have standardised locations for connectors so case makers can punch holes consistently in their SKUs. Else its just a passing fad bound to fail.

 

[Assimilator]

Industry standards is the reason why we're still using the ATX form factor some 28 years after its inception. Not that the AT motherboard form factor didn't manage to live for around 20 years, but if we're going to change things, this isn't enough, as the ATX form factor is getting too long in the tooth and making some minor changes to where the ports are located, doesn't solve those problems. The industry needs to sit down and agree on a proper, new standard for PC components that makes sense and that solves cooling and power delivery in a sensible way.
BTX was a failure because it solved an Intel only problem at the time, but we're now at a point where we're having the same problem, pretty much and need something that solves it, as no-one really wants 1kg+ coolers in their PC.

Absolutely. I believe that given how they f**ked up BTX, Intel doesn't deserve to be the authority over the ATX spec in any way - neither the physical form factor (motherboards and chassis), nor PSU rails and output. But we can leave the latter alone for now because it still holds up mostly okay.

What we need is for a whole bunch of players who actually care about this - not Intel, but the motherboard, GPU, PSU, cooler, and case manufacturers - into a room to discuss this and just throw some s**t at the wall and see what sticks, refine it down until they've got a consensus on how they want parts to be shaped and how they fit together, and then present it to the rest of the industry and see how much interest they get. If there's a wide enough agreement then they can release their design as a royalty-free spec, and everyone can just go ahead with building out components utilising this new standard.

To avoid the "too many cooks" approach we should keep this initial working group small (five or six companies), limited to those that have shown interest in innovating in this space. Off the top of my head that would be ASUS (chassis, mobo, GPU), MSI (chassis, mobo) and Corsair (PSU). On top of those we'd want a cooler manufacturer that actually designs coolers, not just rebadges them (so maybe one of the OEMs). Then at least one dedicated chassis manufacturer, although I can't think of one I'd consider innovative per se.