XFX Radeon RX 9070 Series Graphics Cards at 2025 International CES

[ZoneDymo]

Like "Supplemental PCIe power" that MSI were advertising?

I guess kinda, reading up on it, to me, its kinda vague.

Like AMD when they released the RX480 it had a 6 pin connector but the card would often jump over 150 watts putting out of spec strain on the pci-e slot.
They got flack for that and did an update that fixed it.

With this MSI system claiming to be able to provide 168 watts from the slot alone...would that mean you can install an RX480 on there and just leave out the 6-pin connector?

It seems to me the boards of gpu's are made to expect power from certain regions...but either way, its nice that MSI makes some noise about this, but again, I just want the official PCI-E spec to change and be updated to deliver more power, so GPU's can be made with that in mind and just ship without extra connectors (or atleast that youdont have to hook those up to anything if you have a newer motherboard/psu etc.

 

[AusWolf]

I guess kinda, reading up on it, to me, its kinda vague.

Like AMD when they released the RX480 it had a 6 pin connector but the card would often jump over 150 watts putting out of spec strain on the pci-e slot.
They got flack for that and did an update that fixed it.

With this MSI system claiming to be able to provide 168 watts from the slot alone...would that mean you can install an RX480 on there and just leave out the 6-pin connector?

It seems to me the boards of gpu's are made to expect power from certain regions...but either way, its nice that MSI makes some noise about this, but again, I just want the official PCI-E spec to change and be updated to deliver more power, so GPU's can be made with that in mind and just ship without extra connectors (or atleast that youdont have to hook those up to anything if you have a newer motherboard/psu etc.

Or even better: let's make GPUs under 200 W a thing again! At least in the midrange.

In my opinion, an entry-level card should have no power connector, a midrange one should have an 8-pin, and a high-end one two 8-pins. We don't need the new 12-pin standard, either.

It's not because electricity is expensive (it is, but that's besides the point), but because of all the heat it dumps into your case. It's unnecessary and excessive.

 

[Macro Device]

I just want the official PCI-E spec to change and be updated to deliver more power

I even see it possible to transfer about as much as 210 W through it. Complex, expensive but possible.

 

[Jtuck9]

I guess kinda, reading up on it, to me, its kinda vague.

Like AMD when they released the RX480 it had a 6 pin connector but the card would often jump over 150 watts putting out of spec strain on the pci-e slot.
They got flack for that and did an update that fixed it.

With this MSI system claiming to be able to provide 168 watts from the slot alone...would that mean you can install an RX480 on there and just leave out the 6-pin connector?

It seems to me the boards of gpu's are made to expect power from certain regions...but either way, its nice that MSI makes some noise about this, but again, I just want the official PCI-E spec to change and be updated to deliver more power, so GPU's can be made with that in mind and just ship without extra connectors (or atleast that youdont have to hook those up to anything if you have a newer motherboard/psu etc.

I thought someone noticed it looked like it required a specific type of connector. Unless those were prototype boards floating around?!

 

[Zach_01]

that 3x 8pin connector though....

said it before and ill say it again, can we PLS update the pci-E spec so it can carry more then 75 watts? I mean its been like that for what? two decades?
make that like 300 watt if possible, so many cards would not even need extra connectors.

Ok, PCI-E slot stuck for ages at 75W, but maybe for a reason…

Making the slot 100-200W capable most likely will require more expensive board standards.
And all boards will have to follow it. Every single one of them.
Do we really want even more expensive boards?
Will that reduce the cost of GPUs because of less external connectors? They would still have the same power circuitry just redesigned to have more power from slot.
A hotter slot mind you…

And not all of 9070XTs will come with 3x8pin.
Half of them or most of them maybe.
Which means that those are close or north of 400W capability. Doesn’t mean that the 400+W will be standard. But they will have the capability with dual VBIOS and increased power limits from adrenaline.
A dual VBIOS 9070XT could easily be tuned from sub-300W to over-400W
We want more options not more cost.

I can tune my GPU from 316W up to 467W
~150W range.

There will be 2x8pin options for the mild power variants I’m sure.

 

[AusWolf]

Ok, PCI-E slot stuck for ages at 75W, but maybe for a reason…

Making the slot 100-200W capable most likely will require more expensive board standards.
And all boards will have to follow it. Every single one of them.
Do we really want even more expensive boards?
Will that reduce the cost of GPUs because of less external connectors? They would still have the same power circuitry just redesigned to have more power from slot.
A hotter slot mind you…

And not all of 9070XTs will come with 3x8pin.
Half of them or most of them maybe.
Which means that those are close or north of 400W capability. Doesn’t mean that the 400+W will be standard. But they will have the capability with dual VBIOS and increased power limits from adrenaline.
A dual VBIOS 9070XT could easily be tuned from sub-300W to over-400W
We want more options not more cost.

I can tune my GPU from 316W up to 467W
~150W range.

There will be 2x8pin options for the mild power variants I’m sure.

Only the most excessive 9070 XT models will have 3 8-pins, like the Powercolor Red Devil. Even the Hellhound has only 2.

75 W from the slot + 2x 150 W from the 8-pins is 375 W. Navi 48 looks like a relatively small chip, I doubt it needs more power. The 3 8-pins are mostly marketing, and for extreme overclocking.

 

[Daven]

In the very beginning, the makers of slot based add-on card standards never envisioned large heatsinks and fans attached to the cards. Even to this day, standard slot separation is still only 1 slot width. The modern day PC needs a complete redesign around the GPU if we continue to go down this path.

 

[Chrispy_]

LOL, 4-slot (5 if you leave room for the fans to breathe) on a mid-range GPU that's supposedly based on a 260W TDP?

Maybe it's 330W for the factory OC models, but still, 5 slots?!

 

[Zach_01]

If we accept the rumors that the reference 9070XT will be 330W then the 375W limit is too close.
7900XT reference are 300W and easily g up to 400W.

The last thing AMD needs is melted power connectors…

In the very beginning, the makers of slot based add-on card standards never envisioned large heatsinks and fans attached to the cards. Even to this day, standard slot separation is still only 1 slot width. The modern day PC needs a complete redesign around the GPU if we continue to go down this path.

More and more full ATX boards are placing m.2 slots in between 1st and 2nd PCIE slots, just for that reason. Some 2-3 slot lengths away and some even 4.

LOL, 4-slot (5 if you leave room for the fans to breathe) on a mid-range GPU that's supposedly based on a 260W TDP?

Maybe it's 330W for the factory OC models, but still, 5 slots?!

Are there 4/5slot 9070XT coolers?

I would expect top OC ones to be 3~3.5

EDIT:
typo

 

[ZoneDymo]

Or even better: let's make GPUs under 200 W a thing again! At least in the midrange.

In my opinion, an entry-level card should have no power connector, a midrange one should have an 8-pin, and a high-end one two 8-pins. We don't need the new 12-pin standard, either.

It's not because electricity is expensive (it is, but that's besides the point), but because of all the heat it dumps into your case. It's unnecessary and excessive.

yeah that is also completely true and something I wholeheartely agree with, I wish governments would actually demand this of companies or some company would grow some backbone and just state "our high end models, apart from maybe super selective overclocking record versions, will never use more then (insert number here) watts"

And then they just work in those limitations to get the best results, we know efficiency is going up with generations which is great but at the same time they also keep going up with power consumption and its just weaksauce imo.

 

[Chrispy_]

Are there 4/5slot 9070XT coolers?

Look at the pictures this thread is about!



That's a 3.9-slot cooler to me that absolutely cannot have another expansion card (or glass panel, or PSU shroud) in the 5th slot.

 

[AusWolf]

yeah that is also completely true and something I wholeheartely agree with, I wish governments would actually demand this of companies or some company would grow some backbone and just state "our high end models, apart from maybe super selective overclocking record versions, will never use more then (insert number here) watts"

And then they just work in those limitations to get the best results, we know efficiency is going up with generations which is great but at the same time they also keep going up with power consumption and its just weaksauce imo.

Power has been going up because without it, the added efficiency would give you like what... 5% extra performance? It would expose the modern GPU industry of how weak our designs are in terms of innovation in hardware (and I'm not pointing fingers on any single manufacturer here, so guys, please don't start a flame war, ok?).

 

[Zach_01]

Having an environmental concern is good and noble. But the world goes around with power. And power is around us, almost unlimited and un-utilized. We have to press technology towards more power extraction from the environment, and stop burning coal or even NG.
The Sun is unlimited power source for us.
Wind, waves…

Limiting power consumption is not the solution.
It will only lead in stagnation.

Look at the pictures this thread is about!

View attachment 379536

That's a 3.9-slot cooler to me.

that’s a 2 slot… look past and in between that QR on the right.

 

[AusWolf]

Having an environmental concern is good and noble. But the world goes around with power. And power is around us, almost unlimited and un-utilized. We have to press technology towards more power extraction from the environment, and stop burning coal or even NG.
The Sun is unlimited power source for us.
Wind, waves…

Limiting power consumption is not the solution.
It will only lead in stagnation.

I don't disagree, but that doesn't mean that graphics cards should consume more power. Also, I didn't mention environmental concerns. I was talking about heat being dumped inside of your case.

that’s a 2 slot… look past and in between that QR on the right.

View attachment 379538

How will you fit it into a mini-ITX case, then? "Slots" doesn't mean the number of screws in your back panel. It means the actual PCI-e slots that the card physically occupies.

 

[Chrispy_]

that’s a 2 slot… look past and in between that QR on the right.

View attachment 379538

Ah okay, that's what you mean.

I don't think that definition of "slot" has been relevant for a good decade or so now, and it's not how reviewers or GPU manufacturers are describing their own products any more. The more relevant definition these days seems to be the width of the GPU cooler, ignoring any breathing room for the fans, so a 3-slot card probably suffocates and overheats if, say, another identical card were put in the 4th slot.

"2.5-slot" is a common size, indicating that the IO plate only needs two slots, but that a 3rd slot would be blocked by the cooler and it won't fit in an ITX case that has a strict 2-slot width.

 

[Zach_01]

Ah okay, that's what you mean.

I don't think that definition of "slot" has been relevant for a good decade or so now, and it's not how reviewers or GPU manufacturers are describing their own products any more.

"2.5-slot" is a common size, indicating that the IO plate only needs two slots, but that a 3rd slot would be blocked by the cooler and it won't fit in an ITX case that has a strict 2-slot width.

Ok maybe the fan shroud is protruding a bit.
Maybe it’s a 2.2, 2.5 top.

But this is at least a 3slot one…

 

[AusWolf]

Ah okay, that's what you mean.

I don't think that definition of "slot" has been relevant for a good decade or so now, and it's not how reviewers or GPU manufacturers are describing their own products any more. The more relevant definition these days seems to be the width of the GPU cooler, ignoring any breathing room for the fans, so a 3-slot card probably suffocates and overheats if, say, another identical card were put in the 4th slot.

"2.5-slot" is a common size, indicating that the IO plate only needs two slots, but that a 3rd slot would be blocked by the cooler and it won't fit in an ITX case that has a strict 2-slot width.

I think even the term "2.5 slots" is dumb. There's no such thing as a half slot. The card either occupies the third slot, or it doesn't.

 

[Chrispy_]

I think even the term "2.5 slots" is dumb. There's no such thing as a half slot. The card either occupies the third slot, or it doesn't.

Agreed, but it's somewhat helpful to know for me when I'm building GPU compute servers, as even blower cards struggle for airflow if they're too tightly packed.

It's definitely less relevant for gaming since multi-GPU is dead. It's only really relevant at all to work out how much breathing room there will be for fans in an SFF or if someone wants to vertically mount the GPU next to a solid glass side panel...

 

[AusWolf]

Agreed, but it's somewhat helpful to know for me when I'm building GPU compute servers, as even blower cards struggle for airflow if they're too tightly packed.

It's definitely less relevant for gaming since multi-GPU is dead. It's only really relevant at all to work out how much breathing room there will be for fans in an SFF or if someone wants to vertically mount the GPU next to a solid glass side panel...

I know what you mean, I'm on micro-ATX myself (I don't like big and bulky systems). But I'd say, a half slot of breathing space is almost nothing. I would plan at least a full open slot for the GPU whenever possible.

Edit: On a somewhat related note, I had a Corsair 280X case with about 2 cm of free space between the two front fans and a glass panel. My current Kolink case has the same fans and a mesh front panel. You wouldn't believe how much more airflow I get in this one compared to the Corsair. That 2 cm gap was good for nothing.

 

[Chrispy_]

I know what you mean, I'm on micro-ATX myself (I don't like big and bulky systems). But I'd say, a half slot of breathing space is almost nothing. I would plan at least a full open slot for the GPU whenever possible.

Exactly. I'm thinking that a half-slot matters because most cases that have a solid panel also have maybe 5-6mm (ie, about a half-slot) of additional clearance from the motherboard tray ending to the hard wall of the side panel. so lets say you have a 3.5-slot cooler in a mATX case that is strictly 4-slots, there's probably a full slot's gap between the GPU fans and the side panel/window.

I'd be okay with a 3.5-slot card in that scenario, but not happy with a 4.0-slot card, trying to breathe through just 5-6mm of gap, if that makes sense?

 

[Zach_01]

I think even the term "2.5 slots" is dumb. There's no such thing as a half slot. The card either occupies the third slot, or it doesn't.

It’s not about slot occupation any more but size measurement. Something know in comparison with oth
You are too “by the book” kind of person.
Not bad but less flexible…

And the more I look below the more it looks weird to me this one. Looks like the IO plate is turned 180degrees.
Isn’t this up side supposed to have the fans?

 

[AusWolf]

Exactly. I'm thinking that a half-slot matters because most cases that have a solid panel also have maybe 5-6mm (ie, about a half-slot) of additional clearance from the motherboard tray ending to the hard wall of the side panel. so lets say you have a 3.5-slot cooler in a mATX case that is strictly 4-slots, there's probably a full slot's gap between the GPU fans and the side panel/window. I'd be okay with a 3.5-slot card but not a 4.0-slot card, if that makes sense?

Like I said, I know what you mean. All I'm saying is, I wouldn't be okay with that 0.5 slot clearance - it still wouldn't let my card breathe enough.

Edit: That's why I'm looking for a strictly dual slot 9070 XT. My board has the x16 in the second slot, which means I have 3 slots available, but I need the third one to let the card breathe.

It’s not about slot occupation any more but size measurement. Something know in comparison with oth
You are too “by the book” kind of person.
Not bad but less flexible…

It is about slot occupation. You can't put any other expansion card into slots taken up by the GPU, can you?

And the more I look below the more it looks weird to me this one. Looks like the IO plate is turned 180degrees.
Isn’t this up side supposed to have the fans?
View attachment 379547

The fans are behind the plastic shroud. Everything's normal as far as I see.

 

[Chrispy_]

And the more I look below the more it looks weird to me this one. Looks like the IO plate is turned 180degrees.
Isn’t this up side supposed to have the fans?
View attachment 379547

I think I can see where you're getting confused. That black thing on top isn't the backside of the card, tapered by perspective. That's looking straight on at the side profile of the MASSIVE 4-slot shroud that starts in slot 3 and finishes in slot 4.

Does this additional angle help?

(Credit to WCCF)

 

[Zach_01]

Like I said, I know what you mean. All I'm saying is, I wouldn't be okay with that 0.5 slot clearance - it still wouldn't let my card breathe enough.

Edit: That's why I'm looking for a strictly dual slot 9070 XT. My board has the x16 in the second slot, which means I have 3 slots available, but I need the third one to let the card breathe.


It is about slot occupation. You can't put any other expansion card taken up by the GPU, can you?

Past 2, even 2.1… there goes the 3rd one too!
Never said you can occupy the next in such a case.
But we are talking with slots for measurement because it’s easier to understand each other.
73… 56… 64… 40mm
Ok… and how many slots those are?

it’s convenient to say 2.5, 2.7… 3.2slots (random numbers) and more people understand the meaning.

The fans are behind the plastic shroud. Everything's normal as far as I see.

I can see the fans now…



LOL…

I’m the only crazy…

 

[AusWolf]

Past 2, even 2.1… there goes the 3rd one too!
Never said you can occupy the next in such a case.
But we are talking with slots for measurement because it’s easier to understand each other.
73… 56… 64… 40mm
Ok… and how many slots those are?

it’s convenient to say 2.5, 2.7… 3.2slots (random numbers) and more people understand the meaning.

It's more convenient to say 1, 2, 3 slots. Why complicate things that don't need to be complicated?

I can see the fans now…

View attachment 379550

LOL…

I’m the only crazy…

Are you intentionally messing with us now? Yes, the fans are where you drew the red ovals. The card is pretty much "upside down" relative to how it would sit in a normal PC case.