ASUS Demoes GeForce RTX 4070 with No External Power Connector

[AleksandarK]

During the Computex 2023 show, ASUS had some interesting designs to showcase. Specifically, ASUS has made a GeForce RTX 4070 GPU concept without an external power connector. With NVIDIA's reference 16-pin power connector melting due to an insufficient connection, ASUS has decided to experiment by removing the connector from its GPU and placing the power source as an extra bus connector on the motherboard. Called GeForce RTX 4070 Megalodon, ASUS has made a custom power connector that goes hand-in-hand with the ASUS TUF Gaming Z790 BTF motherboard that supports this connector, and the PSU cables go on the backside of the board.

Similarly to NVIDIA's 16-pin 12VHPWR connector, this custom design is also rated for up to 600 Watts of power delivery. This results in a design that facilities the user error of not correctly pushing the 16-pin connector and causing melting. For now, the connector is referred to as GC_HPWR, but there will be an official name at launch as the company plans mass production of this concept. You can see the design of the RTX 4070 Megalodon alongside the accompanying ASUS TUF Gaming Z790 BTF motherboard.



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[Outback Bronze]

Cool! Nice clean build there with fairly powerful GPU. Impressed.

Asus will prob charge like a wounded bull though : (

 

[MagnuTron]

mITX boards: *cries in FOMO*

 

[kondamin]

Looks like a lot of power to push trough the pcb.

 

[Kyan]

Why a second article on the subject and not an update of the first one ? Did i miss something ?

 

[progste]

All that power going through PCI will be an issue..

edit: or I guess maybe it's fine if they designed that power connector properly? Though that raises compatibility issues for future swaps or replacements, not to mention what a nightmare it could be if your case doesn't have just the right cut-outs to fit the cables.

Maybe it could become a standard in the future but it looks more like a gimmick.

 

[Chaitanya]

just shifting the fire hazard.

 

[Ferrum Master]

Already has bent fans pins.

 

[Wirko]

just shifting the fire hazard.

uhm, and duplicating it - now the amps flow through one more connector

 

[Chrispy_]

So this Asus overpriced GPU is incompatible with every other motherboard on the planet, except certain overpriced Asus ones?

F*ck standards, let's make a huge mess and con dumb people out of their money with something proprietary that is unlikely to get any adoption or continued support from Asus!

It's not dissimilar to the MSI motherboard with all the connectors on the reverse, meaning it's incompatible with all the cases on the market, except MSI's, of course.

 

[A Computer Guy]

just shifting the fire hazard.

Burning PCB has a really really terrible smell.

 

[KrazedOmega]

So this Asus overpriced GPU is incompatible with every other motherboard on the planet, except certain overpriced Asus ones?

F*ck standards, let's make a huge mess and con dumb people out of their money with something proprietary that is unlikely to get any adoption or continued support from Asus!

It's not dissimilar to the MSI motherboard with all the connectors on the reverse, meaning it's incompatible with all the cases on the market, except MSI's, of course.

It's almost like these are just concepts of things that may be implemented in the future if there's a market/want for them...

 

[mechtech]

No power connector……should have made a low profile sleeper card.

 

[AusWolf]

This should be standardised.

 

[nomdeplume]

You can see the design of the RTX 4070 Megalodon alongside the accompanying ASUS TUF Gaming Z790 BTF motherboard.

Thank you for getting photos of this long drawn out revision of their boards that apparently involves an out of spec revision to PCIe to accommodate an equally out of spec GPU power standard.

Any evidence of the accompanying case designs would be greatly appreciated if possible. TPU staff are accomplished enough in their chosen field to determine outlooks on any design presented as it acts in the physical world where, among other things, cooling and daily usage are a necessity.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's almost like these are just concepts of things that may be implemented in the future if there's a market/want for them...

Even the concept is an insult; walled-garden proprietary nonsense instead of a nice compatible standard that ensures compatibility and keeps pricing in check through healthy competition.
All concepts are proprietary in some way, in that they do something we don't have an established solution/standard for, but this concept isn't that.

The thing about ATX motherboards and PCIe graphics cards is that they all work because there are already standards. You can take just about any graphics card and plug it into just about any motherboard. That's why motherboards and GPUs are commodity items. Asus just pissed on all that for the sake of vanity, and unless they opensource this connector, they're just segementing the market in a way that literally only hurts those who buy into this ecosystem. Now we have a unique graphics card that only works in a unique motherboard, all because they wanted to move a PCIe power cable from the GPU to the motherboard, also doubling complexity and risk.

There are zero benefits to this. You don't even hide the cable, it's just moved to the board. What did Asus do with the space they saved on the GPU by moving the connector? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

 

[wheresmycar]

If the external power connector is problematic why not just improve/replace the connector design with something better. Through the glass, i visually appreciate custom sleeved power cables hanging from the GPU - adds character!

 

[THU31]

What kind of case do you need to use this type of motherboard?

 

[A Computer Guy]

What kind of case do you need to use this type of motherboard?

It looks like standard ATX mounting holes. If you have a deep enough space behind the motherboard tray in your case you might be able to Dremel out some new cutouts with a cutting wheel.

 

[HBSound]

Could we see some new Threadripper Pro Motherberboards in the small formats - MATX??? I am dreaming out loud.

 

[AusWolf]

Even the concept is an insult; walled-garden proprietary nonsense instead of a nice compatible standard that ensures compatibility and keeps pricing in check through healthy competition.
All concepts are proprietary in some way, in that they do something we don't have an established solution/standard for, but this concept isn't that.

The thing about ATX motherboards and PCIe graphics cards is that they all work because there are already standards. You can take just about any graphics card and plug it into just about any motherboard. That's why motherboards and GPUs are commodity items. Asus just pissed on all that for the sake of vanity, and unless they opensource this connector, they're just segementing the market in a way that literally only hurts those who buy into this ecosystem. Now we have a unique graphics card that only works in a unique motherboard, all because they wanted to move a PCIe power cable from the GPU to the motherboard, also doubling complexity and risk.

There are zero benefits to this. You don't even hide the cable, it's just moved to the board. What did Asus do with the space they saved on the GPU by moving the connector? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

The only thing Asus did wrong, imo, is they didn't make efforts to standardise the technology. I think this looks clean and neat, not to mention not having to bother with the cable when swapping GPUs, and just having it plugged into the back of the motherboard constantly is good for the connector.

 

[A Computer Guy]

The only thing Asus did wrong, imo, is they didn't make efforts to standardise the technology. I think this looks clean and neat, not to mention not having to bother with the cable when swapping GPUs, and just having it plugged into the back of the motherboard constantly is good for the connector.

I'm ready for them to just make a standard backplane where I can slot in my cpu, gpu, memory, usb controller, sound, nvme quad card, fan controller, and rgb controller. 8 slots is all you need.

 

[KrazedOmega]

Even the concept is an insult; walled-garden proprietary nonsense instead of a nice compatible standard that ensures compatibility and keeps pricing in check through healthy competition.
All concepts are proprietary in some way, in that they do something we don't have an established solution/standard for, but this concept isn't that.

The thing about ATX motherboards and PCIe graphics cards is that they all work because there are already standards. You can take just about any graphics card and plug it into just about any motherboard. That's why motherboards and GPUs are commodity items. Asus just pissed on all that for the sake of vanity, and unless they opensource this connector, they're just segementing the market in a way that literally only hurts those who buy into this ecosystem. Now we have a unique graphics card that only works in a unique motherboard, all because they wanted to move a PCIe power cable from the GPU to the motherboard, also doubling complexity and risk.

There are zero benefits to this. You don't even hide the cable, it's just moved to the board. What did Asus do with the space they saved on the GPU by moving the connector? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

And what exactly stops this from being standardized a few years down the road? It's new. It has to start somewhere.

There's far from zero benefits to this. How is the cable not being hidden? It's literally moved to the back of the motherboard tray along with all the others like the annoying USB front panel connectors.

 

[Keeyp]

the 12VHPWR connector stills is here but on the motherboard, not much change. They should first get rid of this 24 + 8 + 8 (!!!) pins in the form of the ATX12VO connector that no one seems to implement despite less and less devices using 3.3V or 5V.

sorry 24 + 8 + 8 + 8 actually.. crazy

 

[AusWolf]

the 12VHPWR connector stills is here but on the motherboard, not much change. They should first get rid of this 24 + 8 + 8 (!!!) pins in the form of the ATX12VO connector that no one seems to implement despite less and less devices using 3.3V or 5V.

sorry 24 + 8 + 8 + 8 actually.. crazy

I don't disagree, but having the connector on the back means you don't have to unplug it when you change your graphics card, which is better for connector longevity and ease of use.