NVIDIA 12-pin cable might already be 12-pin PCI Express Gen5 compatible
NVIDIA was ahead of its time.
We finally begin to understand why was NVIDIA so eager to push the new power cable standard for its Ampere graphics cards. Turns out, their cable is identical to the upcoming PCI-Express Gen5 standard cable. Both appear to use the same Molex Micro-Fit 3.0 design.
PCIe Gen5 Cable and ASUS Thor II 1000W Platinum PSU, Source: ASUS
The connector is rated up to 9A at 12V, which means a maximum theoretical current of 648W. The more recent data posted by Igor’sLAB puts suggests that the PCIe Gen5 connector (12VHPWR H+) will be up to 9.2A, which provides up to 662W, however, according to the Gen5 specs, it is rated up to 600W.
ASUS Thor 1000W Platinum II power supply does not have a separate modular connector for the 12-pin cable. In fact, it is just an adapter with two 8-pin connectors on the other side. This has been confirmed by Eteknix who took the first photos of the cable from the said power supply as they are working on a review.
Real photos of PCIe Gen5 Power Cable from ASUS Thor II 1000W Platinum PSU, Source: Eteknix
What that in mind, we are looking at 675W maximum power consumption of a graphics card connected to a PCIe Gen5 slot and Gen5 12-pin power connector. A 1275W connection would be possible through a pair of such cables.
| Maximum Theoretical Power Consumption of a Graphics Card | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VideoCardz | PCIe Slot | 6-pin | 8-pin | 12-pin | Total Power |
| Entry-level | 75W | – | – | – | 75W |
| 75W | 1x 75W | – | – | 150W | |
| Mid-range | 75W | – | 1x 150W | – | 225W |
| 75W | 2x 75W | – | – | 225W | |
| High-end | 75W | 1x 75W | 1x 150W | – | 300W |
| 75W | – | 2x 150W | – | 375W | |
| Enthusiast | 75W | 1x 75W | 2x 150W | – | 450W |
| 75W | – | 3x 150W | – | 525W | |
| Next-Gen Flagship | 75W | – | – | 1x 600W | 675W |
| 75W | – | – | 2x 600W | 1275W |