Intel and AMD may be testing 12V-2x6 power cables for future GPUs

[Daniel Sims]

In brief: Despite some initial controversy, Nvidia has forged ahead with new 12V GPU power connectors while AMD and Intel have stuck with reliable traditional designs. Although Nvidia's competitors are rumored to be testing the latest format, their upcoming products likely give them little reason to make the jump.

Sources have informed Hungarian outlet Prohardver that AMD and Intel have begun testing 12V-2x6 power cables for their upcoming graphics cards. Market leader Nvidia already uses the standard across its latest and upcoming products, but its competitors may still harbor reliability concerns.

The 12V-2x6 format emerged last year to replace 12VHPWR, which Nvidia infamously implemented in its flagship RTX 4090. Many 4090 owners complained that their power cables burned and melted after extended usage.

The company blamed user error and improperly connected cables, but some reports disputed the claims. As of late last year, hundreds of 4090s per month required repairs.

Meanwhile, no such controversy has emerged for 12V-2x6, which can deliver higher wattages than 12VHPWR. Third-party tests show the new format is safe, even when cables are partially dislodged. Nvidia switched its RTX 4000 series GPUs to 12V-2x6, and the upcoming RTX 5000 lineup will also use the new format.

However, AMD's Radeon RX 7000 series and Intel's Arc Alchemist cards use older eight-pin formats, which haven't suffered widespread meltdowns. Still, reports of 12V-2x6 testing aren't surprising, as AMD admitted that it briefly considered using 12V for the RX 7000.

According to Prohardver, 12V-2x6 proved far safer than 12VHPWR in the recent tests, but the older standard remains the most reliable at power levels below 300W. If the information is accurate, the results could discourage AMD and Intel from adopting 12V for the time being because the upcoming RDNA 4 (presumably RX 8000) and Arc Battlemage lines will only include mid-range and mainstream GPUs, which will likely draw under 300W.

For comparison, Nvidia's upcoming flagship RTX 5090 is expected to have a 600W TBP (though average wattage might be lower), with the 5080 drawing 400W. Meanwhile, the mid-range 5070 – the most likely competitor to RDNA 4 and Battlemage – needs only 250W.

Still, power supply manufacturers might force a general shift to 12V-2x6 if they abandon older standards. Moreover, board partners might offer 12V-2x6 variants of AMD and Intel cards.

Nvidia is expected to introduce the RTX 5090 and 5080 at CES 2025 in January. RDNA 4 and Battlemage might appear at the same event. The 5070 is rumored to debut in February and the 5060 might launch in March.

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Intel and AMD may be testing 12V-2x6 power cables for future GPUs

 

[Hom3r]

Ofcourse they are. It is the future for GPU power, all new PSUs have it.

I will eat my hat if Radeon 8000 don't use 12V-2x6

Love 12VHPWR on my 4090. Works flawlessly and did since launch day over 2 years ago. Clicked right in and stayed there. Way less cable mess inside the case. Looks way cleaner. I use native 12VHPWR from my Corsair PSU, no cheap garbage adaptor. Bad adaptors are the biggest culprit for people that have issues with 12VHPWR / 12V-2x6.

If you use a somewhat new PSU, that supports it natively (or can with a new cable), no problems at all. Just don't use those cheap adaptors included with the GPU.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Ofcourse they are. It is the future for GPU power, all new PSUs have it.

I will eat my hat if Radeon 8000 don't use 12V-2x6

Love 12VHPWR on my 4090. Works flawlessly and did since launch day over 2 years ago. Clicked right in and stayed there. Way less cable mess inside the case. Looks way cleaner. I use native 12VHPWR from my Corsair PSU, no cheap garbage adaptor. Bad adaptors are the biggest culprit for people that have issues with 12VHPWR / 12V-2x6.

If you use a somewhat new PSU, that supports it natively (or can with a new cable), no problems at all. Just don't use those cheap adaptors included with the GPU.

Funny, the old 6 pin never had issues with adapters. Why is 12v 2x6 so fragile? Maybe it has some trouble handling high wattage?

 

[Hom3r]

Funny, the old 6 pin never had issues with adapters. Why is 12v 2x6 so fragile? Maybe it has some trouble handling high wattage?

12VHPWR can handle 600W with up to 1800W spikes, so I don't think so.

My 12VHPWR has not been fragile at all. I can run my 4090 for hours at 400+ watts just fine

PCI-SIG invented this not Nvidia. All new ATX 3.x PSUs have 12VHPWR or 12V-2x6, good luck avoiding it unless you don't buy new hardware.

You will see 12V-2x6 on Radeon 8000 in a few months. Probably on Battlemage / Xe2 as well.

Lets see if Lisa Su will praise this new power adaptor at CES 2025. She is going to have a hard time revealing Radeon 8000 series when RTX 5000 is revealed at the same time tho...

Lets hope best Radeon 8000 card can hit 5070 performance levels!

 

[jonny888]

Some would say it does have it's issues.

Maybe it's redeemable.

 

[Watzupken]

Even if AMD and Intel adopt this power connector, it will have minimal impact to them because,
1. The GPUs are not going to draw anywhere near 400W. Hence, it is far from causing the connector or cable to heat up.

2. Most of the potential issue have been flushed out with Nvidia being the "pipe-cleaner". So by now, I think melting connector is less likely.

 

[Hom3r]

Even if AMD and Intel adopt this power connector, it will have minimal impact to them because,
1. The GPUs are not going to draw anywhere near 400W. Hence, it is far from causing the connector or cable to heat up.

2. Most of the potential issue have been flushed out with Nvidia being the "pipe-cleaner". So by now, I think melting connector is less likely.

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Better than spiking to 601 watt like 6900XT tho

But you are right about this for Radeon 8000 series, because it will be low to mid-end only.

When did you last hear about a burning 4090 connector? From reliable sources that is. I imagine it was 1% of early buyers that was affected.

I have used 4090 since day one, with a native 12VHPWR connector. Here 2 years later, it looks the same as the day I got it, and I have been pushing my 4090s hard at times, with temp overclocks to +225 on the core, coming near 40.000 3DMarks in TimeSpy.

How many 4080s, 4070 Ti etc. have been burned? 0?

Last time I checked, they made sense pins longer on 4070 Ti and newer. 4090 and 4080 was also "fixed" fast. However, my 4090 is first batch for sure. I got it the same day as NDA lifted pretty much and I had no issues at all with it. Maybe because my PSU is high quality and I use native 12VHPWR?

All I know is that I am never going back to having 3-4 times 8 pins on my GPU. That is for sure. This new power connector fixes all cable mess and improves airflow. Looks way better and cleaner.

 

[DanteSmith]

Is there any good reason for this new connector standard to emerge?

 

[yRaz]

So problems with the 12 pin connector aside, I just don't want these dodgy connectors around me and the TBP being ridiculous is the icing on the cake.

These high-end cards are cool, I think they're awesome. I think they're awesome in the same way that racecars are awesome and that's exactly where the problems begin.

You don't want to daily drive a racecar. They're loud, hot and uncomfortable to drive. These high-end cards are just nonsense to me for an experience I didn't ask for. I have 7 systems in my homelab, but I keep them all in my garage to keep the noise and heat out.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's like sitting next to a space heater. It is uncomfortable to sit next to a system that uses a bunch of power. When total system power was 600-700 watts it started to get uncomfortable, now it isn't difficult to get to 900watts+ on a high-end system. If you're gaming for 3-4 hours your room starts to heat up

 

[Raytrace3D]

So problems with the 12 pin connector aside, I just don't want these dodgy connectors around me and the TBP being ridiculous is the icing on the cake.

These high-end cards are cool, I think they're awesome. I think they're awesome in the same way that racecars are awesome and that's exactly where the problems begin.

You don't want to daily drive a racecar. They're loud, hot and uncomfortable to drive. These high-end cards are just nonsense to me for an experience I didn't ask for. I have 7 systems in my homelab, but I keep them all in my garage to keep the noise and heat out.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's like sitting next to when I say that it is uncomfortable to sit next to a system that uses a bunch of power. When total system power was 600-700 watts it started to get uncomfortable, now it isn't difficult to get to 900watts+ on a high-end system. If you're gaming for 3-4 hours your room starts to heat up

Agreed. My system has dual 1000W power supplies... it makes my office like 90 degrees if I keep the door closed. lol Hate how much power they use with each new generation. It only goes up.

 

[toooooot]

I would like for old connectors to stay for as long as possible.
At least, GPU makers can use old connectors on middle-end and low-end cards.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

2 8 pin molex connectors can handle 500W and they have 92% margin of safety, compared to Nvidia's utter trash that at best has 20%.

Hopefully AMD and Intel avoid Nvidia's shite.

 

[Hom3r]

2 8 pin molex connectors can handle 500W and they have 92% margin of safety, compared to Nvidia's utter trash that at best has 20%.

Hopefully AMD and Intel avoid Nvidia's shite.

This is not Nvidias shite, but PCI-SIG and all new PSUs have 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6.

You will be using it eventually. It is the future of GPU power.

 

[Hom3r]

2 8 pin molex connectors can handle 500W and they have 92% margin of safety, compared to Nvidia's utter trash that at best has 20%.

Hopefully AMD and Intel avoid Nvidia's shite.

Nah, they can handle 450w on their own + 75w from the PCIe socket.

This is why many high end cards with 8 pin power has 3 or even 4 - Which means cable mess inside the case, blocking airflow, looking shite.

People won't understand what they don't have experience with, as usual. I am never going back to 8 pin ever again.

AMD and Intel will both be moving to this, just wait.

 

[jonny888]

Nah, they can handle 450w on their own + 75w from the PCIe socket.

This is why many high end cards with 8 pin power has 3 or even 4 - Which means cable mess inside the case, blocking airflow, looking shite.

People won't understand what they don't have experience with, as usual. I am never going back to 8 pin ever again.

AMD and Intel will both be moving to this, just wait.

Respectfully, I would say that "cable mess" and "looking shite" (which are barely issues if you run your cables neatly) fall lower down the priority stack than "has a well defined standard/spec" and "doesn't pose a fire risk if not perfectly installed". I'd also suggest that air flow is a non-issue but I've no idea how you were running your cables that makes that such a problem for you.

Hopefully they can get to a point where it is objectively better with no drawbacks. We aren't fully at that point. This is why people (who can understand just fine) have their concerns. You are fortunate to have had no issues. Other people have.

 

[godrilla]

Is there any good reason for this new connector standard to emerge?

They are a cross road when copying all of Nvidia's strategies might not be a good idea until all the beta testing is done.
Nvidia can tell the industry Consumers are plugging it in wrong while AMD and Intel can't afford that middle finger to it's potential customers especially with losing market share.