It seems just like the 12VHPWR connector goes to get replaced by a brand new design often known as the 12V-2×6 PCIe 6.0 which has been revealed in PCI-SIG docs by Igor’s Lab.

12V-2×6 Gen 6 To Succeed 12VHPWR Gen 5 Connector & Ship The Identical 600W Energy Extra Safely & Effectively

When the primary NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 sequence graphics playing cards launched with the 12VHPWR connector (16-pin), there have been a number of experiences of the ability plugs melting out which was later revealed to be a person error. Though cited as a “Person Error” the difficulty stemmed from the improper insertion of the connector inside the energy plugs. Moreover, the cable was not imagined to be bent which put stress on the contact factors, resulting in potential heat-up resulting from load administration.

Paperwork from PCI-SIG have now been revealed which present that the corporate has drafted the design for the 12V-2×6 Connector which updates to PCIe Base 6.0 & conforms to the brand new ATX 3.1 customary. As soon as once more, the connector shall be designed to supply energy as much as 600W & an extra 75W shall be out there by the PCIe slot. What has modified is that beforehand, 600W was all the restrict that the GPU can entry however with CEM 5.1 specification, this additionally allocates the PCIe slot energy to the GPU.

The benefit of the brand new 12V-2×6 PCIe 6.0 connector is that it will likely be appropriate with the present type issue specs through the use of an identical design. The design shall be simply appropriate with higher-end playing cards 300W+ however 150-300W designs may even see a design change. The next are the primary highlights of the brand new connector:

• Present score of present pins (sideband contacts excluded): Minimal 9.2 A per pin/place with a restrict of 30 °C T-rise above ambient temperature circumstances at 12 V dc with all twelve contacts activated.
• The connector physique shall have a label or embossed H mark to point assist of 9.2 A/pin or higher. See the illustration above for the approximate location of the mark on the 12V-2×6 Proper Angle (R/A) header.
• As a consequence of variations involved resistance, a single pin may even see greater than 9.2A of present relying on uneven cable contact resistance, however the complete present for the meeting should not exceed 55A RMS in both course. This additionally addresses measurements and necessities for contact resistance variability.
• Cable meeting integrators should be certain that the meeting, together with 16 AWG wires and pins, meets the minimal present requirement and most temperature rise as specified above for his or her implementation.
• Locked connector retention pressure: minimal 45.00 N when the connector is pulled axially

The paperwork additionally discuss two particular 12V-2×6 PCIe 6.0 designs and there is a probability that they’ll go along with NTK pins as a substitute of Astron. However as soon as once more, there appears to be a small portion of those new cables that are not meant to be bent similar to the present connectors.

For 12VHPWR, the clearance room is round 200mm. In that regard, the next tips are talked about:

• Connect the growth card connector to a fixture.
• The LLCR of the cable meeting is measured from the footprint of the socket on the highest of the growth card PCB to 50mm from the purpose the place the wire leaves the physique of the connector. The aim of checking the measurement level is to make sure that the wire size and its contribution to contact resistance are repeatable. This doesn’t indicate any limitation on the particular cable meeting implementation
• Carry out 30 mating cycles between the connector and the cable meeting
• Logging the LLCR of every conductor of the cable meeting within the unloaded state.
• Use a facet load of 20 N in every of the instructions outlined above. The load should be utilized to the cable bundle and past any cable ties or pressure reduction options of the meeting, if any. Word the LLCR of every conductor as soon as the measurement consequence reaches a steady worth.
• Calculate the common contact resistance of pin teams 1-6 and 7-12 independently for all sides load situation
• The consequence for LLCR should not change by greater than 50% from the common of that pin’s respective group underneath any take a look at situation. A most LLCR of 6 mOhm/contact is specified because the higher restrict for every conductor.

Some PSU producers resembling MSI are already engaged on intelligent methods to ensure that customers set up 12VHPWR connectors correctly. In the meantime, the mainstream GeForce RTX 40 lineup has not used the 12VHPWR connector in any respect and as a substitute went with the usual 8-pin connectors. That can be one thing that’s going to alter with the 12V-2×6 design because it has included designs for 150-300W playing cards. Additionally, the utmost working temperature appears to be round 168 hours at 105C. It’s at present unclear if the PSUs need to be redesigned or when you’d solely want the brand new cable and plug it straight into the 12VHPWR plug to make it work.

MSI already has its newest MAG GL PCIe 5.0 PSUs appropriate with the PCI-SIG 12V-2×6 specs. The corporate was additionally the primary to unveil 12VHPWR designs once they have been launched final 12 months.

We cannot positively see the connector any time quickly because the specs aren’t finalized but by PCI-SIG however primarily based on the knowledge, it seems like we will lastly say goodbye to 12VHPWR on next-gen playing cards arriving someday in 2025.