Graphics card power connectors have many problems. The most recent is that they cause them to burn due to a serious design problem. In addition, its position is not aesthetically pleasing.
Currently, the connectors are on the front if we look at the graphics card once installed. An attempt has been made to place it on the internal side, but the idea has not fully materialized. Aesthetically they look bad and influence the air flow.
End of power connector on graphics cards?
Thanks to the Wccftech colleagues we know the new ASUS proposal for its graphics cards. He rog team has created a model Custom RTX 4070 with a different power connector. It is located at the bottom, next to the PCIe connector on the motherboard.
Next to the PCIe 4.0 x16 connector on this graphics card, another special connector is included for power supply. HE eliminate physical power connectors traditional 4/6/8-pin PCIe ports with this new system. The graphics card is powered directly from the motherboard with this method.
This special connector allows the delivering up to 600W of power. The motherboard, of course, must have this specific connector.
This newly designed graphics card has been complemented by the Z790 TUF Gaming motherboard. This is a sample model including the additional socket to supply power.
But the thing has a trick. The power connectors of the graphics card have been integrated into the back of motherboard. This Z790 TUF Gaming has three 8-pin PCIe connectors and a 12VHPWR connector on the back. Through these connectors (with independent tracks) the power would be taken to the graphics card.
This motherboard also includes other connectors on the back such as ATX24, EPS, SATA ports, USB-C, Thunderbolt and other connectors. So this motherboard would not be possible to install it in any commercial chassis either. A specific box is required that has adequate spaces to accommodate these connectors.
As you can guess, the box used for the demonstration by ASUS is of its own design. Interestingly, the power supply is hidden behind the motherboard, exactly behind the processor.
Good or bad idea from ASUS?
First, it’s a good idea. This eliminates visible wires, allowing for improved airflow. Although when you analyze it a bit, things start to change.
Now what will burn, in principle, will not be the graphics card, but the motherboard. The question remains whether the guarantee will cover the damage, since the power connectors for the graphics card are not used in it, but rather go to the motherboard.
We don’t know how this will affect the motherboard itself. We must take into account that a part of the energy supplied is lost in the form of heat. It assumes that we are forcing the motherboard to withstand an increase in temperature.
These graphics cards can only be used with ASUS own motherboards. This supposes exclusivity, that you will not be able to mount the graphics card on the motherboard that you want. It seems like some kind of strategy in the purest Apple style of buying all my products and only mine, not those of the competition.
And the price? What it seems is that this will mean an additional cost for the products. Perhaps the graphics card will not suffer much price change, what’s more, it could make the product cheaper. But on the motherboard it changes. We add a new connector, we must add protections to the motherboard, we modify the position of the connectors and we add additional tracks.
We have many doubts in this regard. And you, what do you think of this?
