A few days ago we talked that even the 12VHPWR connectors from CableMod, which were designed to prevent melting, do not always work perfectly. This is not a large-scale problem, probably only units melted out of tens of thousands of pieces, but even so it turns out that 12VHPWR is simply a problematic connector, the reliability of which depends on many factors. Now PCI-SIG is getting involved, proposing a new type of connector 12V-2×6, which should solve the problems. Perhaps. When we look at the connector itself, we actually find out that nothing changes, it’s basically a new name for the modified 12VHPWR connector that we already know. Of course, only time will tell whether the adjustments will be enough. In theory, it shouldn’t take too long, since Nvidia should have already used these connectors (which are still not officially approved) in their GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition cards.
original 12VHPWR by Benlisquare, CC BY-SA 4.0via Wikimedia Commons (caption added)
The older CEM 5.0 specification hid the 4 signal pins behind the edge of the connector by 1.25 mm, while the new CEM 5.1 specification suggests moving them by 1.7 mm (ie 0.45 mm more inward). The trick is that if the user doesn’t really push the connector all the way in, the signal pins won’t be able to communicate and the card won’t even start. However, the interesting thing is that, for example, the MSI GeForce RTX 4070 Gaming X Trio card already has these pins shifted by 1.7 mm, but still has the H+ marking belonging to the 12VHPWR connectors. The new 12V-2×6 connectors and headers with greater insertion should be marked H++.
The new system should also bring special modes for cards with lower consumption, so even the RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 could switch to these connectors in the future, which many will probably welcome with displeasure, because due to the great affinity of 12VHPWR with 12V-2×6, many people will probably not be new version just too much to believe. Older cards with larger consumptions over 300 W should be easily compatible with the new system. Connector testing specifications and criteria for their production have also been added.
Another novelty is to increase the card’s power consumption. Although the connector still allows a maximum of 600 W, however, together with the PCIe slot, which can supply 75 W, the maximum reaches 675 W. In the old specification, the cable could supply 600 W, but at the same time, a maximum of 600 W was set for both power supply methods together . While it looks like new variants are starting to appear on some cards, the standard still hasn’t been finalized. It can be expected that it will only be officially switched to with the new generation of cards in 2025.
2023-07-06 13:32:49
#12VHPWR #melted #connectors #PCISIG #suggests #12V2x6 #system
