NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 40-Series Founders Edition graphics cards have been announced, featuring higher levels of performance and the inclusion of a new power connector that we’ve noticed the community has questions about.
Is Your PSU Ready?
The 12VHPWR / PCIe 5.0 power connector on the side of these graphics cards is part of the upcoming ATX 3.0 power supply specification. So, you may be asking if your current power supply is up to the task.
The good news is that, yes, your current power supply is likely to do just fine with the right cable configuration. While these new graphics cards will be supplied with an adapter that converts up to three PCIe 8-pin power connectors into the necessary 12VHPWR to supply board power, you’ll need to ensure that you’re using multiple, high quality PCIe power cables in the first place. Each 8-pin PCIe power connector must be rated to take on a load of 225W of power, so for the adapter supplied with the new RTX 4090 you’ll need three dedicated PCIe 8-pin power connectors (from separate cables coming off of your PSU) to hit the max 600W rating of the 12VHPWR connector while also accounting for any inefficiencies introduced by the adapter.
To simplify things, we’re introducing a dedicated 12VHPWR Type-4 cable that runs up to 600W of power directly from your Type-4 CORSAIR PSU. Giving you peace of mind that your graphics card is getting all the power it needs, while also simplifying cable management (we know that cable bulk adds up very quickly). Each of the two PSU-side connections is rated for 300W of power per connector, adding up to the 600W needed for the 12VHPWR side for your graphics card.
As mentioned, this cable is compatible with all Type-4 CORSAIR power supplies, however to ensure that load requirements are met, here’s a quick reference for our recommended PSU wattage (allowing some headroom for potential overclocking).
- 1200W PSU -> 600W max graphics card load
- 1000W PSU -> 450W max graphics card load
- 750W PSU -> 300W max graphics card load
RTX 40-Series Power Supply Q&A:
Q: Do I need an ATX 3.0 PSU to run a 40-series graphics card?
A: No, ATX 3.0 is an upcoming specification for power supplies and is not required for RTX 40-series.
Q: Do I need a PCIe 5.0 power cable to run a 40-series graphics card?
A: No, every 40-series Founders Edition graphics card will include an adapter in the box and many third-party board makers may use the current 8-pin PCIe connectors on their 40-series offerings which would be compatible with your PSU.
Q: How much power do I need for a 40-series graphics card?
A: From NVIDIA:
- 850W PSU for RTX 4090 (450W)
- 750W PSU for the RTX 4080 16GB (320W)
- 700W PSU for the RTX 4080 12GB (285W)
Closing Thoughts
As with every new generation of graphics cards, we're excited to see new levels of performance and even more awesome builds! Are you planning to upgrade or build a new gaming PC when NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-Series drops? Let us know in the comments!
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