For some time now, we have seen high-end GPUs edge closer to the limits of current power connectors. Although PCIe 4.0 increases bandwidth, it does not increase power coming from the motherboard. It should be noted that at this time, NVIDIA has not confirmed if its upcoming 30 series will support PCIe 4.0, but it is probably a safe bet. Some recent rumors have also suggested that these cards may exceed 300-watt TDP. Although they could probably push a bit more power through 2x 8-pin connectors, it seems that NVIDIA may be taking the initiative by introducing a new connecting power interface.
Igor’s Lab has reported on the latest potential design change for the next line of RTX cards. It comes via FCPOWERUP, which states that NVIDIA could take a new approach by using a 12-pin connector. It has been a while since such a change has happened with its consumer-grade cards. Instead, we have seen numerous other combinations in the last decade, such as 6 and 8 pins combined or 2x 8 pins (8 pins themselves are often just a 6-pin connector with a 2 pin added).
Increasing Power Delivery
Although such a design could potentially deliver up to 600 watts of power, Mr. Wallossek theorizes that it’ll likely be closer to 400 watts. This power increase would be achieved by upping the present current capacity of 6.0 A to 8.5 A. We can see that this connector uses the somewhat standard Molex-type connectors, so, at the moment, builders might not need to worry about another adapter or proprietary addition. FCPOWERUP also mentions a mysterious 4-pin interface but did not have enough information to elaborate on it.