ASUS showcased a connector-less NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 concept at Computex 2023, and while it wasn’t clear at the time whether it’d actually hit retail, Bilibili content creator Eixa Studio has reported that this is indeed happening, with a release anticipated for later this year. The new concept from ASUS swaps the traditional PCIe power connectors with a proprietary “GC_HPWR” connector, enabling a a clean and cable-free look, although a special motherboard is required.
- GC_HPWR connector is located next to the PCIe 4.0 x16 connector, passing power from a slot on the back of the motherboard to the graphics card
- Requires ASUS BTF (Back to Future) motherboards, which feature power connectors behind the motherboard
- Set to enter mass production in the Fall
- Connector-less design could mean a higher premium
- New design isn’t expected to provide any improved performance benefits
Bilibili content creator Eixa Studio, who recently attended Bilibili World 2023 exhibition in Shanghai, China, claims that Asus will start mass production of the connector-less graphics card in the Fall so that retail products may hit the market before the end of the year. While we’ve already seen the GeForce RTX 4070 Megalodon and TUF Gaming Z790 BTF with a black theme, Eixa Studio saw a new white variant of the same GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card and an upcoming TX Gaming B760-BTF WiFi motherboard for Intel Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh processors.