Some MSI 800-series motherboards could include the addition of an 8-pin power connector capable of delivering up to 150 Watts. The added power combined with that from the PCIe slot would bring total power delivery to 225 Watts. The discovery of the extra power connector was seen at GamesCom by tech media outlet Cowcotland who was given an unofficial statement from MSI reps that the connector is intended for next-gen AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. The connector is located at the bottom of the board mixed in with the fan, USB, case, and other headers below the 2nd PCIe slot. This would make it somewhat difficult to use with a 2nd graphics card, and if the first is a 3.5 or 4-slot card it too may prevent accessibility to the connector.
Per Cowcotland (machine translated):
- “So, theoretically, we have 225 watts possible via the PCI Express port. MSI indicated that this solution was intended for Next Gen, AMD or NVIDIA cards, we did not have more precision, in order to better distribute the power supply of future graphics cards in order to discharge the 12VHPWR or 12V-2×6 connector.”
MSI Insider delved into more details for the MSI X870E MPG Carbon motherboard showing its M.2 NVME quick-release feature but then also briefly focusing on the new connector. It was mentioned that it could be for next-gen GPUs designed for AI use, which brings up another question. Are AMD and NVIDIA planning AI-specific consumer GPUs within their next round of graphics card releases? If so, this connector might make more sense given it would be odd for NVIDIA’s gaming cards due to its push for the 12VHPWR standard. Is NVIDIA considering abandoning the 12VHPWR connector on some of its lineup? There are obviously pros and cons to such an approach and more questions to be asked, but it’s evident that some MSI 800-series motherboards could include the new connector. VideoCardz also notes that ASUS debuted a similar design with its ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard.