I used to be not too long ago over in China, visiting MSI’s manufacturing facility the place it makes motherboards, graphics playing cards, screens, and so forth, and on the occasion, the corporate launched a number of new merchandise. One in every of which was its MEG AI1600T energy provide unit, replete with RGB lighting, a number of high-end options, and oh sure—two 12V-2×6 sockets for Nvidia graphics playing cards.
The times of multi-GPU setups (aka SLI and CrossFire) are lengthy lifeless and on condition that MSI particularly notes that the AI1600T is “prepared for AI computing utilization”, it is clear that this PSU is aimed immediately at people eager to do a spot of homebrew AI stuff. However just a few of us on the occasion received to speaking about the way it could possibly be for one thing else.
In passing, certainly one of MSI’s engineers had stated that its new PSUs had been all prepared for the following technology of graphics playing cards and that clearly refers to Nvidia’s RTX 50-series, as they’re those that appear subsequent in line to look (AMD’s RDNA 4 sequence look prone to launch a lot in a while).
The 12V-2×6 socket is an up to date model of the considerably notorious 12VHPWR socket that Nvidia first launched in a few of its RTX 30 fashions, e.g. the GeForce RTX 3090. Designed together with the PCI-SIG, the connector is rated to a heady 600 W of energy however as some RTX 4090 house owners discovered, shoddily made cables (and even good ones that simply weren’t totally seated) meant the design was susceptible to melting.
In order that received us considering. What if the RTX 5090 has a a lot greater TGP than the RTX 4090? Reasonably than being a 450 W card, what if it is 550 and even 600 W? Whereas the 12V-2×6 design is meant to stop one other episode of Meltgate, what if Nvidia was involved concerning the popularity of the earlier design, and thought that it could come throughout as being a a lot safer system having all that energy unfold over two connectors?
Utilizing two cables would imply every one could possibly be stored effectively below its rated energy/present restrict and assist stop an excessive amount of warmth develop in a single small space on the circuit board.
The plain situation with this concept is that what number of potential RTX 5090 patrons have a PSU with two 12VHPWR/12V-2×6 sockets? I can not see Nvidia promoting a card that requires one to purchase a brand new PSU however then once more, it would be one hell of a advertising factor.
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I do not suppose the RTX 5090 might be as power-hungry as that, although, and I actually suppose that the 2 12V-2×6 energy sockets on the AI1600T PSU are only for multi-GPU setups dealing with AI workloads.
However I do surprise what the longer term for high-end graphics playing cards goes to be, when it comes to energy consumption. Whereas the 450 W TGP of the RTX 4090 is extremely excessive, the cardboard usually would not attain that restrict in gaming and it is in no way essentially the most energy grasping GPU ever launched.
That honour goes to AMD’s Radeon R9 290X2 and 390X2, each of which had been twin GPU playing cards with 580 W energy limits. There are many different playing cards with even greater energy limits however they’re all for workstations and whatnot.
A single 12V-2×6 cable would, in concept, be ample for both of these AMD playing cards and, so far as I can inform, any GPU that is heading our PC gaming method within the foreseeable future.
With AMD bailing out of the ultra-high-end market, there’s nothing to cease Nvidia from making its halo mannequin totally ludicrous when it comes to measurement and energy.
And although the shortage of competitors will imply there’s nothing to maintain costs in examine, there might be no scarcity of PC players who will line as much as purchase one.
There is no signal of 600 W GPUs simply but however who is aware of within the close to future? In the event that they do seem, then you definately’ll nearly actually going to wish a PSU like this MSI one. And I wager if it does occur, there will be a vendor launching a four-socket PSU simply because it might!
