Nvidia RTX 4070 Founders Edition cards already use revised 12V2×6 power connector

Recently, it was reported that PCI-SIG and Nvidia have been working for months on a revision to the 12VHPWR connector in an effort to avoid future issues with overheating connectors. The new 12V2x6 connector is apparently already in testing and it seems Nvidia may have quietly put it in place for the RTX 4070 Founders Edition launch too. 

It has been discovered by Igor's LAB that the RTX 4070 Founders Edition graphics card does utilise a revised connector design, with the sensor pins now moved to avoid contact issues and potential meltdowns.

The key distinction between the original 12VHPWR connector and the new 12V-2×6 plug lies in the shorter sense pins, measuring approximately 1.7mm. This design ensures that the power header is fully inserted into the connector, preventing the PSU from activating high-power modes that could potentially cause overheating and melting when a graphics card demands more power.

As of now, it appears that only Astron produces the new 12V-2×6 power connectors. Other graphics card manufacturers are likely to wait for PCI-SIG to formally specify the new plug before incorporating it into their mass-market products.

The upcoming models in the RTX 40 series, namely the RTX 4060 Ti and RTX 4060, are expected to exclusively feature 8-pin power connectors. Therefore, the RTX 4070 stands out as the first known card to adopt the new 12V2x6 connector design.

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KitGuru says: Hopefully, we will receive official information about this in the near future. However, for that to happen, PCI-SIG must first finalise the CEM 5.1 specification, which includes the 12V-2×6 power connector standard.

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