It’s official! AMD’s upcoming Radeon RX 7000 graphics cards based on the new RDNA 3 architecture will not use the 16-pin 12VHPWR connector NVIDIA uses on their RTX 40 series graphics cards. Several reports show users are having alarming issues with their RTX 40 series and NVIDIA’s 12VHPWR connector. Particularly, the 16-pin PCIe power connector is burning and melting.
AMD Radeon RX 7000 GPUs Will Use The Good Old 8-pin PCIe Power Connector
Recently, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD Radeon Scott Herkelman confirmed via a tweet that the upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs will not use the 16-pin 12VHPWR that NVIDIA is using on their latest RTX 40 series GPUs. He responded to a tweet about NVIDIA’s RTX 4090 power adapter burning up.
Interesting, Scott didn’t mention “Radeon 7000” in his tweet. The official naming scheme for the next-generation GPUs may not be final yet. Or do they want to keep it as a surprise at this point? Nevertheless, there have been rumors that a “Radeon RX 7900 XT” will be announced at AMD’s online event this coming November 3.
While it is good to have a single power port instead of two or three on a graphics card, the 16-pin 12VHPWR has a lot of cables on it. And if you are using a PSU that doesn’t have a PCIE5 power connector, you will need to use an adapter. The problem is that the 12VHPWR adapter has a particular requirement that it can’t be bent vertically or horizontally. And users should not put stress or tension near the 16-pin plug. There should be a minimum distance of 35mm before any bends occur. The problem is the connector will most likely hit the side panel, and you won’t be able to close the case.
While it still needs to be clarified whether the burning and melting are due to the regular operation of the graphic card. Some pointed out that it may result from poor contact of the pins when the adapter is (over) bent or within the 35mm clearance.
Anyway, I think it’s a good move for AMD not to jump in on the 12VHPWR bandwagon (yet).
