PCI Express 5.0 introduces new power connector for graphics cards

With Intel’s Core 12000 series “Alder Lake” just around the corner, several new standards such as DDR5 and PCI Express 5.0 are also waiting. With graphics cards for the recent PCI Express 4.0 standard differs very little from the previous generation, which is still compatible and this with low to no performance difference. In terms of performance, the transition to PCI Express 5.0 support is likely to repeat history, but rumors suggest that a new power connector will make its debut in connection with this.

It is Videocardz that has put its hands on data concerning the Nvidia Geforce RTX 3090 Ti, an unofficial product that in some leaks is claimed to have a Super extension. With the year-old Geforce RTX 3090, large parts of the graphics circuit GA102 are unlocked, but the slightly upgraded sibling will go from 10,496 to 10,752 CUDA cores. The memory speeds for 24 GB GDDR6X memory should also be increased from 19.5 to 21 Gbps, for theoretical bandwidth just over 1 TB / s.

New is that the card can be early on the ball when it comes to high power consumption, where previous reports mentioned that the next generation can sniff at 500 watts in TDP value. Videocardz writes that the Geforce RTX 3090 Ti reportedly has a TDP value of 450 watts – 100 watts higher than the Ti-free sibling. With this, a new type of power connector will see the light of day, a connection that is not Nvidia’s 12-pin but a variant with 16 connector pins.

This is probably a connection that becomes part of the PCI Express 5.0 standard, which also suggests that the Geforce RTX 3090 Ti will support the updated interface. Furthermore, Videocardz explains that the electrical and technical details of the connection are still secret, something that will probably change when the first PCI Express 5.0-equipped products are released.

Intel “Alder Lake” and associated motherboards appear to be unveiled on October 28 with in-store availability on November 4, which means that some question marks can be straightened out in about three weeks. Whether the Geforce RTX 3090 Ti exists, has a new power connector and PCI Express 5.0 support are questions whose answers lie further ahead. January 2022 is said to be the time for the launch of this card and RTX 2060 and RTX 3070 Ti with 12 and 16 GB of graphics memory respectively.

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