PCI-SIG has yet to officially introduce an improved version of the 12VHPWR connector that could solve the connector meltdown problem that plagued GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards months ago. Igor’s lab Nvidia’s own GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition graphics board already claims to use an improved 12V-2×6 auxiliary power plug.
The main difference between the original 12VHPWR connector and the new 12V-2×6 plug is that the sense pin is about 1.7mm shorter. This design allows the power header to be fully inserted into the connector. Otherwise, the power supply will not activate high power mode to avoid overheating or melting when the graphics card requires a lot of power.
So far, at least according to Igor’s lab, only Astron makes the new 12V-2×6 power connector, and only Nvidia seems to use it. Other graphics card suppliers will likely wait for the PCI-SIG to formally specify the new plugs before using them in their mass market products. It looks like Nvidia is willing to take the risk with his GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition offering, one of his best graphics cards.
What remains to be seen is when PCI-SIG will finalize its new 12V-2×6 power connector, and when graphics card makers will start using it instead of the infamous 12VHPWR plug. .
