New AMD Radeon RX 8000 gaming GPUs could have 16-pin power connectors, says leak

AMD and Intel are reportedly testing 16-pin power connectors on their next-gen gaming GPUs, meaning these new graphics cards could finally ditch the good old-fashioned 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power sockets of yore. Such a move would be a big step for the new AMD Radeon and Intel Arc cards, though. While both companies have lost significant market share to Nvidia recently, they also haven’t had to deal with numerous warranty returns for cards with melted 16-pin connectors, and the same can’t be said for Nvidia.

The original 12VHPWR connector used on the RTX 4090, among other Nvidia GPUs, has been a source of controversy, with wide-ranging reports of smoking graphics cards and melting GPU power connectors. The situation appears to have improved with the introduction of the safer 12V-2×6 connector, though, which is now used on a lot of Nvidia GPUs, and is also expected to be used on the new RTX 5090. It’s this latter socket that Intel and AMD are apparently testing right now.

This latest leak comes from Hungarian tech site Prohardver, as spotted by Wccftech, which claims to have received information that both AMD and Intel are comparing 16-pin power connectors against their 8-pin PCIe predecessors on their new graphics cards. According to the site, the results aren’t wholly positive either.

“The 8-pin PCI Express power connector still behaves more reliably in the tests,” claims the site, adding that “there are hardly any problems with it during the load tests.” Comparatively, according to the site’s sources, while the new 12V-2×6 connector is more reliable in these tests than the controversial original 12VHPWR plug, it’s still not as reliable as a standard 8-pin PCIe power socket if the card draws under 300W.

We’ve heard similar reports from others in the industry, and Gamers Nexus has a good roundup of the 12VHPWR story in the video above. In particular, the YouTube channel quotes Aris from PSU efficiency certifier Cybenetics as saying that “the best way to reduce problems is to use 2x 8pin on the PSU’s modular board instead of a native 12V-2×6 since the former allows for more cable flexibility and are more tolerant to abuse in general.”

As a result, it’s quite possible that some future AMD Radeon and Intel Arc graphics cards will continue to use PCIe connectors at the low end, but move up to 16-pin connectors at the higher end, when they draw more than 300W. We’ve also seen this on some Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 cards and below. While the Nvidia Founders Edition cards all have 16-pin connectors, some partner cards, such as the Asus Dual RTX 4070, use a single PCIe power connector instead.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that 16-pin power connectors are here to stay in some form or another, thanks to Nvidia’s persistence, as well as new PSUs coming with 16-pin power connectors as standard, and both Intel and AMD will be under pressure to adopt them. Let’s face it, that single power cable makes for a much cleaner look in your rig than several 8-pin PCIe cables too.

This wouldn’t be the first time that an AMD Radeon GPU has been paired with a 16-pin socket either. Earlier this year, ASRock used a 16-pin power connector on its Creator cards based on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, as well as the RX 7900 XT.

If you’re looking to buy a new GPU in the meantime, check out our guide to the best graphics card, where we take you through all of our favorite gaming options at a range of prices.