Does the Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series require a new PSU?

pcinvasion.com:

With the new generation Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards coming soon, wattage and power supplies (PSU) are major talking points. After all, as technology improves, more and more power is often needed to get the most out of new hardware.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series graphics cards boast an impressive TDP overall. The RTX 4090 sits at 450W while the RTX 4080 16 GB and RTX 4080 12 GB have a TDP of 320W and 285W, respectively. As far as PSU recommendations go, Nvidia recommends a 850W for the 4090, 750W for the 4080 16GB, and a 700W for the 4080 12GB. Other partners like ZOTAC, however, suggest you’ll need a 1000W+ PSU for the custom overclocked RTX 4090 partner models.

While wattage is one thing, the physical connection to the power supply is a whole different story. When the RTX 30 Series was revealed, Nvidia announced that a new 12-pin connector was needed to connect the card, but the adapter came with all Founder’s Edition graphics cards. For the RTX 40 Series, it appears to be much the same.

If you decide to pick up a Founder’s Edition of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series cards, you will receive a 3x PCIe 8-pin to 12VHPWR cable adapter for connection. If you don’t want to use that, some companies like Corsair are selling cable adapters for existing PSU lineups to work with new RTX 40 Series cards that require 450W or greater PCIe Gen 5 cables.

(Image credit: Corsair).

Should you choose to go to AIB partners for your new graphics card, it’s still unlikely that you’ll need a new PSU, provided the one you already have is rated for the appropriate wattage. However, each partner card will likely have varying means of connecting to the PSU. For example, the aforementioned ZOTAC RTX 4090 requires a 4x PCIe 8-pin