Intel releases the ATX 3.0 power supply spec
Intel has published the final ATX 3.0 power supply specification, and it’s the biggest PSU spec change in almost 20 years. PC hardware has changed a lot since then, particularly the power requirements of GPUs. ATX 3.0 PSUs will come to market throughout 2022.
The new standard formally introduces PCIe 5.0 graphics card support with a new 12-pin 12VHPWR connector that can deliver up to 600W. We’ve seen Nvidia release Founders Edition cards with 12-pin connectors, but they aren’t the same as an official PCIe 5.0 connector which include four additional sideband signals. The new connector is set to debut with Nvidia RTX-40 and AMD RDNA 3 cards.
The fact that cards can receive up to 600W from a single connector doesn't bode well for future GPU power requirements. It adds weight to some rather silly power consumption rumours doing the rounds on the internet. Some cards may require two connectors!
If nothing else it will appeal to fans of clean builds. Getting rid of several 8-pin power connectors in favour of a single 12-pin connector will certainly make it easier to manage your cables.
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Those extra signalling pins mean that it's not clear if next gen GPUs can receive the full 600W from current power supplies via 8-pin to 12-pin adapters. Three 8-pin connectors will deliver 450W plus another 75W from the slot for a total of 525W. With that in mind, it’s advisable to hold off on purchasing a high-end PSU for now. What’s the alternative? A four 8-pin to a 12-pin adapter? That's a bit over the top.
We previously wrote about Gigabyte’s UD1000GM
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