What you need to know
- AMD has confirmed that its RX 6000 graphics cards and upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs will not use the same power adapter as the NVIDIA RTX 4090.
- The 12VHPWR power adapter used to connect the RTX 4090 to a power supply has reportedly caused melting and burning issues.
- AMD did not specify which type of adapter its new flagship GPUs would use.
AMD’s RDNA 3 GPUs are set to launch in November 2022. They should be among the best graphics cards on the market, though we don’t have many firm details at this point. Based on recent comments from Senior Vice President & General Manager of AMD’s Graphics Business Unit, Scott Herkelman, the RDNA 3 graphics could likely avoid an issue that affects NVIDIA’s RTX 4090.
Herkelman confirmed that both the RX 6000 series and upcoming RDNA 3 graphics cards will not use the 12VHPWR power connector. That connector appears to cause burning and melting when used with the RTX 4090, though the issue is still being investigated by NVIDIA.
The Radeon RX 6000 series and upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs will not use this power connector.October 25, 2022
Several NVIDIA RTX 4090 owners have reported melted or burnt cables and connectors. The RTX 4090 has a massive power draw (450W for reference RTX units), and all of that power goes through a single connection. The design caused concern among PC gamers, and those worries appear to have been justified, at least to some extent.
NVIDIA could have chosen to put four PCIe ports on the PCB instead of going with the connection setup it went with. Splitting the power draw to four ports would likely reduce the risk of melting and other issues.
AMD is expected to unveil at least some of its RDNA 3 GPUs during a stream on November 3, 2022. We don’t have many details about the upcoming graphics cards, but recent leaks and rumors suggest that the company will announce three GPUs during its event. TechRadar speculates that AMD will showcase the RX 7900 XTX, RX 7900 XT, and either the RX 7800 XT or 7700 XT.
With AMD’s steam only a week away, we won’t have to wait long to find out more details. What we do know is that none of the upcoming GPUs will feature the seemingly problematic power adapter seen in the NVIDIA RTX 4090.
