It seems like each new generation of graphics cards requires more power and that is likely going to be the case with the upcoming NVIDIA RTX 5090. While NVIDIA has said that their “Blackwell” graphics architecture will bring with it architecture-level performance/watt improvements and the switch to the TSMC 4NP node will have node-level improvements the latest rumors suggest that the NVIDIA RTX 5090 could make use of two 16-pin power inputs.
This report comes from TweakTown, and with two 16-pin power inputs the RTX 5090 could theoretically pull up to 1200W of power. Now this does not mean that the cards total graphics power (TGP) will be 1200W, but if we see a number around 600W or greater two 16-pin connections will likely be required. Even if the TGP is exactly 600W it is likely that NVIDIA would want to add the second 16-pin connector to spread the load out and be a safer solution for power spikes.
If NVIDIA does put two 16-pin connectors on the RTX 5090 it is likely that older power supplies will not be compatible. I could see NVIDIA including one adapter that takes 2 or 3 8-pin PCIe power connectors and converts them into a single 16-pin, but the second 16-pin connector will have to be a native connector. These connectors are only available on newer ATX 3.0 and ATX 3.1 power supplies.
Now there are a handful of high-end power supplies that do offer two native 12V-2×6 connectors. One such power supply is the Seasonic Prime PX-2200 W, which was released earlier this week. Maybe we will see more of these in the future as we get closer to the launch of the RTX 5090 and NVIDIA’s “Blackwell” series.
Via TweakTown
