Evolving Standards: 12VHPWR and 12V-2x6

As power requirements for PC components evolve and grow, so do the connectors that are used to help provide that power.

With the introduction of the RTX 40-Series, the PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR GPU power connector made its debut with the promise to deliver up to 600W of power, if needed.

The introduction of 12VHPWR connectors (and compatible cables) meant that the cabling required to power a modern, high-end graphics card could be simplified to a single cable from an appropriately-rated power supply.

As with any new standard, things are likely to evolve quickly and we’re now seeing the introduction of a new connector on the GPU and the PSU side of things. To be clear, this is not a new cable, it is an updated change to the pins in the socket, which is referred to as 12V-2x6. So what’s new with the 12V-2x6 connection? To put it simply: more reliability.

Compared to the original 12VHPWR connector, the new 12V-2x6 connector has slightly (0.25mm) shorter sensing pins while the conductor terminals are 1.5mm longer. This might not sounds like a huge difference, but it matters in ensuring that the power cable has been properly connected to whatever device is going to be pulling power from your system's power supply.

So what does this mean if you’ve already got hardware for 12VHPWR? Fortunately, existing 12VHPWR cables and adapters will work with the new 12V-2x6 connector as the new changes are only related to the GPU and some PSUs (Our new RMx PSUs for example). The cables you've got already will work fine, so don't worry.

Power supplies are a vital component to any system build and picking the right power supply for your hardware can ensure the best performance. While the new 12V-2x6 specification is backwards-compatible with existing gear that was designed around the original 12VHPWR spec, you'll still need to ensure that your power supply is up to the task in the first place. We've put together additional resources to help you pick your next power supply or if you're looking for specific recommendations to power a high end graphics card, check out our guide on the best PSU for the RTX 4090!