Previous to the official reveal of Nvidia’s RTX 40 collection (opens in new tab), there have been some disturbing rumors (opens in new tab) floating round concerning their energy consumption, notably the AD102 geared up RTX 4090. Fortunately, probably the most outlandish of these rumors didn’t come to move. We gained’t be seeing 900W GPUs this technology, although there’s certainly the 4090 Ti to come back, so by no means say by no means.
Nvidia posted an FAQ on its assist web page (opens in new tab), and it addresses the issues customers could have concerning issues such because the minimal wattage necessities, connector sturdiness and compatibility with present energy provides. The underside line appears to be, you probably have a superb high quality energy provide now that meets the minimal wattage necessities, it ought to all be easy crusing.
Starting with the wattage. The RTX 4090 carries a TGP of 450W, the 4080 16GB attracts 320W and the 4080 12GB attracts 285W. These numbers have led Nvidia to set the minimal PSU wattages at 850W, 750W and 700W respectively. That’s kind of the identical as equal RTX 30 playing cards. The RTX 4080 12GB (opens in new tab)actually needs to be referred to as the RTX 4070, however I digress.
One other main PSU query pertains to 8-pin to PCIe Gen 5 16-pin adapters and compatibility. Nvidia says the adapters have circuitry to cite: “translate the 8-pin plug standing to the proper sideband alerts in keeping with the PCIe Gen 5 (ATX 3.0) spec.” It might additionally inform the GPU whether or not three or 4 8-pin connectors are plugged in. If 4 are detected (for 600W in complete), it permits the cardboard to unlock extra energy headroom for overclocking.
A few different rumors have additionally been debunked – although we’ll want to attend till the playing cards are within the arms of thousands and thousands to be 100% certain. The primary pertains to the sturdiness of the PCIe 5.0 connectors, which is formally rated for 30 join cycles. That’s the similar is it has at all times been just about. As a reviewer altering GPU connectors nearly each different day, I can confidently say that connector sturdiness shouldn’t be an issue.
The final important rumor revolved round the opportunity of an overcurrent or over energy danger with non-ATX 3.0 PSUs and the brand new 16-pin energy connector. Nvidia says it encountered a problem with a single provider early in growth, which has since been rectified. Nevertheless, this final level illustrates the necessity to use a superb high quality PSU from a good model. A no-name OEM mannequin could not persist with PCI-SIG tips as strictly as a widely known model would.
The takeaway appears to be very like it has at all times been. A very good energy provide is a long-lasting element that’s completely able to dealing with your RTX 40 construct. So long as it meets the minimal wattage necessities, try to be positive. Add extra energy should you plan to OC and deal with the facility connectors with care and you shouldn’t have any issues.