Selecting a new PSU now with the 12VHPWR upcoming change is tricky, but if you read this article, you will easily find the proper one.
If you didn’t read my article on the change of the 12VHPWR connector with the new one, called 12V-2×6, I advise you to find the time to do it. Unfortunately, not only will the GPU sockets have to change to be fully compatible with the new connector, but the socket on the PSU modular panels will also have to change. This creates a major headache for users who just bought their ATX v3.0 PSUs.
Several users commented yesterday on my video that it is a great shame that their new GPUs and PSUs won’t fully utilize the enhanced protection features the latest connector offers. While 12VHPWR connectors will be compatible with 12V-2×6 sockets, they still don’t fully support it, so you won’t get the increased protection against melting connectors and cables.
As far as GPUs are concerned, there is nothing you can do. If you bought an RTX 4090, as I did, it has the current socket, so it won’t fully support 12V-2×6. When it comes to PSUs, though, if you need to get a new one during this period, I can give you a tip to select one that can fully exploit the new connector and corresponding cables once they are out.
Some brands used the regular 2x 8-pin sockets on the PSU’s modular panel to connect the 12VHPWR cables instead of 12+4 pin ones. This proved to be a smart move for two reasons:
- The regular 8-pin sockets have high tolerances in bending and abuse in general compared to 12+4 pin ones.
- By using 8-pin sockets instead of 12+4 pin ones, brands can easily replace the 12VHPWR cables with 12V-2×6 ones, fully exploiting the enhanced protection features!
Say you have a PSU which uses 2x 8pin to 12+4pin, you only have to obtain a new cable once the new standard is out, and you will be fully covered. Unfortunately, this won’t be the case for PSUs with 12+4 pin to 12+4 pin cables.
So my advice to you, if you want to be as future-proof as it gets, if you need to buy a new PSU this period, get one with 2x 8pin sockets on its modular panel, for the 12VHPWR cable, instead of a 12+4 pin socket. Note that 12V-2×6 connectors are designed to be backward compatible with 12VHPWR sockets, but you don’t get the enhanced protection.
Hey, Aris. Just wanted to clarify this. Let’s say I already bought a PSU with a native 12VHPWR socket on the PSU module side, are you saying that I won’t be able to fully utilize the safety features of the 12V-2X6 cable even if I disregard the native 12VHPWR socket and plug it into the 2×8 PCIE sockets of the PSU?
If your PSU has a 12VHPWR on its panel, officially, it is ATX v3.0, although, to be frank, connectors melted on the PSU panel were rare. That said, you are right, you can always get a 2x 8 pin to 12+4 connector and be ok with that.
greetings
Just bought a seasonic focus gx 1000 3.0.
will this be ok ?
or i should send it back ?
i read that 2x 8 is ok like the corsair hx.
But doesn’t lose ther ability to communicate ?
It is ok. This comm feature needs to be done by the GPUs first, something that I don’t see coming.
>Say you have a PSU which uses 2x 8pin to 12+4pin, you only have to obtain a new cable once the new standard is out, and you will be fully covered. Unfortunately, this won’t be the case for PSUs with 12+4 pin to 12+4 pin cables.
im a bit confused by the wording of this article. i thought the PSUs will need a circuitry update to ensure they get the safety benefit of the new 12V-2×6 standard. Regardless of if they have a native 12VHPWR socket or not. If you’re just talking about compatibility, I also thought that the new cables can be used in 12VHPWR sockets as they are the same just with H++ label?
No, there is no need for a circuit update, as it seems. Intel wasn’t clear on this at first, but I confirmed it.
Hello to author,
I’m a bit confused and want to ask a question (maybe a stupid one).
“but the socket on the PSU modular panels will also have to change”.Does this mean that the 12+4 pin on the PSU side of the “old ” ATX 3.0 power supply is completely unable to adapt to the new standard simply by changing the cable？
It can take the new cables, but it doesn’t offer the enhanced protection that it offers.
Thank you for your reply.
I’ve already purchased the Super Flower Leadex VII Gold.(In China, the Corsair brand is way overpriced😥）（The same price for Thermaltake isn’t cheap either，but Deepcool is often seen as an inferior alternative to Seasonic and is therefore cheaper.）
Hello Aris, I’ve bought an enermax revolution d.f 2, that should be based on Jiuzhou/HKC platform, similar to Thermaltake PF1 and Antec NeoEco platinum (all japanese electrolytics, many smd components, many polimeric capacitors) . Enermax said that ( apart from the 12vhpwr connector absent on the psu side) it is Atx 3.0 certified, with the 2×8 to 12vhpwr cable that they provide, since 18.08.2023.
Since this psu doesn’t have 12VHPWR socket on it, My question are:
Since the psu pins configuration seems similar to corsair one, would I be able to use Corsair Type 4 cables for the future connector? Enermax is currently selling the proper adaptor, but I don’t know about the future.
what happens to those 4 sense pin and all the sensing features of 12vhpwr on the next revised connector? Will they work with an adaptor?
Thank you and congratulations for your wonderful job
If you check with a multimeter and know for sure that the cable can be connected, you could try it. Worst case scenario the PSU won’t start because of SCP triggering.
I would buy Enermax’s cable. It will be ok, the sense pins are backward compatible in the new 12+4 pin socket.
Hello to the author,
was the comment received or cecnsored away? Asking again then 😉
You haven’t explained this in detail. Please do.
1) So does that all of this means that ONLY if a psu has the ATX 3.0 standard but does NOT have a 12VHPWR socket, only 1 – 4 normal 2x 8-pin sockets, will be able to (in the future) to just plug-in the newer 12V-2×6 cable and get the new protection features?
2) I don’t get it. The majority of here tested ATX 3.0 psus have besides the 12VHPWR socket, another 2 – 4 2×8-pin sockets. Why won’t they be compatible with future pluged-in 12V-2×6 cables?
Greetings
All comments are received, but they don’t post immediately for anti-spamming reasons.
If it’s not censored away, that I would be happy to get an answer from the author. Thank you.
I need a new 850 watts psu for the rtx 4090 + amd ryzen 5900x (mine is no atx 3.0 and short of 200 watts), but since I have no answer to that question, I’m unsure to buy or to wait another 6 months (or so).
I’d like to take that be quiet dark power 13, or seasonic or fsp hydro ti – all at 850 watts – but you as an author hasn’t explained why these are not compatible (or are they?) with the future 12V-2×6 cables.
All of them have a 12VHPWR socket and additional four 2×8-pin sockets.
Because I don’t want to see the native 12+4 pin socket thrown away and it is not sure if brands with this socket already installed on their units, will bother to relase extra adaptors. I cannot know that.
I don’t understand that answer hahaha
My question isn’t if these manufacturers will offer their extra adapters for 12V-2×6, but if these mentioned power supplies are compatible with the future 12V-2×6 cables (offering enhanced protection).
Example: Be quiet dark power 13 has four PCIe 2×8-pin sockets. I take a future 12V-2×6-TO-2×8-pin cable (4 PCIe 2×8-pin socket on the mainboard side to, on the other end, 12V-2×6).
Is the bequiet dark power 13 comptabile like that to ATX 3.1? Will it offer the enhanced security with a cable like that?
This authors writing only state that the Corsair RM1000e GEN5 (which has no 12VHPWR socket) will be offer enhanced protection with such 12V-2×6-to-2×8-pin cable.
I don’t understand “why?” and ask if that is corect.
😉
Hey Bobsi,
The best thing you can do (and I have done it too) is get in contact with the manufacturer, either by email or phone.
They might be a bit cryptic at the moment, as they do not want to “admit” that their products sitting right now on the shelves will be any % obsolete in some way.
If you roll a critical d20 with a charisma modifier you may be able to gather all the info you need. Some times it depends how we ask about things in order to get the answers we want.
I think you should get a 1200W+ PSU for an RTX 4090 setup.
Is the Loki 1000W a good option still?
Looking at that and the Silverstone Extreme 850R.
Both have native 12VHPWR modular connections but also have vacant PCI-E 6+2 connectors. Should they still be avoided?
Yes, it is!
Any chance of a running list of future-proof 2×8 pin PSUs?
Soon enough most will have native 12V-2×6 sockets
Would it be “smart” to now buy an ATX 3.0 PSU if you are running an 7900XTX, which doesn’t utilize the 12VHPWR?
Currently thinking of getting an older PSU and then switch to ATX 3.0 when I have a GPU that needs the connector. On the other hand, PSUs like the MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 are even cheaper than 850W ATX 2.52 PSUs.
Maybe the best choice would be to buy a PSU with the 8-pin sockets, but there my favorite would be the Shift which I already have at home and this has a slight coil whine driving me crazy.
What about sfx for mini builds? Which sfx or sfx L PSU is best Intel 12th gen with 4090? Which would you recommend?
Please check here: https://hwbusters.com/best_picks/best-atx-v3-0-pcie-5-0-ready-psus-picks-2023-hardware-busters/
Ok bit confused especially by specs and which to choose. If same price better to go with RM750x SHIFT or RM850x (regular not shift)? Or the regular RM850x is not ATX3.0 and will be better to go with RM750x SHIFT in that case?
shift is a decent unit. if u want atx3/pcie5 compliant u can get this. rmx is still a wise choice.
Hello,
Do you have any recommendations on PSUs that fit this spec? I am not exactly sure what to look for. I am not sure if the Corsair shift will fit in my chassis with the way the CPU is mounted.
Super Flower VII XG use 2x 8 pins, too.
Ok so can you recommend a few power supplies (in the 1000w to 1300w range) best suited for a 13900k & rtx4090 build?
Please check my best ATX v3.0 PSUs article.
What are your thought on upcoming BeQuite’s “Straight Power 12” 1000 W PSU , will you be testing it ?
If yes , please Compare it with Corsair’s HX1000i 1000 Watt ATX 3.0 80 Plus Platinum SMPS , also cheak weather BeQuite’s “Straight Power 12” 1000 W PSU has zero RPM FAN MODE .
I believe Seasonic deserves some love here, too. The TX-1600 (and probably other units) appear to have the same connector design as Corsair.
Let’s assume I have an ATX3.0 PSU with a 12VHPWR on the PSU-side.
Isn’t it possible to just buy a 2x8pin to 12V-2×6 CableMod cable once those are out and use two 8pin sockets on the PSU?
Or can I not use such a cable when I have a 12VHPWR port on the PSU-side for some reason?
You can yes. Unless your PSU is a multi-rail one, having its OCP set accordingly to 12VHPWR socket.
Ok, so it’s totally doable for single rail designs, got it. Thanks for the quick answer!
I am looking to buy a new PSU, but recent changes are so confusing does these PSU have 2x8pins for the new 12V-2×6 connectors?
Montech Titan Gold 1000W
FSP Hydro G Pro 1000W
From the product pictures I saw online, they also have several 8pins PCIE sockets, but not necessarily side by side with each other?
Thanks!
The Montech uses 12VHPWR on the modular panel as I remember. I don’t remember something for the FSP unit. Be as it may, the connector on the PSU side rarely has issues.
My old non-3.0 Seasonics can also support 2x8pin to 12VHPWR cables, so looks like the new PSUs just provide some peace of mind for power spikes etc? Are ATX 3.0 really necessary for new GPUs, or can I just wait for the 2x8pin to 12V-2×6 cables to plug into those old PSUs?
The ATX 3.0 PSUs are required to support power spikes that can stress older PSUs. I have a Seasonic Prime Titanium-rated 750W that shuts off randomly during gaming with an RTX 3090. A far cheaper, far less efficient Corsair Shift has no issues at all.
A large enough pre-ATX3 PSU should be fine, and there is no rule preventing old PSUs from handling large power spikes, but if the Corsair Prime Titanium doesn’t, what does?
Wow. You just solved a great mystery I have been trying to resolve regarding a 750W Seasonic Titanium and an AMD/3080 TI random shutoff problem I have wanted to but not quite fully cared enough to solve. I just replaced it with a Corsair 1000W hx1000i because I upgraded to a 4090 but great knowledge nonetheless.
Hi Aris,
Also checking in to see if the PSU i recently bought is on the ‘good’ list for the new connector. I got the Asus ROG Strix 1000w aura and it also has dual 8-in connectors next to the 12vhpwr so that would be good right?
Image of the rear: https://dlcdnwebimgs.asus.com/gain/63B97955-3BDA-4A0D-802D-431A74C94851/w1000/h732
So if I read correctly, the new Seasonic Prime ATX3.0 are 12+4 and so are on the bad list?
I need to buy 1000w PSU for my build which one do you recommend for 40+ series GPU’s?
Corsair RM1000x Shift or if you can find it, Super Flower Leadex VII XG 1000
Corsair RM1000x Shift literally is the worst psu i ever purchased
my gpu is turning off while using the pc
i did 4/5 remanagement of cables and its not staying on for longer..
It appears that PCI-SIG, the international consortium responsible for a variety of pc standards, will probably incorporate the new cable in an ATX 3.0 revision. I assume the revision will not happen overnight. Just the mention of changes to graphics cards got me thinking if the cable issue might wind up being a great big messy affair. What I didn’t realize until I read your article is just how many companies, organizations, and others like myself will have to make changes.
Your timing is perfect, and helped me in my PSU research. I appreciate the quick article. If you had waited a day or two to build a list of PSUs, I’d have missed it.
Happy I helped 🙂
I just bought Corsair SF850L..
Did my PSU already obsolete?
No way, it is a top PSU!
Will you maybe have a list of PSUs that does 2x 8pin to 12+4pin? 🙂
Will PSUs that have 12VHPWR connectors be able to use 2x 8pin to 12+4pin cable? Or does it not work like that?
As someone who dont’ understand PSUs, Buying a new PSU is so confusing these days.
ATX 3.0 – Super Flower leadex vii
Would love to see a list of PSUs that meet criteria. Was looking at a MSI- MEG Ai1000P, but honestly have no idea what I’m looking at on the connectors.
Most PSU vendors already started using the new connectors.
This has started becoming ridiculous if you think about it, also on the GPU side…
Silent hardware update? There is word that GPUs also have the new connector lately.
They really do not respect the hard earned cash people are paying for their gear.