@momomo_us on X (Twitter) has unveiled official documentation on a new customized HPCE power connection standard aimed at delivering supplementary GPU power through the motherboard. The documentation reveals all the key specifications of the new connector, including its ability to deliver more than 600W of power, which is even more power than what the new 12VHPWR connector provides.
That's easily done by just lowering the voltage. But companies instead want to push it as far as it goes by default because higher performance gives better reviews, even if it consumes more power. Most buyers also care more about performance than power, willing to sacrifice more power to get it.
But you should still be able to undervolt most GPJs and thus massively increase efficiency of you so desire.
If it's just adapting an existing standard used in servers for use with graphics cards, this might actually have a chance of gaining a foothold. It would probably make people feel more comfortable with high power graphics cards too, considering the recent melting-cable fiasco.
When utilized on a motherboard, the HPCE power connector resides in line with the primary PCIe x16 slot and sits behind the x16 slot where the motherboard chipset heatsink usually resides.
The official documentation recommends not to install a locking mechanism on the HPCE connector itself, since the x16 slot's built-in locking mechanism is already adequate enough to hold the graphics card in place.
The documentation does not state an upper limit, but it stresses the necessity to deliver more than 600W of power to support future graphics cards.
600W is a lot of power, but current generation RTX 4090s are already capable of surpassing that mark with modified firmware.
RTX 4090's designed for LN2 overclocking (like the HoF cards) are also capable of surpassing 600W, and as a result, come with dual 12VHPWR power connectors.
Instead, it is a modification of the High Power Card Edge (HPCE) standard that is used heavily in the server industry.
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