Leaked documentation confirms that PCI-SIG is working on 12V2x6 connector, a new standard that will replace the 16-pin connector (12VHPWR Gen5) that was used on some new generation graphics cards. This new connector will be identified as PCIe Gen6, so it will most likely hit the market accompanying the release of the said standard.

As many of our readers will remember, the 16-pin connector has been surrounded by some controversy as there have been cases of burnt cables, but it ended up mostly due to user error. It was a very curious topic indeed, especially since these cases occurred randomly and sporadically, and because in the end it was impossible to conclude that the connector had problems or serious design flaws.

What was shown is said connector it must be inserted well for contact and feeding to occur correctly, and it has also been shown that it could not be composed violently and excessively in the first part, as this would put excessive stress on the cable and lead to heat build-up that would eventually cause problems. If either of these two keys were broken, it was possible to burn out the connector, meaning that this failure could be forced in a very simple way.

This reality has led many manufacturers, especially graphics card manufacturers, to take measures to prevent users from improperly connecting an additional power cable. Mounts, for example, GIGABYTE indicator light which lights up if we have not fully inserted the additional power connector, and this warning is also present on graphics cards that use the classic 8-pin connector.

The new 12V2x6 connector will undergo a more demanding and comprehensive standardized testing process and will be carefully designed to meet the Standard ATX 3.1. and PCIe Gen6, although it is very early stage at the moment and does not seem to have passed the design stage. However, we also know that this connector will offer up to 600 watts of power, and in this case it will be possible to add another 75 watts that can be extracted from the PCIe slot, which leaves us a total of 675 watts.

12VHPWR connector on the left and 12V2x6 on the right

This new connector could be compatible with some 12VHPWR connectors, but it is important to note that the 12V2x6 version will bring big changes at the spec level and that it will have very tight continuous power metrics, which means that achieving this compatibility may be critical upgrade at the firmware level on graphics cards.

At the design level, there will be no changes to the connector, which means that in this sense there will be no incompatibility. The 12 power pins and four control pins will be retained, with the latter being the most important target of this update. However, an important change will be introduced in the length of the pins, which is now shorter make sure the connector only works when fully inserted.

We still don’t have an exact release date for this new connector, but it is said that it could hit the market simultaneously with the release of the GeForce RTX 40 Super, an intergenerational renewal that could land sometime next year. It makes sense, but since nothing has been confirmed yet, we’ll just have to wait.