Seasonic is ready with its new ATX 3.1 compliant 12V-2×6 connector to replace the 12VHPWR (16-pin) power connector, unofficially dubbed the ‘RTX 4090 killer’, for its power supplies. Seasonic is also willing to give these cables to 100 users in China for free if users sign up for beta testing with their graphics cards that utilize a 16-pin power connector and a compatible Seasonic power supply.
The beta test application is open until December 31st, and it’s for users with either Focus, Vertex, or Prime series ATX 3.0 compliant power supplies and GPUs with a 12VHPWR connector. Though many would like to see this be tested with an RTX 4080 and RTX 4090, two of the best graphics cards, some GPUs with a much lower draw use this connector.
The leaked images of the Asus RTX 4070 Super OC Edition show that some GeForce RTX 4070 Super will likely use the 16-pin connector instead of the 8-pin PCIe connector used by its non-Super version. Irrespective of the GPU and its draw, one would like to be assured this new standard is also not prone to the same meltdown issues— Seasonic plans to address this by having up to 100 beta testers using their hardware.
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The contest is limited to one application per person. You will need to provide information such as the platform ID (Weibo, Bilibili, and WeChat), photographs of the power supply, and a graphics card showing the serial numbers. The entry is limited to up to 100 people; hence, it is first come, first served. Winners of these new power cables with the 12V-2×6 power connectors will be announced via Weibo, Bilibili, and WeChat on January 5, 2024.
Regarding the cable, Seasonic claims via Weibo that this is a one-piece molded connector with additional reinforcement and precision-wielded wires. As a result, there will be no need to bend, and its 12V-2×6 connector is claimed to have a reinforced terminal structure, high-current resistant allo,y, and copper right-angled terminals. As per specifications set by Intel (which also developed the specification for the 12VHPWR standard), this is a 16-AWG wiring support 600w output and complies with ATX 3.1 and CEM 5.1 standards.
It is not known at the time of writing if Seasonic will give these cables free of charge to qualifying PSU owners worldwide or if they need to be purchased. But the same question also applies to other power supply manufacturers.
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The 12V-2×6 connectors could be safer than 12VHPWR because of their increased power terminal length and shorter sense pin, which addresses the cause of the meltdown. The newer connector shows it can maintain its cool even with a worst-case scenario. Also, 12VHPWR connectors have backward compatibility with 12V-2×6 cables, therefore addressing the meltdown concerns for existing users as they need to get this cable from respective PSU makers. Newer manufactured power supplies should be bundled with the 12V-2×6 cables by default, but FSP has been doing that since September.
However, it would have been nice if Seasonic disclosed its responsibility if any user(s) faced a meltdown during this beta testing contest. Though this goes with the word ‘beta,’ many would rather be a spectator given the potential fire and electric hazards surrounding the 12VHPWR standard. Nobody would want to be in a situation where they put their hardware at risk. And since this, in a way, is a public test and given the cost of the hardware, it wouldn’t hurt if SeaSonic made that disclosure in these details, just like disclosing about warranty coverage with these free cables. Here’s wishing there were no meltdowns with 12V-2×6 connectors, even in a worst-case scenario.
