In the recent war on cable cables, the power supply is huge. A well-received Twitter leaker revealed another new option. The GC-HPCE, based on the existing motherboards, could let graphics cards draw power directly from the motherboard-based connection – delivering up to 900 watts.
Wes this connected before so far as the momomo.com twitter post is making the rounds a long time ago (via Toms Hardware). Asus is going to be using a prototype version of the GC-HPCE when it showed off a free GPU-motherboard cable at Computex in May, which has been slated for production. The new connection is a complement of the main PCIe 5.0 port, spaced a few inches back on the motherboard. The GPU drives the central network and the GC-HPCE cable simultaneously, enabling to deliver electricity via a conventional power source cable which gets plugged into the rear side of the motherboard.
momomo_us
There’s no doubt about the advantages. The back of the motherboard lets you reduce the length of the primary computer unit, so it’s easier to design and flow the air. But apparently this design has some more practical improvements. A lifetime of 200 cycles for each connection is an exemplary improvement. Compared to the yearly 15 cycle rating, there is a significant improvement in safety, but it can be much less risky than removing photos from a card. I guess it is worth the fact you leave the power rail on the rear of the motherboard alone.
Multiple rivals are always a headache. But I can see this one getting some serious traction, especially since Asus is apparently behind it enough that he’s already building hardware. The powertrains are increasing, especially the ultrahigh-res (PCI) and high-res. If there are more powerful GPUs that meet the limits of PCIe 5.0 electrical draw design and which can easily hide power cables, it would be good for any graphics card maker to support the GC-HPCE connection. If you use a motherboard and a GPU, the price of this would be just fine.
In spite of the change and progress, PCIe 5.0 remains in constant motion. Who knows what’s commonplace for Computex next year?