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NVIDIA teases RTX 30 series Ampere Gaming cards, confirms 12-pin power connector & V-shaped PCB

NVIDIA has posted an official teaser for its upcoming next-gen GeForce RTX 30 series Ampere graphics cards. The teaser confirms the design of the GPU, having a brand new cooling & power delivery system.

It has now been confirmed that the upcoming RTX 30 series Founders Edition cards will feature an irregular-shaped PCB, and also a 12-pin power connector as rumored before. There was some chatter before on the web that Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 30-series Ampere gaming GPUs may utilize a new 12-pin power connector interface. TweakTown’s industry sources have also confirmed that only the reference Founders Edition RTX 30 GPUs may use this new 12-PIN PCI-E power connector interface.

One major PSU manufacturer SEASONIC also posted pictures of this rumored 12-pin PCIe Molex power connector adapter recently. From Nvidia’s latest teaser we get some more information on the PCB and the power layout of these new Founders Edition Ampere cards. The Founders Edition cooling uses a full aluminum alloy heatsink along with dual-sided axial fans. The cooler heatsink is also coated with a nano-carbon coating, which should help keep the temperature in check.

The fans are bi-directional, and both fans seem to be placed on opposite sides of the card which might help push the air in different directions. Next, the heatsink appears to be curved.

The Remarkable Art & Science of Modern Graphics Card Design

Nvidia also promises to bundle an adapter which should be compatible with the existing 8-pin power cables. The cards will ship with bundled 2x 8-pin to 1x 12-pin connectors so you can run the GPU without any compatibility issues. The 12-pin connector will occupy less space than the traditional dual 8-pin cables. This connector will not require a new PSU though. This applies only to Founders Edition cards, as custom AIB/board partners are likely to use traditional 6/8-pin power connectors instead. The PCB components are now placed much closer to each other as compared to the previous generation of Nvidia graphics cards.

The placement of the 12-pin connector on the PCB is very important to note here. Since it is placed in a vertical position, at a 45-degree angle, we can now tell why Nvidia moved to a single 12-pin cable instead of the traditional dual 8-pin design for these cards. These Ampere cards have a unique and new PCB design, and there appears to be limited room on the PCB for other stuff.

Nvidia explains: “Over the past 20 years, computer graphics have made huge advancements in performance. It takes a combination of expertise in architecture development, thermal, mechanical, electrical, and product design to make it all happen. We offer a first glimpse at some of the strides we have made in designing graphics cards, so that they can reach their maximum potential and remain cool and quiet”. These include:

  • Thermal: An airflow-optimized cooling solution, redesigned to overcome existing constraints and move more air through the system for maximum cooling efficiency.
  • Mechanical: A stronger mechanical structure, including a new low profile leaf spring that leaves room for a back cover.
  • Electrical: A compact electrical design, with a new 12-pin power connector that allows more space for components and cooling, and is compatible with 8-pin connectors in existing power supplies with an included adapter.
  • Product Design: A no-compromise, cohesive design that embraces the revolutionary thermal solution while beautifully harmonizing each element of the graphics card.

Nvidia is hosting a Geforce Special Event on September 1st, and we expect the company to announce the next-gen Ampere Gaming GPUs.

Stay tuned for more!

NVIDIA RTX 30 Ampere GPUs 12-pin connectorNVIDIA RTX 30 Ampere GPUs PCB-1NVIDIA RTX 30 Ampere GPUs PCB-2

16 thoughts on “NVIDIA teases RTX 30 series Ampere Gaming cards, confirms 12-pin power connector & V-shaped PCB”

      1. Hell yeah, they allways are so far ahead of everything else – looking at you AMD, that dont know about innovation at all. All they do is keep copying nVidia time and again!
        Cant wait for Ampere to hit. Im sure it will be frikking awesome!

        1. AMD added a frame limiter in their control panel first, Nvidia took them a lifetime to add that
          AMD came with sharpening then Nvidia copied them

      2. This is shaping up to be a train wreck of massive proportions and the best part is only fanboys will be ruined by the wreckage.

        12pin+dumbass cooler design+ huge power draw= team green is seriously worried about what AMD has been up to.
        Add a ridiculous price tag that continues to raise prices for no reason other than they think they can get away with it after the mining craze…
        I got my popcorn ready!

  1. Weird about that vertical placement of the 12 pin connector. Will the cable not bend inside the ATX cabinet by this orientation ?

    Interesting PCB layout nonetheless.

  2. So Nvidia are already producing videos about thermal management. It’s almost like they’re seeking to shape the narrative ahead of the testers who’ll soon be exposing the massive power draw of these relatively inefficient Samsung-manufactured GPUs.

    1. I think they will go TSMC for the super high end cards, it doesn’t make sense to use super high clocked memory and a fancy cooler and then saddle the architecture with an achilles heel like that.

      I can see them maybe opting for Samsung’s 10nm, uhmm 8nm I mean.. with say the GTX 3070 with lower clock memory and a more conventional cooling solution and if they can get the prices down for the 3070 that might even be a good thing overall.

      I really hope they don’t make a colossal GPU with Samsung’s crappy process. I’m not really going to tolerate much BS from AMD or Nvidia on that GPU front this time around.

      1. “I think they will go TSMC for the super high end cards”
        Well, we’ll soon know either way. Rumours, discussed by generally reputable sources, suggest the higher end card/s will have their GPUs manufactured by Samsung. Hence, for example, the reportedly ridiculous triple-slot size of the RTX 3090.

        “I’m not really going to tolerate much BS from AMD or Nvidia”
        Indeed. I’m in no urgency to upgrade so if the aforementioned rumours are soon proved to be correct then I’ll gladly skip Ampere/RTX 3000 series altogether.

    2. Yeah, I wasn’t so sure about this new ventilation method. I know they’ve gotta show it off, but this seems a bit over the top, considering how we’ve already seen multiple diagrams and 3D models of the grill. I don’t think we really need to see that much of it, unless it truly is a new and better vent method.

  3. They are gonna try and sell you on how the V-shaped of the PCB gets you a FASTER & Overall better card. I can’t wait to hear this. V is no longer for vendetta it’s for cooling or whatever rubbish they come up with.

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