GC-HCPE Power Connector Can Supply more Than 600 Watts to GPU

[AleksandarK]

Twitter/X user @momomo_us has unveiled official documentation detailing a new GC-HPCE power connection standard to supply additional GPU power throughout motherboard. This connector can deliver over 600 Watts of power, surpassing 12VHPWR connector's capacity. The GC-HPCE power connector features four groups of pins. Sixteen pins are dedicated to power delivery, while the remaining twelve facilitate communication between the motherboard and the graphics card. Its size is comparable to the regular PCIe x1 connector. Positioned in alignment with the primary PCIe x16 slot on a motherboard, the GC-HPCE power connector is situated behind the x16 slot, typically where the motherboard chipset heatsink is found. This strategic placement ensures the graphics card can be easily slotted into both connectors, simplifying installation. The connector's design negates the need for an additional locking mechanism, as the x16 slot's existing lock sufficiently secures the graphics card.

First showcased at Computex, this connector was featured in several prototype motherboards and graphics cards, emphasizing its potential to enhance cable management and aesthetics. By eliminating supplementary power cables from the graphics card and channeling power through the motherboard, the graphics card's appearance remains uncluttered, and cable management behind the motherboard tray becomes more streamlined. Intriguingly, this connector is a familiar design. It's a modified version of the High Power Card Edge (HPCE) standard prevalent in the server industry. While ASUS has been the primary proponent of this connector, it remains to be seen if other companies will adopt this standard for their consumer products. Additionally, routing power throughout the motherboard will require manufacturers to include additional power regulating circuitry, potentially driving motherboard costs up. It is also not an agreed upon industry standard, which could block some future GPU upgrades from happening.



You can check out ASUS'es implementation of the Back-to-Future (BTF) motherboard that supports this connector below.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[bug]

It would still mean additional traces or layers on the motherboard, driving prices further up Possibly additional VRMs, too.
But neat from an install point of view.

 

[TheLostSwede]

It would still mean additional traces or layers on the motherboard, driving prices further up Possibly additional VRMs, too.
But neat from an install point of view.

Most likely, all they're doing, is putting the 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 connector on the rear of the motherboard, but I believe some kind of power regulation/protection circuitry would be needed.
Some more details here

The Truly Cable-Free Experience with ASUS Hidden Connector Design | ASUS Global

BTF symbolizes our goal of providing users with more aesthetically pleasing PC assembly by hiding connectors on the underside of a motherboard, leading to minimalist appearance.

www.asus.com

 

[Vayra86]

The 12VHPWR plot thickens... the wires don't though

This is getting comical at this point...
Not looking forward to >350W GPUs tbh

 

[bug]

Most likely, all they're doing, is putting the 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 connector on the rear of the motherboard, but I believe some kind of power regulation/protection circuitry would be needed.
Some more details here

The Truly Cable-Free Experience with ASUS Hidden Connector Design | ASUS Global

BTF symbolizes our goal of providing users with more aesthetically pleasing PC assembly by hiding connectors on the underside of a motherboard, leading to minimalist appearance.

www.asus.com

Ah, I read about that, but somehow didn't realize this is pretty much the same thing.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Ah, I read about that, but somehow didn't realize this is pretty much the same thing.

It's part of the Asus BTF thing, but apparently only on some boards...

 

[londiste]

This sounds like it would resolve one problem - bending the cable near 12VHPWR connector - while introducing more connections along the way, all that power going through motherboard and like @TheLostSwede pointed out - most likely ends up with 12VHPWR connector connected somewhere else on the motherboard.

Liking how clean it looks but that is about it. I would think some of the ideas about putting the connector under the radiator would also solve the bending problem without introducing additional stuff along the way. At least once someone figures out a reasonable path for the cable to go

 

[dj-electric]

To give a bit of background before deploying what's probably not gonna be a very popular read, especially among tons of short, mostly dismissive comments:
A part of what I do for a living is design wires and connectivity for compute systems. That means dealing with cables, connectors, PCBs and everything in between.
That also, unfortunately, means dealing with connector companies such as Molex, Samtec, TE, Phoenix and others. There are politics in the retail side of this market.

What the PC power and connectivity market has performed in recent times has been, at best, irresponsible for the longevity of power standards.
We had a crossroads, an opportunity to reinvent ATX and any other power standard in order to improve efficiency, reduce waste and improve performance of power systems in this market. Maybe at this point, its goin to be moot talking about how 24V regulation has matured a ton and we could have used DC-DC components to move ourselves to 24V inputs, save tons of copper, increase energy efficiency and reduce cable clutter.

For a market with such large components such as ATX/MATX boards and gigantic graphics cards, the choice of dense and tiny connectors have been absolutely criminal.
I don't know who in those organizations determined that the use of connectors such as the infamous 12VHPWR was a good idea, but both mechanically and electrically it has been a very bitter choice.

All we really had to do is stick to mini-fit, and just go with a 10pin or at most a 12pin, with half pos half neg pins. That's it. Even at a 10pin config such connector would have been able to provide up to 600W of power at 12V (5 leads at 16AWG for each polarization). The transition between dual 6+2 to this would have been absolutely seamless in terms of lead to lead purpose.

We could have had a good thing going, with properly mechanically secured latches. They had to screw things up with this goofy micro-fit connectors.

 

[Nostras]

Most likely, all they're doing, is putting the 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 connector on the rear of the motherboard, but I believe some kind of power regulation/protection circuitry would be needed.
Some more details here

The Truly Cable-Free Experience with ASUS Hidden Connector Design | ASUS Global

BTF symbolizes our goal of providing users with more aesthetically pleasing PC assembly by hiding connectors on the underside of a motherboard, leading to minimalist appearance.

www.asus.com

Maybe they should make it a through hole and allow users to plug the PEG connector directly in the back of the motherboard where this new connector is.
Effectively bypassing the entire motherboard.
This removes the majority of design issues with the motherboard (pumping hundreds of Watts to a GPU is not insignificant).
Only "issue" is that cases will have to account for it, but if this is properly standardized it's not much more than just leaving a small cutout.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Maybe they should make it a through hole and allow users to plug the PEG connector directly in the back of the motherboard where this new connector is.
Effectively bypassing the entire motherboard.
This removes the majority of design issues with the motherboard (pumping hundreds of Watts to a GPU is not insignificant).
Only "issue" is that cases will have to account for it, but if this is properly standardized it's not much more than just leaving a small cutout.

That's not doable though, purely mechanical that would be a nightmare.
Look at the two Asus board pictures that were added to the article and you'll understand why that's not doable.

 

[Nostras]

That's not doable though, purely mechanical that would be a nightmare.
Look at the two Asus board pictures that were added to the article and you'll understand why that's not doable.

I don't really see how this is not doable. Could you explain why you think it won't be?

 

[Ferrum Master]

Well it looks logical to bring the term motherboard to its right meaning.

 

[bug]

If you really want to think outside the box*, figure out how to do wireless power delivery inside the case.

*outside the box would really mean inside it, in this instance

 

[TheLostSwede]

I don't really see how this is not doable. Could you explain why you think it won't be?

First of all, look at the rear of the GC-HCPE connector on the motherboard, how do you propose to attach a power connector there?
All power connectors are through hole, not SMT mounted, which means you can't mount a power connector on the back of another connector like you proposes.

 

[Ferrum Master]

First of all, look at the rear of the GC-HCPE connector on the motherboard, how do you propose to attach a power connector there?
All power connectors are through hole, not SMT mounted, which means you can't mount a power connector on the back of another connector like you proposes.

Doesn't he imply to literally have a hole in the board where the connector should be?

 

[TheLostSwede]

Doesn't he imply to literally have a hole in the board where the connector should be?

Right, I misread, but that wouldn't really solve the issue with the 12VHPWR connector though.
It would also waste a lot of PCB routing space and might lead to some really bad EMI issues.

 

[TheDeeGee]

The 12VHPWR plot thickens... the wires don't though

This is getting comical at this point...
Not looking forward to >350W GPUs tbh

Just be happy with 60 FPS and all you need is a 4070 at 1440p

 

[zo0lykas]

Right, I misread, but that wouldn't really solve the issue with the 12VHPWR connector though.
It would also waste a lot of PCB routing space and might lead to some really bad EMI issues.

And how this will solve the problem?

Or you connected to gpu or to motherboard? Its the same thing..

You connected and forgot.

This idea is good only for clean builds, nothing else.

 

[LabRat 891]

PCI-express Pro, here we come!

 

[Nostras]

And how this will solve the problem?

Or you connected to gpu or to motherboard? Its the same thing..

You connected and forgot.

This idea is good only for clean builds, nothing else.

No? This will also really help with SFF setups. I would've appreciated such a solution when I built my pc.

 

[aktpu]

As I prefer ITX form factor, I don't really like this

 

[Vya Domus]

We could have had a good thing going, with properly mechanically secured latches. They had to screw things up with this goofy micro-fit connectors.

Agreed this all could have been avoided if they made a proper connector, Nvidia the supposed premium brand couldn't come up with a quality connector that was maybe 5 bucks more to manufacture.

 

[Vayra86]

Just be happy with 60 FPS and all you need is a 4070 at 1440p

Or just don't brute force everything, y'know, like we used to.

Wasteful practices should not be rewarded imho

Also... 4070? lol. Have you seen UE 5 results? The card is already reduced to lower midrange perf.
'Just be happy'... and people wonder why GPU land and game releases are going to shit these days. Perhaps you oughta use your consumer power a bit more.

That applies just the same to GPUs that top the charts by using an immense amount of power; feed that beast and all you get is more of it, with less pressure on arch and tech advancements, because why would they?

 

[dj-electric]

Agreed this all could have been avoided if they made a proper connector, Nvidia the supposed premium brand couldn't come up with a quality connector that was maybe 5 bucks more to manufacture.

Staying with mini-fit would actually save money. It was decided costs would increase when picking the new 12VHPWR connector.

 

[TheLostSwede]

And how this will solve the problem?

Or you connected to gpu or to motherboard? Its the same thing..

You connected and forgot.

This idea is good only for clean builds, nothing else.

I never said this solves the problem. I believe we need a replacement for the ATX standard and overhaul the PC overall.