Monday, February 27th 2012

GK104 Board Draws Power From 6+8 Pin Connectors, 3+2 VDD Phase Power Supply

The top desktop graphics card based on the NVIDIA GeForce Kepler 104 (GK104) ASIC, which has come to be known as GeForce GTX 670 Ti, is reported to use a 5 NVVDD phase power supply (VRM) design that draws power from 6-pin and 8-pin power connectors. The card will hence have 300W of power at its disposal. NVVDD phase 1 and 3 will be wired to the 6-pin connector; phase 2, 4, and 5 to the 8-pin connector. NVVDD phases 2, 4, and 5 feed power to the GPU, while phases 1 and 3 power the GDDR5 memory and other components on the board.
Source: VR-Zone
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36 Comments on GK104 Board Draws Power From 6+8 Pin Connectors, 3+2 VDD Phase Power Supply

#1
sparkyar
stop killing polar bears:cry:
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#2
thematrix606
Hmm, that's as much as my 7970. So it COULD end up being faster >.>

Let the flames hit my invisible anti flame shield \o/
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#4
LAN_deRf_HA
So then the 680 will be double 8 pin? Usually the x70s have less pins than the x80s.
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#5
Crap Daddy
Kepler: Tales of Mystery and Imagination
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#6
DarkOCean
And the 690 would be 3x8pin :nutkick:
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#7
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
The 6+8 pin configuration could be there to give it that high-end 'feel', even if it doesn't need 6+8 pin (and can do with 6+6). Looking at the power figures of the HD 7970, for example, you'll see how the 6+8 pin config is a little overkill.
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#8
thematrix606
btarunrThe 6+8 pin configuration could be there to give it that high-end 'feel', even if it doesn't need 6+8 pin (and can do with 6+6). Looking at the power figures of the HD 7970, for example, you'll see how the 6+8 pin config is a little overkill.
What about overclocking headroom? :)
Posted on Reply
#9
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
thematrix606What about overclocking headroom? :)
^Oh, and that. Out of the box, these cards barely need 6+8 pin. :)
Posted on Reply
#10
Completely Bonkers
Seems that nV is going for outright performance rather than performance per watt. Shame, a double win would have been a win for all.
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#11
seronx
btarunr^Oh, and that. Out of the box, these cards barely need 6+8 pin. :)
It really only needs the 8pin and slot power but any clocks over 1GHz it needs that 6pin or did I get that backwards it really needs that 6pin and slot power but any clocks over 1GHz it needs that 8pin
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#12
brandonwh64
Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
All the extra two pins are is Ground. We have ran a 5870 off two PCIex 6 pins fine.

Posted on Reply
#13
seronx
brandonwh64All the extra two pins are is Ground. We have ran a 5870 off two PCIex 6 pins fine.
PCI-E 6pin - 2.083 amps for a total of 75 watts
PCI-E 8pin - 4.167 amps for a total of 150 watts

Those two grounds allow for a higher amperage

12V x 2.083 amps x 3 Wires => 74.988Ws, 75W
12V x 4.167 amps x 3 Wires => 150.012Ws, 150W
Posted on Reply
#14
brandonwh64
Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
seronxPCI-E 6pin - 2.083 amps for a total of 75 watts
PCI-E 8pin - 4.167 amps for a total of 150 watts

Those two grounds allow for a higher amperage
Yea I know, but it is possible to run off two 6 Pins. Also I have noticed that most cards come with a 6pin to 8pin adapter cause some even high end older PSUs have no 8 pin. I have a Enermax Liberty 500W 40A PSU with no 8Pins and a Rocketfish 700W 60A with no 8pins
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#15
seronx
brandonwh64Yea I know, but it is possible to run off two 6 Pins. Also I have noticed that most cards come with a 6pin to 8pin adapter cause some even high end older PSUs have no 8 pin. I have a Enermax Liberty 500W 40A PSU with no 8Pins and a Rocketfish 700W 60A with no 8pins
Some PSU manufacturers use ATX gauged wires for PCI-E
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#16
Steevo
Like those extra grounds make a damn bit of difference. 6 total 12V+ wires and 8 ground, I would worry more about the board trying to supply too much power through the socket and frying than two extra grounds.
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#17
alwayssts
I think me and bta agree.

Imagine gk104 has perf/clock between pitcairn (20% faster core) and 7970 (20% faster through core + bus width difference).

What happens when your card is limited to 950mhz at 225w and your lesser competitor is not at all constrained by tdp on a process capable of 1200mhz give or take at reasonable and/or perhaps stock voltage?

I'll tell you who you are...nvidia.

If they want to compete against 7950 and not 7870 they will need the tdp of 7970.

I wonder what happens if sea islands has a 28-30 cu 32 rop part(s) with 256-bit bus and 225w tdp...
Posted on Reply
#19
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
brandonwh64Yea I know, but it is possible to run off two 6 Pins. Also I have noticed that most cards come with a 6pin to 8pin adapter cause some even high end older PSUs have no 8 pin. I have a Enermax Liberty 500W 40A PSU with no 8Pins and a Rocketfish 700W 60A with no 8pins
You also have to remember that 6-pin only requires 2 +12v wires, even though most good PSUs use 3. The 8-pin spec requires all 3 +12v wires.
Posted on Reply
#20
m1dg3t
Completely BonkersSeems that nV is going for outright performance rather than performance per watt. Shame, a double win would have been a win for all.
This is always the case with nVidia, power efficiency is never a concern for them. They seemingly always lack refinement in their design's :o
Posted on Reply
#21
brandonwh64
Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
ZubasaFYI the reference 5870 only have dual 6-pins connectors ;)
This is the 5870 I speak of, Its a ASUS 5870 V2

Posted on Reply
#22
borden5
ok now give us spec nvidia
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#23
Arctucas
SteevoLike those extra grounds make a damn bit of difference. 6 total 12V+ wires and 8 ground, I would worry more about the board trying to supply too much power through the socket and frying than two extra grounds.
Exactly.

The ampacity is not determined by the two extra grounds.

In fact, are those two extra 'grounds' actually not simply 'sense' wires that do not even carry current?
Posted on Reply
#24
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
ArctucasExactly.

The ampacity is not determined by the two extra grounds.

In fact, are those two extra 'grounds' actually not simply 'sense' wires that do not even carry current?
Correct, in fact in a lot of 6+2 power supplies, the 2 extra ground pins are just split from two of the other ground wires. So they only run 3 ground wires from the PSU to the connector, then split the extra two pins off from them, you can even tell that is what they are doing in the picture shown as an example.

However, those two being there guarantees that the 3rd +12v wire will be there, which is really the important thing.
Posted on Reply
#25
m1dg3t
6 + 2 connector can't be that special if you can use a molex adapter to power it :o
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