ChomiqWasn't 12pin originally developed for Intel spec?

No, 12 pin was an off the shelf connector made by MOLEX which Nvidia chose to save PCB space. Nvidia and Dell cosponsored and developed the 12/16 pin standards, PCI-Sig approved and published the standard. Intel later had to incorporate it into their PCIE spec because PCI-Sig required it. The video "12HPWR is a Dumpster Fire" from Gamers Nexus is one source that covers this.

Its clear this stuff needs to slow down, PC users mostly dont update PSU every often, so spec changes to existing established standards are not practical, this new connector combined with that fact and its failures is a clear disaster.
Stick to 8 pin connectors, if your a GPU vendor and dont like the idea of 3+ 8pin connectors, lower the wattage of your card, simples. There is no place for 600 watt monstrosities.
Even 300 watts is a bite my tongue purchase, we need to get GPUs back down to 200w and below.

I thought this was gonna be an Nvidia exclusive???
Also didn't AMD make a tweet making fun at Nvidia for this connector?

Reminds me of the time iPhone removed the charger in the box then Samsung made fun of it on twitter... just to do the same thing.

RaceT3chI thought this was gonna be an Nvidia exclusive???

It's part of the PCI Express standard, and the standard doesn't allow more than 3x8-pin. So while there was no real reason for Sapphire to use 12VHPwr in this case, if for some reason AMD wants to ship a consumer power hungry card, they must use it.

RaceT3chAlso didn't AMD make a tweet making fun at Nvidia for this connector?

The RTG publicity team always makes fun of NVIDIA. Which I find incredibly unprofessional.

LabRat 891Gamers are gonna revolt if this connector becomes the norm for next gen. We're 3+ Revisions in, and they're still (brand agnostically) burning...

Current is not the same as voltage. Currents always take the path of least resistance. If you use six pairs of wires that only can effectively pass 8 AMPS for each wire, if every wire and connection had the identical resistance, you would be able to supply 48 AMPS. These GPU's are dissipating staggering wattage at only 12 Volts inputs of 100-500Watts. Watts equals Volts times Amps, for reference. For a static 500 watt load, you need a minimum of 41Amps. Trouble is, semiconductors have ratings based on average loads. When you look at the loads lets say from an oscilloscope, you may find peak draws nearing 100 amps. Now compact that with the fact that despite the redundancy of six paths to pass the current, if one ore more of those connections or wire resistance changes in any way, the whole connector will fry. Looking at the pins, comparing to the diameter of the pins on standard PCI-E power connectors, you clearly can see that it will have a higher resistance (Smaller pins & sockets).

You figure, they would be using a AMP connector (Ones they use for powering golf carts or hot line connectors on Tractor Trailers) to power a GPU. They have 45Amp and 175Amp rating connectors which utilize two wires to carry the load which would suffice for a GPU. Just use the fine braid speaker wires and it will flex as needed in a computer. All a guy needs to do is solder the wire into the PSU. I routinely do that to properly supply current to high current hard drives (15Krpm). Did you know that a single strand of power going to those three SATA power connectors are only rated at 4 AMP? Even though the power supply can supply 35-80 AMPS (depending on rating of PSU) you often are completely unable to deliver that power because of the thing gauges of wire utilized to deliver the power.

It is a simple problem to solve, but then they won't be able to make money on planned obsolescence.

Pixels303When you look at the loads lets say from an oscilloscope, you may find peak draws nearing 100 amps.

Where? And for how long?

I mean my CPU draws 100+ amps... from the VRM. And if it's from the cable itself, if it's only for milliseconds at most and spaced apart well enough, it may not heat up the wiring to the point of catastrophic failure.

shuffy_losysand the standard doesn't allow more than 3x8-pin.

And yet there were such cards, including the Radeon R9 390 X2.

Video about it? Here you go!
HardwareDealz (de)

With a friendly smile,
Fred.

FR3D1And yet there were such cards, including the Radeon R9 390 X2.

Video about it? Here you go!
HardwareDealz (de)

With a friendly smile,
Fred.

Being not allowed (or at least not defined) doesn't mean you can't do it nor you can't sell it. It just means the hardware won't pass compliance. And as far as I can tell with the PCIe 4.0 CEM spec, only up to 300W was defined. PCIe 5.0 introduced the 12VHPwr connector.

Also now that I've seen this, this explains why my video card doesn't take up a lot of power from the slot itself.

They should release a new, more robust connector and retire this one.