WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.360 Power supplies haven't changed that much over the years, but there's a new specification 00:00:04.360 --> 00:00:08.320 that could force you to buy a new one the next time you upgrade your GPU. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:13.580 It's called ATX 3.0, and it was designed by Intel specifically with high-performance 00:00:13.580 --> 00:00:16.720 GPUs in mind. But what's different about it? 00:00:16.720 --> 00:00:21.120 Let's start by talking about the most obvious part of the new spec, the power connector 00:00:21.120 --> 00:00:27.480 for your GPU. Instead of the 8-pin PCI Express connector that we've been used to for a long time, 00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:38.720 ATX 3.0 uses a 16-pin connector called 12VHPWR, which is a mouthful that stands for 12VHP. 00:00:38.720 --> 00:00:43.760 Any power supply rated for more than 450W is supposed to use this new connector, which 00:00:43.760 --> 00:00:51.680 is meant to simplify the build process. Instead of having different graphics cards requiring different numbers of 6 or 8-pin 00:00:51.680 --> 00:00:57.520 connectors, or even custom ones, new cards would instead just need one of these new 16-pin 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:02.520 connectors, even if a particular card is on the more power-hungry side. 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.800 Think of it kind of like USB-C in that it's one form factor to plug in, but with different 00:01:07.800 --> 00:01:16.080 power delivery depending on the implementation. The spec recommends that the connector be labeled with how much power it supports, 150, 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:24.400 450, or 600W, though that 600W option is supposed to only be used for liquid cooled cards since 00:01:24.400 --> 00:01:27.440 that's just, wow, a lot of power. 00:01:27.440 --> 00:01:34.400 And remember how I said it had 16 pins? Well, four of those pins are smaller than the rest, and they're there so that the power 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.200 supply and the GPU can actually talk to each other. 00:01:38.200 --> 00:01:43.160 Specifically, the power supply can tell the GPU what its capabilities are, which means 00:01:43.240 --> 00:01:47.640 that if you have a beefy graphics card, but a power supply that can't quite provide all 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:52.880 the power it might ask for, the power supply can tell the GPU, hey, I'm not actually that 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:57.280 powerful, and the GPU's power limit can be lowered to accommodate it. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:02.240 This should help prevent unexpected instability due to a card drawing too much power, though 00:02:02.240 --> 00:02:06.920 it also means that your GPU's performance could be throttled if your power supply isn't 00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:11.480 up to scratch, so you'll need to make sure that your power supply is rated for the amount 00:02:11.480 --> 00:02:15.880 of power that your GPU requires, oh, and also the rest of your system. 00:02:15.880 --> 00:02:21.400 One of the other new ATX 3.0 features, also aimed at GPU's, is better spike resistance. 00:02:21.400 --> 00:02:27.640 The thing is, GPU's have a normal power draw when they're under load, like playing a game, 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:32.040 but they can also experience big momentary spikes in power draw. 00:02:32.040 --> 00:02:35.400 This is a notable issue with RTX 3000 series cards. 00:02:35.400 --> 00:02:41.440 Well, ATX 3.0 is supposed to alleviate this by requiring any certified power supply to 00:02:41.440 --> 00:02:48.120 be capable of providing twice its maximum rated power for 10 straight microseconds, and 00:02:48.120 --> 00:02:52.640 it has to be able to do this for 10% of its total running time. 00:02:52.640 --> 00:02:57.200 That means that power supplies may become costlier due to the better electronics required. 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:00.880 Don't have a high-end GPU? Join the club. 00:03:00.880 --> 00:03:09.840 Well there are other changes that still might affect you. ATX 3.0 should deliver better longevity with power supplies being able to handle over 175,000 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.840 power cycles per year, which is kind of like turning your computer off and back on 480 times 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:23.600 a day over its lifetime. And speaking of which, ATX 3.0 should provide faster system wake-up time, so I say go for 00:03:23.600 --> 00:03:26.840 it! Turn it on and off as often as you want! 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.040 Efficiency should also improve when your system isn't working too hard, as power supplies 00:03:30.040 --> 00:03:37.520 have to be above 60% efficient at just 10 watts, or at 2% of their rated maximum power. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:41.840 The spec also mentions that there will be a new certification system from Cybernetic 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:47.560 Labs. This is kind of like the 80-plus system that we're all used to, but Cybernetics raises 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:52.600 power supplies for both noise and efficiency, so you should be able to get a quick idea 00:03:52.600 --> 00:03:56.760 as to how loud your new PSU will be just by looking at the box. 00:03:56.760 --> 00:04:01.240 So should you budget for a new power supply alongside your next GPU purchase? 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:06.320 Ah well, remember that this is a recently published spec, and it may be quite a while 00:04:06.320 --> 00:04:11.600 before ATX 3.0 power supplies hit the market, if we end up seeing them at all. 00:04:11.600 --> 00:04:15.940 Intel is pushing the spec, but it could meet resistance from manufacturers if the changes 00:04:15.940 --> 00:04:20.800 end up being too costly to implement, so don't go throwing out your existing power supply 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:27.400 just yet. I mean, it works pretty hard for you, and once the last time you even told it, thank you. 00:04:27.400 --> 00:04:31.680 And once the last time you hit the like button and subscribed, hopefully just moments ago.