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