Asus is actually going to bring us a graphics card without power connectors, and it’s going to be doing so this year. Having floated the concept at Computex 2023, it was met with such enthusiasm the company has reportedly decided to put the design into mass production this autumn (via WCCFTech). And honestly, I’m living for the idea of fewer cables showing when building my next gaming PC.
Starting with Asus’ upcoming RTX 4070, you won’t have to stare at that unsightly cable protruding from the side of your GPU, or otherwise buy a pretty cable mod to make it a more bearable sight.
The GPU itself will come in the form of a 2.3-slot triple-fan card. The design features your standard PCIe Gen 4.0 x16 interface, which sits in line with another, smaller proprietary interface (marked GC_HPWR). That feeds into a 16-pin connector, which actually connects up through the back of the motherboard for a cleaner look.
So yes, there are still cables, they’re just not visible around the front.
Of course, this calls for an entirely new motherboard which Asus will be bringing in the form of the exceptionally minimal-looking Z790 TUF Gaming motherboard, as well as the TX Gaming B760-BTF WIFI, both of which come in black or white, with all their power connectors on the back of the board.
The back-facing GPU connector can deliver up to 600W of power to the upcoming GPU, so prepare yourself for a cableless feast for the eyes, and a potential shock to the wallet for the privilege of this super clean, minimal design evolution. And more cables to have to jam into that unsightly mass hidden behind the motherboard.
The first models coming by the end of the year, so keep an eye out for them if you’re in the market for some minimal PC build components.