Nvidia’s Big Plans for RTX 5000 GPUs: Power Supply Concerns Loom

Will the RTX 5060 Demand More Power?

Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell graphics cards might require significantly more power than the current Lovelace GPUs, according to a recent leak.

This leak, however, is not straightforward. It comes from an anonymous source via a hardware leaker and seems to be a mistake by power supply manufacturer Seasonic.

Seasonic, a well-known name in the PSU market, has a wattage calculator on its website. This tool allows users to input their PC components to estimate total power usage, helping them choose the right power supply. Interestingly, Seasonic listed Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs in this calculator – though they’ve since been removed. When a calculation is run and saved, Seasonic provides a text file download. This file included TDPs (Thermal Design Power) for the RTX 5000 series, from the RTX 5090 down to the RTX 5050, suggesting an accidental leak of these power usage figures, as noted by VideoCardz and Olrak29 on X.

If the information is accurate – and it might not be – the flagship RTX 5090 is listed at 500W, which is 50W more than the RTX 4090.

The rest of the series shows smaller increases: 30W for the RTX 5080 (with a TDP of 350W), 20W for the RTX 5070 (with a TDP of 220W), and a 55W increase for the RTX 5060 (to 170W). The RTX 5050, which doesn’t have a desktop equivalent in the Lovelace series, is said to be 100W. All these graphics cards are expected to use the 16-pin power connector.

Analysis: Sorting Through the Rumors

What does this mean for Nvidia’s next-gen GPUs? First, a reality check is needed. Seasonic could have used placeholder details or outdated information from Nvidia. The supplied wattages might not be accurate.

Assuming these power specs are correct, it’s not surprising that the RTX 5090 could use 50W more power than its predecessor. There’s speculation about the next-gen flagship being a 50% to 70% performance increase over the RTX 4090, with much higher clock speeds. This would naturally lead to increased power demands. Nvidia can only achieve so much with generational efficiency gains.

If these rumors hold true, a 50W increase for the Blackwell flagship would be quite reasonable. However, another rumor suggests the RTX 5090 will be much slimmer, which contradicts the above. Some sources might have incorrect information unless Nvidia has made significant advancements behind the scenes.

The RTX 5090 and 5080 are rumored to launch this year, with the RTX 5070 and lower models not expected until 2025. Given their distant release, the power usage figures for the RTX 5070 and 5060 should be taken with skepticism. Nvidia itself might not have finalized the power requirements for these GPUs. If the RTX 5060 does see a significant power increase, it could be a substantial upgrade over the 4060.

The 16-Pin Power Connector: A New Standard?

The rumor that the entire RTX 5000 series will use the 16-pin power connector has been circulating. Why would Nvidia do this? The 16-pin connector is set to become the new industry standard (specifically the 12V-2×6 connector, a safer version of the initial 12VHPWR). Adopting this connector across the board would help Nvidia standardize designs and reduce supply chain costs.

For consumers, this means older power supplies will need an adapter for the new 16-pin connector, adding to the cost of new GPUs. This isn’t ideal for more affordable models like the RTX 5060 or the budget RTX 5050, if it exists.

Increased power consumption will also raise running costs over time (electricity usage), and higher TDPs for models like the RTX 5060 might necessitate a PSU upgrade, adding more cost and hassle. However, it’s important not to get too carried away with this speculation, as the power usage figures for the lower-end Blackwell GPUs are far from confirmed.

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