Intel Data Center Max GPU “Ponte Vecchio” Implements 16-pin 12VHPWR Connector

The swanky new Intel Data center Max GPU “Ponte Vecchio” is the company’s first product to implement the 12+4 pin ATX 12VHPWR power connector, which the company helped design as part of the ATX 3.0 spec. The PCI-Express add-in card (AIC) form-factor variant of the GPU comes with a single 12VHPWR connector that can deliver up to 600 W of power with 100% excursions within small fractions of time (as prescribed in the ATX 3.0 spec). The card elegantly positions the connector at the tail end of the PCB, where while it might obstruct the air intake slightly, it would still ensure that the connectors aren’t bent at odd angles. More importantly, the positioning of the connector ensures a bunch of these cards can be installed in 4U server enclosures (without adding 3.5 cm to the Z-height).

The first GPU maker to implement the 12VHPWR is NVIDIA, with its “Ampere” GeForce RTX 3090 Ti, doubling down on it with the RTX 4090 and soon-to-launch RTX 4080. The connector’s implementation heaped bad press over the past few weeks, particularly with the adapter that converts four 8-pin PCIe power connectors to an 12VHPWR; which is allegedly flimsy in the face of aggressive bending for cable-management; with RTX 4090 users on social-media reporting burnt adapters and power connectors on card due to improper mechanical contact from the cable bending/strain. The cable-management standards for servers are different from those of DIY gaming PCs, with many server PSUs still wiring unsleeved “mustard-and-ketchup” cables.