AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series GPUs will likely not feature the 12V-2x6 connector, but AIBs will have the option to deploy it in their custom editions.
Radeon RX 9000 GPUs to Use Traditional 8-Pin Power Connectors As AMD Leaves The Option Of 12V-2x6 Connectors On AIB Models
AMD's upcoming RDNA 4 lineup will likely feature just 8-pin PCI-E connectors on the RX 9070 GPUs, including the RX 9070 XT and RX 9070. This report comes from Benchlife, which says that AMD isn't mandating using a 12V-2x6 connector for the Radeon RX 9000 GPUs.
The 12V-2x6 connector is generally used on high-end cards due to the higher power requirements. Since the Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 are supposedly the fastest GPUs in the RDNA 4 lineup, the chances of 12V-2x6 connectors on these two are higher than on the low-end side. However, AMD isn't forcing it on the AIBs, and they are free to choose whatever connector they want to accommodate on RX 9070 GPUs.
According to the reports, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is the flagship GPU with a default TDP of 260W. The custom designs from the board partners can reach over 300W, which means at least 2x 8-pin PCI-E connectors are necessary. The PCI-E slot on the motherboard can supply 75W, while a single 8-pin PCI-E power connector can deliver up to 150W. This totals 225W, and we still need more power to feed the 300W+ custom editions, which is why 2x 8-pin connectors are necessary.
However, AIBs can use the latest 12V-2x6 connector, which can supply up to 600W of power. Despite low power requirements, some cards already have this connector, such as the GeForce RTX 4070, which boasts a TDP of just 200W. The 12V-2x6 standard is an upgraded version of the 12VHPWR to eliminate the melting issue and ensure proper connection with the graphics card power ports.
Since the 8-pin PCI-E connectors are easily found in more power supply units than the 12V-2x6, it's likely that most vendors will opt for the 8-pin power connectors in their editions but may bring the latter to flagship designs. The Radeon RX 9070 XT and 9070 will be unveiled at CES 2025, and we will know exactly what plans AMD has for these GPUs.
