AMD won’t be using 12V-2×6 to power their next-gen RX 9070 series RDNA 4 GPUs

AMD isn’t forcing the use of 12V-2×6 with their upcoming RDNA 4 graphics cards

According to a report from Benchlife, AMD will not mandate the use of the 12V-2×6 power standard with its RDNA 4 series graphics cards. Instead, AMD’s newest GPUs will stick to the 8-pin PCIe power standard, ensuring compatibility with a larger number of power supplies.

We expect most AMD RDNA 4-based graphics cards to use 8-pin PCIe power connectors. However, some models may use the 12V-2×6 power standard. AMD’s partners have the option to use the newer power standard. However, due to their reliability and broader PSU compatibility, AMD’s AIB partners will likely stick to 8-pin connectors.

Recent leaks have suggested that AMD’s RX 9070 XT models will have a TDP of between 26xW and 330W. That level of power delivery can easily be achieved using a PC’s PCIe slot and two 8-pin power connectors. Simply put, the 600W 12V-2×6 power connector is overkill for these GPUs. Regardless, Benchlife does speculate that some high-end RX 9070 XT models will use three 8-pin PCIe power connectors.

AMD are due to release their Radeon RX 9070 XT in January. Benchlife has also claimed that AMD’s partners have non-final drivers for AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs. These pre-release drivers do not expose the full performance of AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs, making early benchmark data inaccurate.

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