Rumor mill: Recent reports have sparked concern that Nvidia's upcoming series of graphics cards might consume significantly more power than the RTX 4000 series. A breakdown of MSI's latest power supplies has fueled speculation that Nvidia's new flagship might handle the extra load with two power connectors.
Nvidia's current flagship GPU, the GeForce RTX 4090, is already infamous for its issues with power supplies. A new product lineup from MSI suggests that its successor, likely arriving next year, could invite further PSU controversy.
TweakTown recently saw MSI's new high-wattage MEG Ai1600T PCIe 5.0 and MPG A1250 power supplies at the company's Shenzhen factory. Surprisingly, they include two 16-pin 12V-2x6 power connectors, and MSI says it added the additional plug to accommodate unnamed next-generation GPUs.
Nvidia, AMD, and Intel are expected to introduce new generations of graphics cards between late 2024 and early 2025, but recent rumors have singled out Nvidia's upcoming lineup for increased power consumption. Its upcoming flagship – likely called the RTX 5090 – could draw up to 600W, a dramatic increase over the 4090's 450W. The GPU's smaller brethren might also consume more power than their predecessors.
If the reports prove accurate, splitting the higher wattage across two cables might prove safer, potentially helping Nvidia avoid the PSU issues plaguing the 4090. Since late 2022, RTX 4090 owners have complained that the GPU fries power connectors.
Nvidia concluded its investigation by attributing the issue to user error, having acknowledged only a few dozen cases. However, as of April, repair shop Northridge Fix claimed to be receiving hundreds of melted 4090s per month, indicating a fundamental design problem.
If Nvidia's solution is to distribute the load between two cables, then anyone purchasing an RTX 5090 might also need to add the cost of a high-performance PSU to the GPU's price tag, which could exceed the 4090's $1,600 MSRP. Whether other RTX 5000 graphics chips require upgrading over existing ATX 3.0 power supplies remains unclear.
However, MSI's new offerings boast impressive stats for customers shopping for a new high-end PC build. The 1,600W MEG Ai1600T received the company's first 80 Plus Titanium rating. Moreover, users could theoretically use it to power two lower-end GPUs.
According to the latest information, Nvidia is expected to introduce RTX 5000, codenamed Blackwell, at CES 2025. The RTX 5080 could launch before the 5090.