Nvidia explains what you need to know about RTX 4000 GPU power demands
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Nvidia has clarified the situation around its RTX 4000 graphics cards and their power requirements, following what Team Green described as an “increase in questions” regarding compatibility with the incoming next-gen GPUs.
And the short answer for those who are concerned that they may need to buy a new power supply for compatibility is not to worry – there is no need to have a new ATX 3.0 model with PCIe 5.0- power connectors (known as 12VHPWR).
Current (no pun intended) ATX 2.0 PSUs will still work fine with any Nvidia RTX 4000 model, although that said, the power supply clearly needs to be powerful enough to handle the GPU, just like any graphics card.
All this info is provided in the form of a new FAQ (opens in new tab)as Tom’s hardware (opens in new tab) spotted, where Nvidia reminds us that a power adapter comes with Lovelace next-generation GPUs to connect ATX 2.0 power supplies.
So, in regards to the mentioned wattage recommendations for PSUs – both ATX 2.0 and 3.0 – what exactly are they? Well, Nvidia has determined that potential RTX 4090 owners must have a power supply of at least 850W. For the RTX 4080 16GB, the requirement is 750W, and for the RTX 4080 12GB variant at 700W, slightly less.
As Nvidia points out, these next-generation GPU power requirements aren’t all that different from the current-generation RTX 3000 models, namely 750W for the RTX 3090 and 3080 – although the flagship RTX 4090 clearly needs a little more power. . However, it delivers a promising performance jump compared to the extra power consumption.
As you may realize, these PSU requirements are not as simple as they seem at first glance. Where it gets complicated is that you may need more wattage depending on the rest of your PC components, especially the CPU, if you have a really powerful processor that has large power requirements of its own. (Intel’s fastest Alder Lake chip, the 12900KS, can pull 240W at max boost, for example, which may not be quite the top spot with a top-of-the-line Nvidia GPU, but it’s still a lot).
Overall, this is definitely an area where you’ll want to be careful, and speaking of that, it’s worth noting that even PSUs of the same wattage can be of different quality. And needless to say, you wouldn’t want to run a cheap unbranded PSU with a high-end Nvidia card, not that PC enthusiasts would dream of it. But it’s worth making the broader point that you should always stick with trusted PSU brands that will deliver more in terms of reliability and stability (like the models recommended in our roundup of the best PSUs). Even if you pay a little more, we’ve long argued that the power supply is an often-overlooked part that plays a key role in how the PC works.
We also recommend going slightly higher than the recommended wattage level if possible – it just seems sensible to have some extra headroom, especially when it comes to heavyweight GPUs. Our rule of thumb is to add 100W extra to what you think you need, in a way that’s better safe than sorry.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Nvidia is providing further clarification on the issue of a recently leaked email from PCI-SIG (the organization that oversees the PCI Express specification and more) raising concerns that there might be a potential risk. can be with ATX 2.0 PSUs with 12VHPWR connectors.
This arose from concerns that PCI-SIG had expressed in the past, in the prototype phase, but the issue has since been resolved. Team Green noted, “Nvidia confirmed it was an isolated issue with a prototype connector from a specific vendor, and the vendor has since resolved the issue.”