AMD Radeon “RDNA 4” RX 9000 Series Will Feature Regular 6/8-Pin PCI Express Power Connectors

AMD will continue to use legacy PCI Express power connectors in its upcoming Radeon RX 9000 series RDNA 4 graphics cards, according to the latest information shared on the Chiphell forums. While some expected AMD to follow NVIDIA’s approach of equipping its GeForce RTX 50 series with the newer 16-pin 12V-2×6 connector, the latest information points to a more traditional power supply approach. While AMD plans to release its next-generation graphics cards in the first quarter, most technical details are still unknown. The company’s choice to stick with standard power connectors follows the pattern set by its recent Radeon RX 7900 GRE, which showed that traditional PCI Express connectors can adequately handle power demands up to 375 W. This is a feature that AMD can highlight as an advantage. Earlier leaks suggested the Radeon RX 9070 XT could reach 330 W at peak load.

Intel reportedly cited similar reasons for using standard power connectors in its Arc “Battlemage” graphics cards, indicating industry support for maintaining existing connectivity standards. NVIDIA’s different approach reportedly requires all motherboard partners to use a 12V-2×6 connector for the RTX 50 series, eliminating the option of the traditional PCI Express power connector. In contrast, AMD’s decision provides its manufacturing partners with greater flexibility in design choices, and MBA (Made by AMD) reference cards do not mandate the new 12V-2×6 power connector standard. AMD has revealed little about the capabilities of its RDNA 4 architecture, aside from power connector details and a general launch schedule at CES. Only the reference card’s physical appearance and naming scheme appear to have been finalized, with questions about performance specs yet to be answered. Impressive performance leaks Somewhat unreliable until the final driver and final optimizations are implemented.