The chip giant outlined two new specs related to power delivery inside desktop PCs. Among the items: a new PCI Express 5.0 power connector that can push up to 600 watts.
As computer components have evolved, the amount of power required to run the most muscular new hardware has also trended upward. Even so, the core standards and connections used to push juice to PC parts have been stable for a long time. But Intel is signaling that it’s time for some changes.
Today, Intel unveiled the new ATX12VO 2.0 and ATX 3.0 specifications. These two new specs outline some significant changes to PC power delivery, including a new connector for graphics cards that can supply up to 600 watts of power. These standards have already started to seep into the PC world, in the form of two new MSI desktops that employ the specs. But more are sure to follow.
It’s important to note that we are talking about two different power specifications here. ATX 3.0 is the most notable update in the long-running Advanced Technology eXtended (ATX) standard that was first launched by Intel in 1995. This was followed by ATX12V 1.0 in 2000, which was then replaced by the revised ATX12V 2.0 standard in 2003. (ATX12V is short for «Advanced Technology eXtended 12-Volt.») Beyond a definition of motherboard sizing and PC case fitment, ATX also defines parameters for standard desktop PC power supplies.
These standards are often referred to as ATX 1.0 and ATX 2.0 for short. Several revisions of ATX12V 2.0 have been created since 2003, but little has changed in the grand scheme of things, notably around physical connectors or things that PC upgraders or builders had to be concerned with.
Then there’s ATX12VO, which is the short form of «Advanced Technology eXtended 12-Volt Only.» The first rev of this related standard, known as ATX12VO 1.0, was developed and released in 2019 in an attempt to get ahead of incoming efficiency guidelines mandated by the California Energy Commission. A key difference between ATX12V and ATX12VO is that ATX12VO relies exclusively on 12-volt rails to feed power to other components. This differs from the various ATX12V specifications that have 3.3-volt and 5-volt rails in addition to 12-volt rails. (A «rail» is an internal power pathway configured to carry current at a certain voltage, which is why the standard ATX specification designates separate rails for 3.3, 5, and 12 volts for different component needs.)
On a more practical note, the power supplies you are likely to buy for a typical desktop PC you may be building or upgrading are overwhelmingly likely to be ATX12V-compliant, whereas it’s unlikely you will build a system from the ground up anytime soon with ATX12VO hardware. The original ATX12VO 1.0 specification was used almost exclusively in prebuilt systems. It’s likely that ATX12VO 2.0 will be, too, for at least the near term. Even if ATX12VO 2.0 components do start to appear on store shelves for system builders, they are unlikely to replace ATX12V hardware without a significant push from Intel and other key hardware vendors.
One big difference between the two standards is down to motherboard-side connectors. All motherboards and power supplies that use any version of the ATX12V specification after the 2.0 revision use the familiar 24-pin power connection to supply most of the power to the motherboard. ATX12VO hardware, on the other hand, uses a smaller alternative connector, and the two are entirely incompatible with one other.
The most notable change in the new ATX 3.0 standard is the introduction of a new power connector known as 12VHPWR. (Given that name, it will undoubtedly become better known as «the PCI Express 5.0 power connection.») The connector is similar to the one used on some Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-Series Founders Edition graphics cards, such as the RTX 3080.
There is a notable four-pin adjunct on the 12VHPWR connector that would make the two incompatible, though. These four pins are indicated to be used for signaling purposes, to allow the PSU to tell the graphics card how much power it is able to supply.
The new power connector can reportedly carry up to 600 watts of power to a single device, which implies Intel expects the power requirements of graphics cards to continue to climb in the coming years. This also suggests significant room for power-consumption growth in the graphics card industry, as high-end graphics cards top out at about 375 watts currently.
Intel’s new ATX12VO 2.0 will also support the new PCI Express 5.0 power connector, but it augments that with another new feature that Intel has dubbed I_PSU%. It’s not entirely clear what this feature is, or how it works (more to come on that front), but Intel noted in its announcement that it would have benefits for small-form-factor systems and offer cost-efficiency advantages. Much like ATX12VO 1.0, the new ATX12VO 2.0’s main purpose appears to be to push idle power consumption down, to comply with new energy efficiency laws passed in California.
Like with any new standard, it’ll take time for Intel’s new specifications to spread and be adopted by the computer industry. But the wait may be shorter than you would think, at least on the prebuilt-desktop front, as Intel pointed out that MSI has already launched two new desktops that employ the ATX12VO 2.0 specification.
One of these, the MSI MPG Trident AS 12th, is a gaming desktop that can be configured with a Core i7-12700 processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card. The other system, MSI’s Creator P100A 12th, is targeted more as a work or home office solution, but it too can come equipped with a 12th Gen Core i7 and an RTX 3070 graphics card.
As the year rolls on, expect to see more systems—and especially, more power supplies, perhaps even some in the aftermarket—built around these new standards.
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Michael Justin Allen Sexton, a life-long tech enthusiast and gamer, covers PC components and desktops for PCMag. He began breaking down PCs and repairing other electronic devices at the age of 10. When he isn’t gaming or tearing apart gadgets to learn how they work, he enjoys spending his spare time studying history and other cultures. He is also a practitioner of Tae Kwon Do with a first-degree black belt.
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