If the GPU requires more than 150 watts, it will, by design, come with an 8-pin connector or two 6-pin connectors.Īs always, there are outliers. 8-Pin Connector An 8-pin connectorĪlthough the math doesn’t seem right when compared to the 6-pin connector, the 8-pin connector can deliver 150 watts to the graphics card. The terms “PCI Express cables” or “PEG cables” (for PCI Express Graphics) can also be used to describe 6-pin connectors. Since 150 watts will be enough for most mid-range cards, these usually come with the 6-pin power connector. What this means is that the graphics card will use PCI Express x16 slot and also draw power directly from the PSU (Power Supply Unit).ĭespite the fact that 150 watts is enough for most graphics cards, cards like Nvidia’s RTX 3080 require more than 320 watts and system power of 750 watts. This connector can supply the GPU with an additional 75 watts of energy. Since none of these GPUs have a lot of processing power, they don’t need any more than 75 watts of power. Here are a few example of GPUs that don’t require any external power: GT 1030, GTX 1050 2GB variant, RX 550, RX 460 and many other.
Some come with multiple PCI Express x16 slots in order to connect more GPUs, but like we’ve already said, this increases the required power. Motherboards come with the aforementioned PCI Express x16 slot that can provide a maximum of 75 watts of power.
