Nvidia’s RTX 5090 may not be such a power-hungry beast after all

By Monica J. White Published October 18, 2024

The RTX 5090 will undoubtedly claim its spot atop the rankings of the best graphics cards when it’s here, but that kind of power comes with a lot of … well, power — or more specifically, a high power draw. To that end, we’ve heard a lot of speculation about the RTX 5090 potentially decimating your power supply and needing over 600 watts of power. However, Segotep, a China-based PSU manufacturer, weighed in on the matter, and it seems that enthusiasts can hold off on buying a new monstrous PSU for a while yet.

It all started with claims that the RTX 5090 may feature not one, but two 16-pin power connectors. We’ve already seen some high-end PSUs sporting dual 12V-2×6 power connectors (made by manufacturers such as MSI), which could potentially power a GPU that draws far more than 600 watts.

These power supply units are still hard to come by, but according to MSI (as quoted by TweakTown), the second 12V-2×6 power connector was added to “support the next generation of graphics cards.” As of right now, the next generation is the RTX 50-series, so it’s not much of a stretch to assume that the RTX 5090 could be quite power-hungry indeed — but Segotep disagrees.

If the Chinese PSU maker is to be believed, the RTX 5090 will not require dual 16-pin connectors. The information comes from a conversation on Bilibili, shared by VideoCardz. One user reached out to ask whether Segotep’s power supply could feature two 16-pin connectors instead of one, asking the company: “What if the 5090 requires dual 16-pin connectors?”

Segotep was quick to dismiss the claim, saying: “There’s no such possibility.” The company also said that it already has the data for the RTX 5090 and added, “See you in January.”

This little piece of information is promising for two reasons. One: The power draw claims, which we’ve also gone through with the RTX 4090 prior to its launch, might once again turn out to be exaggerated. Two: This marks yet another confirmation that the RTX 50-series is likely to be announced at CES 2025.

Of course, using two power connectors doesn’t have to equal the RTX 5090 going above 600W. It’s a choice Nvidia might have made in order to spread the load among two connectors. After all, following the various instances of the 12VHPWR connector melting, it’s not out of the question. However, all signs so far point to a single connector, and let’s hope it stays that way.