When building your gaming computer, you will inevitably have to think about the power supply at some point. Here you will find all important information all about the power hearts of computers, including the basics, tips and purchase recommendations. Click through and read our important pages Explanations, tests and comparisons So it's always worth it.
Important questions at a glance
How many watts does my power supply need?I want don't think too much about it and just look for one good power supply. Suggestions?80 Plus Gold or Bronze: How important is Efficiency?What means 12V-2×6?Was changes ATX 3.1 and should I wait?I need one Power supply with ATX 3.0?What about a power supply? important for me?How functions a power supply actually technical?What should I? check before purchasing the power supply?
Useful links at a glance
Wattrechner (Be Quiet | Seasonic | Power Supply Calculator)PCGH price comparison for power supplies: Filter by price and detailsSavings through greater efficiency calculate
What is 12V-2×6?
TLDR: 12V-2×6 is the revised 12+4 connection that is being used as an H++ socket with ATX 3.1 and newer Nvidia cards. In the new ATX 3.1 specification, Intel replaces the 12VHPWR connection (available on older RTX 40 cards and most ATX 3.0 power supplies) with the externally identical 12V 2×6 as a 12+4 connection. The revised 12V 2×6 standard relies on shorter sense and longer power pins on the socket side (on the graphics card board or the PSU side). This makes sense because it ensures the power connection of the 12 V lines in front of the four sense pins. If the plug is not connected correctly, the sense coding limits the permitted power supply – the graphics card then limits itself or does not allow the computer to boot at all.
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Compatibility between 12VHPWR and 12V-2×6 remains, even though 12VHPWR does not offer the same safety benefits when connecting. A connection between an RTX 4080 Super (with 12V 2×6 socket) and a power supply with 12VHPWR (on the power supply side) remains possible. Both 12+4 plugs look the same from the outside, but an inconspicuous marking ensures clarity: While 12VHPWR cables are marked with “H+” on the plug, 12V-2×6 is marked with an “H++”. The 12+4 sockets are also installed on graphics card boards, as is already the case with Nvidia's upper Ada Lovelace models (such as the Geforce RTX 4070 Ti Super).
What changes does ATX 3.1?
ATX 3.1 power supplies, which are not expected to be released until mid-2024, will change specifications such as the shorter (!) hold-up times (cheaper to produce, technically no advantage for consumers) and other sense coding for the 12+4 plug (12V -2×6, if SENSE1/0 are both open, the PCI-E 5.0 card should not draw any power via the connector).
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
[PLUS] ATX 3.1 power supplies and 12V 2×6: What do you need to know?
PCGH Plus: Power supplies with Intel's ATX 3.0 specification are gradually coming onto the market and then this: Intel is redesigning the power hearts of computers with ATX 3.1. Which changes are actually important? The article comes from PC Games Hardware 12/2023.
more …
Buyers of ATX 3.0 power supplies will not get the full safety scope of 12V-2×6 with a 12VHPWR socket on the PSU (unless a 12+4 connection can be bypassed using separate cables), but there are in the In practice there are no serious differences expected. A Wait for current projects therefore practically not worth it.
Retrofitting 12V 2×6 sockets or the new Sense coding on already available ATX 3.0 models is not possible. However, using the 12V 2×6 cable/socket on the graphics card side is theoretically possible. Depending on the concept and connection (on the PSU and GPU side), there are usually only limited security advantages when switching from ATX 3.0 to 3.1. ATX-3 power supplies like the Enermax DF X or Corsair HXi 2023 can completely avoid older 12VHPWR sockets thanks to proprietary connectors on the PSU side. We have more on this, among other things detailed here in the video explained.
Do you need a power supply with ATX 3.0?
For all current graphics cards and private gaming PCs No power supplies with ATX 3.0 are absolutely necessary. The full potential of all sense signals can only be achieved with Take full advantage of PCI-E 5.0 GPUs. Even Nvidia's Ada machines like the Geforce RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 still rely on PCI-E 4.0 despite the 12+4 connector. As practiced with real PCI-E 5.0 cards (2024/2025 at the earliest) will look like remains to be seen. So if you already have a good, sufficient power supply with around ATX 2.4, you don't need to upgrade at the moment. However, if you need a new power supply anyway, this can be the case It's worth using the updated ATX 3 series specificationto benefit from improved maximum load slew rate (Transient Load Slew Rate) and other peak guarantees. Roughly speaking, ATX 3-series voltage converters have to withstand more technically. In terms of price, the gap between ATX 2 and ATX 3 models is becoming smaller and older series are often on sale. A good ATX 2.4 power supply remains more attractive than a bad ATX 3.0/3.1 power converter, However, if you have the same performance and a similar price, you should choose the newer standard. So if you need a power supply now, you can use ATX 3.0 power supplies with a clear conscience.
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree that external content will be displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
[PLUS] ATX 3.0: 8× 1,000 watt power supplies with Titanium, Platinum and Gold in the comparison test
PCGH Plus: Eight more electric hearts beat, oh, in our test laboratory. This time: Power supplies requested by readers with 80 Plus Titanium, Platinum and Gold in the exemplary 1,000 watt class. The article comes from PC Games Hardware 01/2024.
more …
ATX 3.0 power supplies are readily available and a sensible choice for new computers, ATX 3.1 models will appear in mid-2024 12+4 connector (with ATX 3.0 currently 12VHPWR, from ATX 3.1 12V-2×6, see above), which is used in the Geforce RTX 4090/4080/4070 Ti, however not explicit on ATX 3.0, but can also be used with much older power supplies. For example, Be Quiet, Corsair, Seasonic and branded power supplies offer native 12VHPWR cables for older power supplies, depending on the model. For all other power supplies there are conventional ones 12VHPWR-Adapterwhich can, for example, transmit 450 watts to the graphics card with three classic 8-pin PCI-E cables.
How many watts does the RTX 4090 need?
For the Geforce RTX 4090 are power supplies with approximately 850 Watt advisable for those RTX 4080 Super it would be 750 Watt and for those RTX 4070 The Super around approx. 700 Watt. Depending on the desired scenario, the required watt ranges can be included Undervolting and or Overclocking move, so that around 750 watts with a more frugal RTX 4090 and a reasonably economical processor can be completely sufficient. If you do not intend to do manual tuning, you should stick to the recommendations above. If the rest of your system is particularly power hungry, then going for the 1,000 class Ada Lovelace or Radeon RX 7900 cards may make more sense. The more powerful Ada Lovelace GPUs, which all rely on the 12+4-pin connection, come with short adapters for the commonly used 8-pin PCI-E cables, so that even older power supplies can supply the cards with power. The RTX 4090 is 4× (for up to 600 watts), with the RTX 4080 3× (for up to 450 watts) and the RTX 4070 Ti 2× 8-pin PCI-E cable (for up to 300 watts) required when using the included adapter. You can find out more about the adapters, necessary power supplies and practice with Ada Lovelace cards in the following video:
Recommended editorial contentHere you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations will only be displayed if you confirm this by clicking on “Load all external content”:Load all external contentI agree that external content will be displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy.
Exemplary price development
With our PCGH price comparison You can compare more precisely between different series, classes and standards in order to find the most attractive offer in terms of price. If you are also looking for other PC components, you will find more information here Buying advice and helpful links. Many recommended ATX 3.0 series are currently readily available and at a fair price.
Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 850 Watt, ATX 3.0
[PLUS] Practical tips for RTX 4080 and 4090: power consumption, heat, space requirements, undervolting, overclocking, 12VHPWR connector
Do you have further topic requests and suggestions? Then write us a comment here in the forum and get actively involved! For example, would you be interested in a comparison test of the smaller SFX form factor for Mini-ITX cases? Or maybe larger ATX 3.0 power supplies? Would you like to see a practical test or article in a very specific direction? Feel free to let us know! On the following pages you will find concrete model suggestions, Basic knowledge and Explanations.