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ASUS has showcased a new concept graphics card and motherboard that can deliver up to 250W of power directly from the PCIe slot, potentially paving the way for power connector-free graphics cards.
**If ASUS’s New Graphics Card & Motherboard Concept Comes To Life, Most GPUs May No Longer Need Power Connectors**
ASUS has made some innovative cable-free designs on graphics cards and motherboards. Their BTF series places all connectors at the back of the motherboard, and GC High-Power solutions for graphics cards are widely available. The company also demonstrated its 1000W BTF 2.5 connector at Computex 2025. However, they continue to evaluate and test new solutions.
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In a video shared by ASUS’s China manager, Tony Yu, the company showcased a new concept design that might lead to a connector-free GPU design, specifically referring to power inputs.
The current PCIe Gen5 standard hasn’t evolved in the power management area; it still delivers only 75W of maximum power. This is insufficient for many mainstream GPUs, which can consume over 100W at peak loads. Therefore, an extra connector is needed to ensure stability.
ASUS’s new design involves using the 12V ATX supply on the motherboard to offset some of the power requirements but still falls short due to additional demands such as fans and RGB headers. The PCIe slot can provide up to 75W, but this needs to be expanded for higher power consumption.
By designing its own concept PCIe slot solution, ASUS has increased the gold finger points from 3 to 5 on the front and added 2 more points at the back, allowing for up to 250W of power. This new design can drive up to 250W, and other board vendors like MSI also offer supplementary 8-pin connectors.
During a demo, ASUS showcased a TUF GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Gaming concept graphics card running entirely on PCIe power, drawing up to 248W without any issues.
The ASUS PCIe connector-free design is still a concept but could lead to future sub-300W GPUs needing no power connectors. This would result in cleaner setups and alleviate concerns associated with newer 16-pin power connectors, which can be prone to incorrect plugging. However, a motherboard supporting these graphics cards will likely be necessary.
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