ASUS announces ROG Equalizer, a new GPU power cable built to protect hardware

With power delivery for modern GPUs still a concern with the new 12V-2x6 PCIe power connector, we've seen a wide range of protection measures and cable designs appear in recent years. However, ASUS's new ROG Equalizer might be the most notable, as it's essentially a 12V-2x6 PCIe power cable designed to address load-balancing and thermal performance issues for GPUs drawing up to 600W, like the GeForce RTX 5090.

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For example, each wire or pin on the ATX 3.1- and PCIe 5.1-compliant ROG Equalizer cable now supports up to 17 A, compared to 9.2 A on standard 12V-2x6 PCIe power cables. And with improved load balancing and a patented design, the ROG Equalizer cable can withstand some of the most extreme power scenarios.

"Under an extreme test scenario, we removed the middle 4 wires from the +12V cable to simulate potential current imbalance conditions that may occur with a standard 12V-2x6 PCIe cable," ASUS claims. "Even under these conditions, the ROG Equalizer maintained a temperature of approximately 73.4°C. In contrast, a standard 12V-2x6 PCIe cable reached around 146°C - far exceeding safe operating limits."

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The ROG Equalizer cable is made from premium and flexible etched cables with tin-plated copper wires that "operate at temperatures 50°C lower than the safety limit." They also meet the standards for rigorous protection against fire or melting. And for additional protection, the ROG Equalizer cable also seamlessly integrates with the Power Detector+ feature in ASUS's GPU Tweak III app, which offers real-time monitoring and a second layer of protection.

The new cable is set to be bundled with ASUS's ROG Thor or ROG Strix Platinum series power supplies, and existing customers can secure an ROG Equalizer cable as part of an upgrade program. ASUS notes that the ROG Equalizer cable is also compatible with power supplies from "all leading manufacturers."