NVIDIA mandated before the release of its new GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER that all custom AIB models would exclusively use the 16-pin "12VHPWR" power connector and NOT use regular 8-pin PCIe power connectors.
Well... it looks like RTX 4080 SUPER graphics cards with dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors could hopefully be something we see in the near future. Palit's new GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GamingPro OC graphics card has space for dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors, reports Japanese reviewer Jisakuhibi.
This isn't the first appearance of a new GeForce RTX 40 SUPER graphics card with dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors, as the MaxSun GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER was spotted -- then deleted -- from their website. NVIDIA would've flipped the ban hammer on that thing so fast, but what about Palit? Hmm.
In the teardown of Palit's new GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER GamingPro OC graphics card, the PCB revealed spacing for two 8-pin PCIe power connectors. The empty area is next to the 12VHPWR power connector, so a decision was made after the original design of the card to switch to the 16-pin power connector (we're looking at you, NVIDIA).
We also recently learned that inside the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Founders Edition, it looks like the company has reduced power phases from 13 on the RTX 4080 Founders Edition (the non-SUPER version) to just 11 on the new RTX 4080 SUPER FE. In contrast, memory phases have been reduced from 3 to 2, respectively. There's also one phase missing near the power connector.
This might have something to do with the changes to Palit's new custom RTX 4080 SUPER, although it would be nice to see a custom RTX 4080 SUPER with just that: dual 8-pin PCIe power connectors... it gives gamers the choice at the very least.
