Head over to the ChipHell forum (again), where we have some new photos of the RX 9070 XT Nitro . These show that Sapphire’s card hides a 12V-2×6 power connector under its backplate… When AMD cards abandon 8-pin PCIe. Let’s hope its integration is more reliable than on the RTX 50.
RX 9070 XT Nitro: the card does indeed come with a 12V-2×6!
This Nitro version promises to be Sapphire’s top of the range. To achieve this, the brand is producing a massive card featuring a triple-slot heatsink with three fans. There’s no doubt that the heatsink will be elaborate, as will hopefully the design. However, not all the details are known, and we don’t know whether the brand is using a vapour chamber, for example.
In any case, this card made news a fortnight ago for the possible integration of a 12V-2×6 as a power connector. Via the ChipHell forum, we’ve learned that the brand has indeed swapped the good old 8-pin PCIe for NVIDIA’s new connector. The reason behind this manoeuvre is not (yet) known. However, it may have something to do with aesthetics: it’s easier to look good with one small connector than three big ones… Especially if you’re going to hide it under a backplate.
Of course, when we hear this, we all have in mind images of RTX 40/50s whose power connectors have melted. Here, in theory, that shouldn’t be the case. The reason for this is quite simple: power consumption is much lower than on an RTX 5090. In fact, even on an RX 9070 XT, the card’s total power consumption (TBP) is 304W. So, even with significant factory overclocking, there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
Let’s just hope that on this card, it’s safer than on NVIDIA’s side. 🤞
