MSI introduces its latest X870 and X870E lineup, featuring an innovative addition – an eight-pin PCIe power connector, significantly enhancing the motherboard’s capacity to power your GPU, CPU, fans, and other components simultaneously. While you’ll still require supplementary power connectors to seamlessly integrate with your GPU, these advanced boards are designed to effectively manage the intense power demands of high-performance applications.
While this feature may not be crucial for top-tier gaming motherboards, it’s worth considering if you’re building a system with demanding components that require increased power delivery or overclocking capabilities.
Here’s a straightforward breakdown of how this function works: While marketed as a cable management solution for standard eight-pin PCIe graphics cards, this product actually caters to the recent motherboard design trend where connectors are located on the rear and flipped upwards, despite utilizing the same plug type. By providing power to the entire circuit board.
While similar to supplemental energy connectors found on motherboards for years, this enhancement is distinct in that it’s no longer confined to specific CPUs; instead, it’s a board-wide upgrade.
The new connector introduces a further 252 watts of peak power delivery to the motherboard as a whole, complementing the capabilities of the PCIe slot within your graphics processing unit. While eight-pin PCIe cables typically support up to 150 watts of power transmission, the introduction of ATX 3.1 standards enables these boards to accommodate a significantly increased power output – a whopping fivefold increase to 375 watts. The ability to supply can safely scale upward beyond its usual capacity for short-term periods.
MSI pairs its powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900X processor with a high-performance MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X 24GB graphics card, creating a potent combination that demands significant power consumption. With an abundance of followers and RGB lighting in place, the motherboard’s power supply may face increased strain.
While numerous current programs already seamlessly integrate 4090 GPUs with high-performance CPUs without requiring an extra connector, having some additional wiggle room can’t hurt.
A newly emerging feature may soon debut on MSI’s upcoming AMD X870 and X870E motherboards, slated for release on September 26, potentially commanding premium prices for the boards that support this innovation.
We strongly recommend the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D as our top gaming CPU pick due to its exceptional combination of superior gaming performance and surprisingly low power consumption.
