With the new ATX 3.0 spec freshly out and the new 12VHPWR (or 12+4) connector appearing on the Nvidia 3090TI, PSU manufacturers are starting to adopt this new cable on their power supplies as well.
Now is the time to make a few things clear for everyone however, since this new spec has brought a lot of confusion to people.
ATX 3.0 and PCIe 5.0 are not the same thing! PCIe 5.0 is a subset of the ATX 3.0 spec. The important thing for power supplies is really ATX 3.0, since it is the spec that includes the new power specifications and excursions. The true name of the 12+4 pin is the 12VHPWR connector.
The 12VHWP connector is not enough to comply with ATX 3.0! Aris has reviewed the Gigabyte UD-1000GM with the new 12VHPWR connector. However, it does not actually comply with the ATX 3.0 spec as it failed with 160% and 180% power excursions. They just included a new connector.
The 12VHPWR connector does not “have to” provide the full 600W! In the ATX 3.0 spec, Intel specifies 4 possible wattage for this new cable : 150w, 300w, 450w, and 600w. Just because you see a 12VHPWR cable or connector doesn’t mean the device using it pulls 600w.
With that said, Seasonic is preparing two new models: the Prime TX-1600 and Prime TX-1300 with 1600w and 1300w of power respectively. Both models are part of the Prime lineup and made by Seasonic themselves.
The big news is that both of those units come with 2x 12VHPWR cables in the box, however Seasonic does not mention that they comply with ATX 3.0. From the picture, these 12VHPWR cables end in dual 8pins and the sense wires are not visible (even if likely present). Without these sense wires, future graphics card would limit their power draw to 150w according to the ATX 3.0 spec, even if the cables and the power supply can deliver more.
Since no current GPU supports ATX 3.0, maximum power through the cables will depend on their AWG.
The two new power supplies are rated 80+ Titanium. Both Cybenetics efficiency and noise levels are marked “to be announced”.
The units are long at 210mm depth. They are also equipped with a 135mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan. All cables are fully modular. Sadly, Seasonic does not specify the AWG of the cables.
Like all Seasonic units, the operating temperature is from 0 to 50c, derating from 100 % to 80 % from 40 °C to 50 °C. A 12 years warranty is applied to both units.
Interestingly enough, the Prime TX-1600 can only deliver 1600w from 115v to 230v. Below that, the maximum continuous power is only 1300w. Seasonic claims all of the usual protections (OPP, OVP, UVP, OCP, OTP and SCP).
We noted that the picture with the package content for both the TX-1600 and TX-1300 comes with a C13 AC chord, despite using a C20 plug on the PSU.
Prices and availability are unknown at the time of writing.
