MSI has officially announced its next-generation AM5 motherboards, which are compliant with the ATX 3.1 standard. One of the key features highlighted by MSI is the “Supplemental PCIe Power” connector, which provides extra power to the motherboard. This is a significant development as graphics cards, especially high-end ones, require more power to function efficiently.
Before the CEM 5.0 specification, the PCIe specification limited power draw to 75W from the PCIe slot. However, with the latest CEM 5.1 specification, power excursions of up to 165W are now allowed. To accommodate this increased power requirement, MSI has added a new power connector to the motherboard, providing up to 252W of power. This is a substantial increase from the standard 24-pin connector, which can only deliver 168W of power.
The addition of the new power connector means that the total power capacity of MSI’s X870 motherboards has increased to 420W, a 150% increase from the single 24-pin connector. This extra power capacity is especially useful for high-performance builds that require more power, such as those using Nvidia’s rumored GeForce RTX 50-series graphics cards.
MSI provided a theoretical example where a GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card draws 165W from the PCIe slot, while the fan and RGB headers require an additional 132W and 36W, respectively, totaling 333W. In this scenario, the extra 8-pin power connector ensures that the motherboard has enough power to support the components without any stability issues.
The supplemental PCIe power connector on MSI’s X870 motherboards is designed to provide additional wattage when needed, especially when pushing the GPU to its limits or running complex AI tasks. While the 24-pin connector remains the main power source, the supplemental power connector is there to provide extra power when necessary.
Although the new power connector does not have a specific name, MSI has confirmed that the X870 motherboards are ATX 3.1 ready, indicating that corresponding ATX 3.1 power supplies should have this power connector. The X870(E) motherboards for Ryzen 9000 processors are set to be available on September 26, although pricing details have not been disclosed yet.
Overall, MSI’s X870 motherboards with the Supplemental PCIe Power connector offer increased power capacity and stability for high-performance builds, making them a great choice for users looking to maximize their GPU performance and handle demanding tasks with ease.