MSI prepares power supplies with two 12V-2×6 connectors for RTX 50 GPUs

As we wait for NVIDIA’s new RTX 50 series of Blackwell-based consumer GPUs to arrive, fans of the brand are increasingly concerned about the power demands of the products. Now we have new power supplies from MSI that should add to those concerns, incorporating two 12V-2×6 connectors.

The 12V-2×6 connection is here to replace the 16-pin 12VHPWR after the original version became a fire hazard. It’s capable of delivering up to 600W of power, so the decision to put two in a single PSU raises questions.

Even more so because MSI itself told TweakTown that it placed the pair of connections to prepare its power supplies “for the next generation of graphics cards.” As we know that AMD does not intend to target the high-end segment with its future Radeons, the manufacturer is talking about the RTX 50 series.

This could be an indication that the RTX 5090 will have such a high TDP that it will use not just one, but two 12V-2×6 connectors. It is important to note, however, that even if this is the case, it does not necessarily mean that it will pull more than 600W from the socket. It may just be a solution to stabilize the power distribution to the component, but it is still indicative of a high consumption.

Two 12V-2×6 connectors for an RTX 50 might be overkill

It is interesting to remember that at the beginning of August we had a leak of a Cooler Master PSU that was described as “ready for RTX 5090”. This PSU only has a 12V-2×6 connector capable of delivering up to 450W, which contradicts the exaggerated demand indicated by MSI.

More about the new RTX 50:

It could be that one of the reports is wrong, or it could be that MSI is preparing power supplies for systems with two RTX 50 cards installed, instead of just one. Either way, we can speculate that NVIDIA’s new series of cards looks like it will continue the growing power demand of its latest GPUs.