The “War on Cables” pattern rages on and Asus is on the entrance strains. In 2023 and 2024, Asus eagerly embraced the pattern with “BTF” motherboards and circumstances designed to stealthily disguise cables across the rear of desktop PCs, however designs proven off at CES 2025 point out that they may step issues up a notch quickly. How so? A large graphics card energy connection proper on the motherboard.
It wouldn’t be Asus’ first try on the idea. The corporate’s BTF designs embrace an present, proprietary connection that may energy a specifically designed RTX 4070 Ti or 4090, as much as 600 watts. However the next-gen model of this design steps it as much as 1,000 watts — a full kilowatt going via the motherboard with out cumbersome energy rails snaking in the direction of the entrance of your pristine PC case. That’s in response to designs proven to HardwareLuxx (through VideoCardz.com).
Along with a better energy throughput and decrease temperatures, the brand new model of the GC-HPWR connection is markedly completely different than the unique BTF design. This upgraded model makes use of a detachable connection part, a bridge between the motherboard and the recessed connection on the GPU.
Asus
The benefit right here is that you would be able to take away it from the GPU to make stated card appropriate with non-BTF motherboards, whether or not from Asus or different producers, thanks to straightforward PSU rail connections on prime of the cardboard. This additionally implies that commonplace, non-BTF graphics playing cards from Asus or different producers could be simpler to put in on a BTF-equipped motherboard. It’s the most effective of each worlds.
All of this work remains to be within the design stage up to now, or at the very least that’s all that Asus felt comfy exhibiting off at CES 2025. If we’re going to see extra of this tech in 2025, I’d anticipate it to point out up at Computex in Could.
