Intel's new Data Center GPU Max 1100 GPU uses controversial 12VHPWR connector

NVIDIA is now not the only one that is using the new 12VHPWR power connector on its graphics cards, with Intel announcing its new Data Center GPU Max 1100 GPU series.

Intel's new Data Center GPU Max 1100 GPU series GPU packs the new 16-pin PCIe power connector, which will power its new Ponte Vecchio GPU architecture. The company will be offering up its new Data Center GPU Max 1000 series GPUs in multiple SKUs using the GPU architecture, either in OAM form factor, on in regular PCIe.

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The new 12VHPWR power connector, on the new Intel Data Center GPU Max series (source: Intel)

The company explains that its new Data Center GPU Max Series was formally codenamed Ponte Vecchio, which is now the industry's highest-density processor that packs over 100 billion transistors that are spread across 47 active tiles and feature up to 128 Xe-HPC cores.

• Read more: Intel: our new Ponte Vecchio GPU is 2.5x faster than NVIDIA A100 GPU
• Read more: Intel's new Data Center GPU Flex Series now supports TensorFlow acceleration
• Read more: Intel Arctic Sound-M data center GPU spotted up close and personal
• Read more: Intel hides Arc GPU name: Arctic Sound-M rebranded to Flex GPU series

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Intel's new Data Center GPU Max 1100 GPU with the new 12VHPWR power connector (source: Intel)

NVIDIA still has exclusivity over the 16-pin PCIe "12VHPWR" power connector until at least January 2023 across its fleet of GeForce RTX 40 series "Ada Lovelace" graphics cards, as Intel won't have its new Data Center GPU Max 1100 series cards.

Controversy aside from the melting 12VHPWR power connectors on NVIDIA's new flagship GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, the 16-pin power connector can drive up to 600W of power... which is fantastic when you consider it's through a much smaller cable, versus 4 x 8-pin PCIe power connectors (150W each) that would've been used in place of the single 12VHPWR power connector.

• Read more: PCI-SIG now considering changes to problematic 12VHPWR connector
• Read more: NVIDIA working with AIBs 'around the clock' on GeForce RTX 4090s blowing up
• Read more: Multiple GeForce RTX 4090 cards DEAD, melted 16-pin power connectors!