Intel Data Center GPU Max 1100 adopts 12VHPWR power connector variant subject to industry-wide reliability concerns.

Intel has announced that it will be using the controversial 12VHPWR power connector for its new Data Center GPU Max 1000 GPUs, based on the Ponte Vecchio GPU architecture. This makes Intel the second major manufacturer to adopt the 16-pin PCIe power connector after NVIDIA introduced it with its graphics cards. Intel's new Data Center GPU Max 1100 GPU series will feature this power connector and will be offered in multiple SKUs, available either in OAM form factor or in regular PCIe configurations.

The Data Center GPU Max Series, formally codenamed Ponte Vecchio, represents the industry's highest-density processor, packing over 100 billion transistors spread across 47 active tiles and featuring up to 128 Xe-HPC cores. This substantial processing capability marks a significant advancement in data center GPU technology for Intel's competitive offering against established players in the market.

NVIDIA currently maintains 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 will not have its Data Center GPU Max 1100 series cards available until after that date. Despite the controversy surrounding melting 12VHPWR power connectors on NVIDIA's flagship GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, the 16-pin power connector offers significant advantages by being able to drive up to 600W of power through a much smaller cable compared to the four 8-pin PCIe power connectors (150W each) that would have been required previously.