At the Computex 2023 technology trade show, Asus unveiled a prototype of their GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, notable for its operation without any external power connectors. 

A departure from the norm, this graphics card foregoes the traditional 8-pin PCIe or updated 16-pin power connectors, ostensibly for enhanced safety. Asus has instead developed a proprietary "GC_HPWR" connector, similar to a PCIe x1 slot, placed adjacent to the PCIe 4.0 x16 connector. This distinctive passthrough design enables the power supply from a slot at the motherboard's rear to reach the graphics card, demanding a specially crafted Asus motherboard with the BTF (Back To Future) feature.

According to Eixa Studio, a content creator from Bilibili who attended the Bilibili World 2023 event, Asus intends to initiate large-scale production of these connector-less GPUs during the Autumn, anticipating retail availability before the close of the year. The upcoming product line includes a new white variant of the GeForce RTX 40-series graphics card, as well as the forthcoming TX Gaming B760-BTF WiFi motherboard designed for Intel Raptor Lake and Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs.

Notwithstanding, it's important to recognize that the inventive design and requisite extra components could lead to a marginally increased cost relative to standard hardware. The primary merit of this cable-free configuration is its streamlined aesthetic, decluttering the build and obviating potential issues with the 16-pin power connector. However, it should be understood that this design doesn't provide substantial performance advantages.

ASUS Mass Producing Cable-Free Graphics cards?