How big are GPUs going to get?

[VicVines]

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs. I have a mid tower and it can't handle any 3 fan card. I have to buy dual fan cards if I don't want to move my components to a new case.

[Hellowpplz]

3 minutes ago, VicVines said:

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs.

hot take here

no

Roast me
Or dont that's fine too

[ARandomPerson]

3 minutes ago, Hellowpplz said:

hot take here

no

Roast me
Or dont that's fine too

Why should we? Your GPU is probably doing much of the work.

 

In all seriousness, there is a limit: The entire PC consuming 1500 watts on a 120-volt circuit unless NVIDIA whips out one of these bad boys. 

[Agall]

18 minutes ago, VicVines said:

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs. I have a mid tower and it can't handle any 3 fan card. I have to buy dual fan cards if I don't want to move my components to a new case.

I want a 6-7 slot GPU that uses a CPU tower like set of 120mm fans to yeet the air right out the back of the case.

 

Though not quite at that level, there's this horizontal PCB with complete flow through design already that is/was a potential RTX 4090ti or TITAN that hasn't seen the market. 

 

 

 

 

 

I also don't see a reason why the 12VHPWR in this configuration can't just be directly out of the 'bottom' of the card. Quick 90 degree turn right into the cable management hole next to it.

[igormp]

11 minutes ago, Agall said:

I want a 6-7 slot GPU that uses a CPU tower like set of 120mm fans to yeet the air right out the back of the case.

 

Just do SMX or OAM fam

[Thomas4]

In 2026 the case will be the GPU.

[ARandomPerson]

Remember when an expansion slot wasn't just used for GPUS? Yeah, distant memory.

[ARandomPerson]

1 minute ago, Thomas4 said:

In 2026 the case will be the GPU.

If power consumption increases, you may even see the cooling system will need a wall AC.

[IkeaGnome]

Unpopular opinion, we're going to get back to where water cooling actually makes sense again for the size of the water block vs the size of the air cooler. 

[freeagent]

You might need one of these sooner than later..

 

[BiotechBen]

1 hour ago, VicVines said:

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs. I have a mid tower and it can't handle any 3 fan card. I have to buy dual fan cards if I don't want to move my components to a new case.

My take:

When gamers don't demand quiet operation anymore.

You can get a two slot A100/H100 pulling 300W+, and it just needs a blowiematron to cool it. The 4 slot card is so you can have a MASSIVE heatsink/spreader and have it be 45db at 100% fan speed pulling 350W.

[Alex Atkin UK]

2 hours ago, Agall said:

I also don't see a reason why the 12VHPWR in this configuration can't just be directly out of the 'bottom' of the card. Quick 90 degree turn right into the cable management hole next to it.

Apart from the fact "quick 90 degree turn" and "12VHWPR" are mutually exclusive.  It needs a much more gradual bend than the old connector due to it being a weaker connection.

 

1 hour ago, BiotechBen said:

My take:

When gamers don't demand quiet operation anymore.

You can get a two slot A100/H100 pulling 300W+, and it just needs a blowiematron to cool it. The 4 slot card is so you can have a MASSIVE heatsink/spreader and have it be 45db at 100% fan speed pulling 350W.

That's the annoying thing about the FE card, past about 50% it starts to get loud, even the flow-through fan.

 

That said, I find they become ineffective at dropping the temperature past about 60% anyway.  Basically if you need to run the fan that fast, its a case airflow problem.

[Crunchy Dragon]

29 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Unpopular opinion, we're going to get back to where water cooling actually makes sense again for the size of the water block vs the size of the air cooler. 

I've wondered if we're heading that way, and how quickly that time will arrive again.

 

I feel like we'll continue having large GPUs until they finally start being more power efficient and don't need cooling levels as funny as the current levels.

[IkeaGnome]

58 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

I've wondered if we're heading that way, and how quickly that time will arrive again.

 

I feel like we'll continue having large GPUs until they finally start being more power efficient and don't need cooling levels as funny as the current levels.

I went custom loop when I still had a 6800xt. At that point it was more for fun and to play with custom loops since I hadn't before. The day I ordered my 4090 I also ordered a block and I sure am glad I did.

Spoiler

That's a 4090 that you could easily fit in just about any size ITX build with a little shaving on the IO bracket. In the background you can see the 6800xt in it's block. The 4090 in a water block is actually sizably smaller than the 6800xt in a water block. 

 

Practically speaking, the graphics card takes less space. You don't have the 20 KG cooler hanging off the side to stress and bend the PCB. Yes, it does raise the "entry cost", but I see a world where cards with preinstalled blocks become popular.

[Dedayog]

2 hours ago, VicVines said:

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs. I have a mid tower and it can't handle any 3 fan card. I have to buy dual fan cards if I don't want to move my components to a new case.

Then you don't have a true midtower case.  Almost all fit 3 fan cards, I have had multiples.

 

Which case do you own?

[Alex Atkin UK]

22 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

Practically speaking, the graphics card takes less space. You don't have the 20 KG cooler hanging off the side to stress and bend the PCB. Yes, it does raise the "entry cost", but I see a world where cards with preinstalled blocks become popular.

I'd never go water cooling, too much maintenance and risk.  My 4090 FE  has already been in three different cases at this point, that would have been a nightmare if I had to mess around with water loops.

I tried an AIO for the CPU on one PC, and had to switch cases as the orientation was causing bubbling noises.  I'm not convinced its going to get close to its warranty period as I think the cramped case has caused the water level to drop.  So its in PC I only use for the F@H event now, daily drivers are all air cooled.

 

Kudos to anyone who enjoys doing hard loops, but its absolutely not for me either.

 

On the other hand I have a giant case for my gaming rig, so a 4 slot card, heck a 5 slot card would probably fit.

[Salted Spinach]

13 hours ago, VicVines said:

There has to be an upper limit where it's not feasible to create huge GPUs.

??

 

People are already willing to keep full size NAS/DAS at home when they still have free PCIE lanes, USB and SATA ports.

 

And then we have server racks

 

And then we have whole datacentres

 

Graphics card will get as big as they need to be, to dissipate the heat they generate.

 

If the 5090 is twice the size of the 4090 and has twice the performance, people are still going to buy it...

 

13 hours ago, VicVines said:

I have to buy dual fan cards if I don't want to move my components to a new case.

That's a you problem. Cost of a spacious case is paltry compared to cost of a card that has a reason to be big.

 

If a small PC is your priority and a better case is costly, you are probably looking at SFF cases which come at a premium. Pony up or make compromises.

[Dedayog]

1 hour ago, Salted Spinach said:

??

 

People are already willing to keep full size NAS/DAS at home when they still have free PCIE lanes, USB and SATA ports.

 

And then we have server racks

 

And then we have whole datacentres

 

Graphics card will get as big as they need to be, to dissipate the heat they generate.

 

If the 5090 is twice the size of the 4090 and has twice the performance, people are still going to buy it...

 

That's a you problem. Cost of a spacious case is paltry compared to cost of a card that has a reason to be big.

 

If a small PC is your priority and a better case is costly, you are probably looking at SFF cases which come at a premium. Pony up or make compromises.

I wouldn't doubt we'll put a mid tower gpu next to our midtower PC, like we do with laptops and egpus.

 

 

A gpu will be its own self contained unit at some point.

[Agall]

14 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Apart from the fact "quick 90 degree turn" and "12VHWPR" are mutually exclusive.  It needs a much more gradual bend than the old connector due to it being a weaker connection.

Depends on the type of 12VHPWR. Its a lot more forgiving than advertised. I've owned several types of 12VHPWR including two native PSUs. My Seasonic Vertex being what won.

 

Older photo, but it'll do, it's a lot straighter now with it anchored to the front fan bracket.

 

What I'm referring to is something like this, if we're talking a parallel and not perpendicular PCB for the card. Where the 12VHPWR is in the same position on the PCB. This or on the other side would work as well, probably be a lot better hidden.

 

[Stahlmann]

Use custom water cooling on any 4090 reference/founders design and the card suddenly becomes comically small. Depending on the choice of your water block it might also come with a 1 or 2 slot IO plate. It's really not the PCB that gets bigger, it's just the huge coolers.

[Alex Atkin UK]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

Depends on the type of 12VHPWR. Its a lot more forgiving than advertised.

That's not how that works, if you bend it more than recommended you are increasing the chances of the melting problem as the contact with the pins is not even.

Sure it doesn't guarantee you will have a problem, but why increase the risk?

 

1 hour ago, Agall said:

What I'm referring to is something like this, if we're talking a parallel and not perpendicular PCB for the card. Where the 12VHPWR is in the same position on the PCB. This or on the other side would work as well, probably be a lot better hidden.

 

I do agree that would be better, but you'd have to shave a fair bit off the heatsink to make that fit.

 

I also have a few SFF cases that can fit a 4090 easily, but the PSU would block the connector in that location.  Of course they also restrict the flow-through, or vent it right into the PSU intake which IMO is not ideal, but it does work and is not really a problem so long as the PSU has well rated capacitors.

[Agall]

Just now, Alex Atkin UK said:

That's not how that works, if you bend it more than recommended you are increasing the chances of the melting problem as the contact with the pins is not even.

Sure it doesn't guarantee you will have a problem, but why increase the risk?

That's precisely how it works, a 12VHPWR adapter is going to be dramatically less forgiving than an internally adapted cable or 1:1 cable, or even an individually sleeved cable versus sleeved cable. You can entirely eliminate the possibility of pulling out connectors with individually sleeved cables, so then you're just ensuring that your bends aren't so significant that its creating a hot spot.

 

Most of the fuss with 12VHPWR's bend radius is centered around the chonk of an adapter that came with the RTX 4090. Those discussions are then further shrouded by defective 3rd party adapted cables, angled adapters, and simply user error. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

8 minutes ago, Agall said:

That's precisely how it works, a 12VHPWR adapter is going to be dramatically less forgiving than an internally adapted cable or 1:1 cable, or even an individually sleeved cable versus sleeved cable. You can entirely eliminate the possibility of pulling out connectors with individually sleeved cables, so then you're just ensuring that your bends aren't so significant that its creating a hot spot.

 

Most of the fuss with 12VHPWR's bend radius is centered around the chonk of an adapter that came with the RTX 4090. Those discussions are then further shrouded by defective 3rd party adapted cables, angled adapters, and simply user error. 

The bend radius is for the 12VHPWR connector in general, in order to make sure contact with the pins is kept even. 

 

This is from Seasonic when using the PSU cables:

 

 

The fact the adapter makes the problem 100x worse is another issue entirely.  The adapter was an utterly stupid design given the above advice.

[Agall]

26 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I also have a few SFF cases that can fit a 4090 easily, but the PSU would block the connector in that location.  Of course they also restrict the flow-through, or vent it right into the PSU intake which IMO is not ideal, but it does work and is not really a problem so long as the PSU has well rated capacitors.

I don't see a problem with having variety in AUX power positioning. Making cards with 12VHPWR that come out the bottom even, so you can simply plug it in through a cable grommet or have a VERY short run from the PSU in something like a Fractal Design Ridge/Silverstone Raven/Node 202 style case.

 

I really wish EVGA was still in the market, because I would've spent upwards of $2k just to get their 4090 with its end mounted 12VHPWR. Other companies would likely do the same if their PCBs were full sized like EVGA kept with RTX 3000, which has its disadvantages but really only for the small quantity of people who throw waterblocks on GPUs.

 

12 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

No, the bend radius is for the 12VHPWR connector in general in order to make sure no stress is put on the pins. 

 

This is from Seasonic when using the PSU cables:

 

 

The fact the adapter makes the problem 100x worse is another issue entirely.

Except that's not how individually sleeved cables bend.

 

While the diagram is mostly accurate to how its shown, that's not how every cable works.

 

Simply looking back at my attached photo shows that clearly. Its 3 dimensional because there's no connection between each individual cable (ziptie added after this bend) and even then, its not an aggressive bend relative to the connector.

 

Having the cables individually sleeved allows you to ensure each individual cable isn't being over bent or torqued at the connector's end. Effectively allowing overlap from the perspective of that image.

Sure, Seasonic would rather not differentiate between the two and simply advertise their spec. Unless you know of a very specific electrical engineering reason why the length from a connector to a bend matters for each individual cable, then sure.

[Alex Atkin UK]

11 minutes ago, Agall said:

I don't see a problem with having variety in AUX power positioning. Making cards with 12VHPWR that come out the bottom even, so you can simply plug it in through a cable grommet or have a VERY short run from the PSU in something like a Fractal Design Ridge/Silverstone Raven/Node 202 style case.

 

I really wish EVGA was still in the market, because I would've spent upwards of $2k just to get their 4090 with its end mounted 12VHPWR. Other companies would likely do the same if their PCBs were full sized like EVGA kept with RTX 3000, which has its disadvantages but really only for the small quantity of people who throw waterblocks on GPUs.

 

Except that's not how individually sleeved cables bend.

 

While the diagram is mostly accurate to how its shown, that's not how every cable works.

 

Simply looking back at my attached photo shows that clearly. Its 3 dimensional because there's no connection between each individual cable (ziptie added after this bend) and even then, its not an aggressive bend relative to the connector.

 

Sure, Seasonic would rather not differentiate between the two and simply advertise their spec. Unless you know of a very specific electrical engineering reason why the length from a connector to a bend matters for each individual cable, then sure.

Looking at that photo, I'd say that the far left is not making the same contact with the pins as the right as its being pulled at an angle.  This is what the bend radius is about.

 

The idea is to keep them all straight so that the resistance of each connection is as close as possible to each other.  Its when one pin has a higher resistance than another that we get the melting as more current goes across the other pins and that one with higher resistance, and that one also gets hotter due to the higher resistance.

Its just a very poor design for sure, but here we are.

 

Also, I'm not saying having options with the connector on the end is a bad idea.  Its just given the low margins on these cards it seems unlikely anyone would do it, instead choosing to stick with the reference design location that is more compatible.