I'm planning to buy an ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT, which requires three 8-pin PCIe power connectors. It comes bundled with a Corsair RM1000e (2025), but the power supply appears to have only two dedicated PCIe cable connections. The included cable setup provides a 12VHPWR connection that splits into two 8-pin connectors. I'm trying to avoid using 12VHPWR because of the reported melting problems. Is it safe to power this graphics card using the Corsair-provided cable arrangement, with one dedicated PCIe cable and the split 8-pin cable?
3 Answers
Corsair’s compatible Type 4/5 PCIe cables are designed to handle this kind of arrangement. With the PSU-side cable and its pigtail, the two GPU-side 8-pin plugs can provide the expected 150 watts each, giving you enough capacity for a three-connector card. Use both available PCIe cables and connect the pigtail on only one of them rather than trying to run everything through a single cable.
Yes, this should be safe in this situation. The RX 9070 XT draws only a little over 300 watts, well below the conditions associated with the worst 12VHPWR failures. Splitting that load across three GPU connectors is comfortably within the cable’s capacity. Just make sure every connector is fully inserted and the cable isn’t sharply bent near the plug.
Thanks, that clears it up. I’m still not a fan of that connector, but this sounds much less concerning at this power level.
The important part is the power draw, not just the connector’s name. A 9070 XT is nowhere near the roughly 600-watt level where the connector has seen its biggest problems. Your proposed setup—one dedicated 8-pin and two from the split cable—should be fine with the cables supplied for that Corsair power supply. There are also 9070 XT models using 12VHPWR, so avoiding it entirely may not guarantee zero risk, but this particular arrangement is not inherently unsafe.
Exactly. One dedicated 8-pin plus the two connectors from the pigtail is well within spec for a card drawing just over 300 watts.