12VHPWR vs 12V-2x6

12VHPWR and 12V-2x6 are two revisions of the same 16-pin, 600 W graphics card power connector. 12VHPWR came from PCIe CEM 5.0. 12V-2x6 replaced it in PCIe CEM 5.1 to address reliability concerns observed in the older connector. The cable plug did not change. The PCB header got modified internal pin lengths, per the September 2023 revision of Intel's design guide.

The connector has twelve power contacts and four smaller sideband contacts. Power runs on 16 AWG wire at 9.2 A per pin, 600 W. Two sense pins, SENSE0 and SENSE1, tell the card how much the supply allows, at 600, 450, 300 or 150 W. CEM 5.1 changed two encodings. The 150 W level now needs the sense pins shorted together, and open on both means 0 W. The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition lists 600 W board power on one CEM5 16-pin connector.

Buy a power supply with a native 12V-2x6 output and use its own cable for 600 W cards. Intel says new supplies should mount only 12V-2x6. NVIDIA's dual 8-pin adapter signals 300 W, so it cannot feed a 600 W board at full power.

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Last verified October 30, 2026.