New presentation slides have emerged, stating that they belong to Intel’s ATX12VO V3 power supply standard. The new standard includes changes that make power connections smaller in desktop computers, improve communication between the power supply and the motherboard, and increase efficiency, especially at low load. According to the leak, ATX12VO V3 comes with a new 8-pin main power connection, PMBus support, Low Power and High Power modes, removal of the standby line and an efficiency increase of up to 29 percent.
Intel is preparing the ATX12VO V3 power supply standard. ATX12VO is used as the 12V-oriented power supply standard developed by Intel for desktop computers. Instead of producing the 3.3V and 5V lines in the standard, classic ATX power supplies on the power supply side, it carries this conversion to the motherboard side. So the power supply basically provides 12V to the system. In previous versions of the ATX12VO, a smaller 10-pin connection was used instead of the classic 24-pin ATX motherboard power connection.
According to the resulting ATX12VO V3 slides, Intel is making this structure even smaller. In the new version, the main motherboard power connection switches to a new connector with 8 pins and 3 mm pitch. According to the shared information, this connection provides up to 83 percent reduction in total connector size compared to the classic 24-pin ATX connection. The CPU power connection is also switched to a 3 mm design, resulting in a size reduction of up to 51 percent.
The standby line is also removed in ATX12VO V3. Depending on the leakage, the main 12V line is arranged to remain active at all times. Intel’s slides also include Low Power and High Power modes. These modes enable the system to operate according to different power states and to manage power transfer in a more controlled manner. The most striking data on the efficiency side comes from Intel’s internal tests. According to the shared slides, the classic multi-lane ATX power supply design consumes approximately 1.29 times more power at idle compared to the ATX12VO V3 reference platform.
In benchmark tests under load, it is stated that the classic design consumes approximately 1.12 times more power. This data was shared as an efficiency difference of up to 29 percent at idle and 12 percent under load for the ATX12VO V3. Another important innovation of the new standard is PMBus support. PMBus, also known as Power Management Bus, is among the digital power management interfaces used on the server side.
The ATX12VO V3 design has four optional pins for PMBus. When this structure is used, the main connection increases to 12 pins and more detailed data can be exchanged between the power supply and the motherboard. Data such as voltage, current, temperature and power transfer can be monitored via PMBus. ATX12VO V3 also includes the I_PSU% signal. This signal can transfer the instantaneous usage rate of the power supply to the system.
The motherboard and processor can read how close the power supply is to its capacity through this data. ATX12VO V3 is expected to be seen in ready-made systems, corporate desktop computers and compact PC designs in the first place. The ATX12VO standard has been limited to DIY systems to date. The main reason for this is that both the motherboard and the power supply must support the same standard. There is no direct compatibility with existing ATX power supplies and motherboards.
Intel has not yet shared an official announcement date for ATX12VO V3. The leak comes ahead of Computex 2026. When the official details of the new standard are announced, the support plans of power supply manufacturers, motherboard manufacturers and ready-made system brands will also become clear.
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