ASUS has officially introduced two flagship GPUs the ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB GDDR7 BTF and the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB GDDR7 BTF White Edition featuring the company’s innovative hidden‑power connector system. These cards join the expanding BTF (Back To the Future) ecosystem comprising select motherboards and chassis to deliver clean, cable‑free aesthetics via a discreet high‑power connection underneath the card.
Source : ASUS (RTX 5070 TI TUF BTF)
The RTX 5090 ROG Astral series includes two models one with factory overclocking (up to 2610 MHz) and one without—featuring a quad-fan cooling system, a patented vapor chamber, and premium materials like a metal frame and phase-change thermal pads for enhanced heat dissipation. At the heart of these new GPUs lies the detachable Graphics Card High‑Power (GC‑HPWR) adapter. It slides into a gold‑finger slot on compatible BTF motherboards and delivers up to 1,000 W of power— significantly higher than the standard 600 W 12V‑2×6 cables. ASUS’s latest revision (BTF 2.5) allows users to remove and store the adapter when using a conventional PSU, providing practical flexibility.
Source : ASUS (RTX 5090 BTF OC Edition)
In stress tests by Tom’s Hardware, ASUS’s GC‑HPWR connector handled sustained 670 W loads at ~35 °C and survived spikes up to ~1,900 W with connector temps stabilizing around 41 °C—solidly outperforming typical plastic 16‑pin alternatives.
Source : ASUS (ROG Astral Series: White, Dhahab and Original variants)
The adapter for the RTX 50 series GPUs, while not explicitly listed in the bundle, is likely included as part of the card’s standard design, as is typical for high-end GPUs to ensure compatibility with power supplies. ASUS remains committed to the premium ROG Astral line, evidenced by their expansion with variants like a white-themed model and a unique gold-plated version, despite these cards being the priciest in their RTX 50 lineup.
Source : RTX 5070TI TUF BTF, RTX 5090 ASTRAL BTF