How much power can a PCIe x16 graphics card draw from the motherboard alone?
Choose wisely! The correct answer, the explanation, and an intriguing story await. Correct Answer: 75W What was Comdex before it was shut down in the early 2000s? When installed in a motherboard's PCIe x16 slot, a graphics card such as the GeForce RTX 5080 can draw up to 75 watts of power directly from the slot. This power comes from the motherboard's +3.3V and +12V rails (3.3V × 3A + 12V × 5.5A), which is the maximum defined by the PCI Express base specification for a x16 slot (this limit ha