One of my favourite trends in gaming hardware of late is new ways of tucking away all those cables for a sleeker build. Now it looks like Gigabyte's joining the party with its own method for maintaining a minimalist look, as its latest graphics card has a hidden power connector.
The Gigabyte Aorus RTX 5090 Stealth Ice is a graphics card with a standard power connector—none of this back-connect motherboard malarkey—but said connector is hidden around the back of the card. The 12V-2x6 connector plugs into the PCB right behind the heat fins, as you can see from a cut-out on the backplate. This would presumably be more cumbersome (if not impossible) if it were using a smattering of standard 8-pin connectors.
This graphics card is part of the company's Project Stealth, which is primarily a back connector project that moves headers/connectors around to the rear of the motherboard just like MSI's back-connect design.
Unlike Asus's BTF design (the graphics cards for which are now starting to become compatible with non-BTF motherboards too), Gigabyte's Stealth motherboards don't deliver GPU power through the motherboard. This new Stealth GPU should therefore make for a good pairing with its Stealth lineup, because in lieu of this it sneaks the power cable towards pass-throughs to keep it hidden.
One benefit of this is that it won't require the purchase of an entirely new motherboard to keep those cables hidden. It's a great option for those who are looking to upgrade their GPU but already have a standard motherboard or a back-connect one that doesn't do motherboard GPU power delivery.
Gigabyte explains: "This new graphics card inherits the minimalist philosophy of Project Stealth by adopting a hidden power connector design, allowing seamless cable routing and a cleaner build layout. Tailored for enthusiasts who prioritize aesthetic refinement and efficient assembly, the card offers both cutting-edge performance and a streamlined look that elevates any gaming setup."
Apart from this stealthy addition, the graphics card design looks similar to the standard Gigabyte RTX 5090 Aorus Ice, which is a blocky all-white affair.
We're seeing plenty of focus on cable management and other similar build and design improvements in PC hardware land this year, which is nice to see. I was quite impressed with Lian Li's Rotation PSU that was shown at Computex last month, for instance, which allows for more control over where you route your power supply cables.
Gigabyte's Stealth GPU design is just one amongst many moves in the direction of clean-looking builds, and I'm certainly here for it.
