Colorful has expanded its range of new Ultra Z series to include the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti graphics card. The Colorful iGame Ultra Z range is notable for its hidden power connectors and striking, snow-white designs.
Colorful announced its Ultra Z range of graphics cards back in July. These AIB models of Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000-series caught our eyes for their unusual PCB design. Instead of a traditional connector at the top of the card, these models hide the connector inside the card, beneath a metal backplate.
The idea is to tackle the problem of unsightly power cables trailing through the middle of your PC build. With modern short-PCB Nvidia graphics card designs, the power cables often sprout from the middle of the top of the card where the PCB ends, rather than the back of the card.
However, these Ultra Z designs mean the cable can extend further back through the rear cooling system of the card, so cables no longer trail through the middle of your build. Not only does this reduce cable visibility in general, it means the most visible top edge of the card isn’t interrupted by power connectors.
The initial announcement from Colorful only covered the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 and a single fan Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti for small form factor builds. Colorful has now added the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, alongside a larger RTX 4060 Ti with the new connector design to the set, according to VideoCardz. Colorful’s decision to expand this range before any models have even hit the market indicates confidence in the concept.
There are some obvious downsides to the design, though. For a start, it’s more hassle to access the power plug, plus the cable sits in the way of airflow through the rear portion of the card. Still, we’re pleased to see graphics card design innovation, even if it doesn’t catch on in the future.
Having said that, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this idea. There’s also the Inno3D hidden power socket concept, but that version still has cable appear from the middle of the card, rather than towards the back of the card. This just seems to hide the plug, making it more difficult to access.
Sadly, the whole Colorful range isn’t available in the US, UK, or Europe yet, and we hope they remedy that soon. Likewise with its adorable cat-themed graphics card and case range from Colorfire, an offshoot of Colorful.
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