No Dummy Lanes – Palit launches RTX 4060 models with shortened PCIe connectors

Palit’s RTX 4060 Dual and StormX graphics cards feature PCIe x8 connectors with no dummy connectors

Nvidia launched their RTX 4060 and RTX 4060 Ti graphics cards with an x8 PCIe 4.0 interface, a first for an Nvidia X60 series product. Despite this, almost all RTX 4060 series products ship with full-length PCIe 16x connectors, despite the fact that they only feature eight functional pins. In effect, half of the PCIe x16 slots on RTX 4060 class GPUs are dunny lanes, giving the graphics card the appearance of having a full PCIe x16 connection. 

While it can be argued that the enlarged PCIe brackets can offer increased stability for graphics cards and prevent sag, it is also probable that these needlessly enlarge PCIe slots are to give RTX 4060-class graphics cards the appearance of a more premium product.  

Palit with their RTX 4060 StormX and Dual products has become the only company to launch RTX 4060 graphics cards that feature PCIe 8x slots that lack dummy slots. This allows these graphics cards to be used with PCIe true 8x lanes on motherboards, something that is not possible with graphics cards that feature electrical PCIe x8 slots that are masquerading as full PCIe x16 slots.

While most GPU users will be placing their graphics cards in full PCIe 16x slots, it is nice to see Palit launch a product that is a little more versatile than most of the other RTX 4060 GPUs on the market. This function could be especially useful for anyone upgrading a pre-built PC, or a have an otherwise unusual hardware configuration. I’m sure that someone is in the market for an RTX 4060 that has a “real” PCI x8 connection, and if you are that person, Palit has some product for you. 

You can join the discussion on Palit’s unique RTX 4060 graphics cards on the OC3D Forums.