BTF, or Back-To-the-Future, graphics cards are special in that they contain an additional connector to the side of the PCIe slot, through which the graphics card is powered. Thus removing the need for any pesky cables. It's a neat solution for clean-cut PC builds, though as I haven't yet built with it, I hadn't realised it also had a problem with compatibility until Asus told me all about it, and the incoming fix.

You see BTF graphics cards require BTF motherboards to run without cables. That checks out, as both graphics card and motherboard need to support a special connection, called GC-HPWR, to power the card.

However, what I hadn't thought about was that these graphics cards are not compatible with non-BTF motherboards since the GC-HPWR has, so far, been a non-removeable connection.

That's set to change with the recently updated BTF 2.5 standard, which swaps to a removable GC-HPWR adapter. This can added or removed at will for support on BTF and non-BTF motherboards, making the whole compatibility issue a bit of a moot point.

"We figured out a smart way to solve this.," says Sharon Chang at Asus HQ, "we added an additional detachable adapter to our BTF graphics cards.

"We call it graphics card high power adapter because it can withstand up to 1000 watts in spec for safe, reliable power delivery. If you don't have a BTF motherboard yet, you can remove the graphics card high power adapter and use the original 12-pin cable."