KB 716691 - Powering NVIDIA L40S GPUs in ASUS ESC8000A-E12P Servers
Powering NVIDIA L40S GPUs in ASUS ESC8000A-E12P Servers
Overview
When deploying NVIDIA L40S
GPUs in ASUS ESC8000A-E12P servers, users may encounter a power connector
mismatch issue. This KB article explains the root cause and provides the
official solution to ensure a successful and stable GPU installation.
Case Study
A compatibility issue when installing NVIDIA L40S GPUs in
ASUS ESC8000A-E12P servers
- Server Power Connectors - The ASUS ESC8000A-E12P is equipped with standard 8-pin GPU power connectors.
- GPU Power Requirements - The NVIDIA L40S GPU requires a 16-pin (PCIe 5.0 / 12VHPWR) connector to support its maximum 350W power consumption.
Because of this
connector mismatch, the NVIDIA L40S cannot be powered directly using the
ESC8000A-E12P’s native cabling.
While the ESC8000A-E12P supports high-performance GPUs,
its factory cabling uses the older 8-pin design, necessitating an adapter
solution.
Solution: Use the Official ASUS H100 GPU Cable Kit
To enable compatibility, ASUS provides an official cable
kit that adapts the server’s 8-pin connectors to the GPU’s 16-pin input.
Required Cable Kit Details
- Kit Name - H100 GPU Cable Kit
- Part Number - 14017-01310000
The ESC8000A-E12 server documentation specifies support
for “8-pin to 12+4-pin power cables”, designed for GPUs with 12VHPWR
power requirements.
Important Notes
Only use the official ASUS cable kit.
Third-party adapters or cables may not meet ASUS/NVIDIA
specifications, which could result in:
Power delivery instability
GPU throttling or system crashes
Potential hardware damage
👉For
multi-GPU configurations, ensure that one H100 GPU Cable Kit is used per
L40S GPU.
References
ESC8000A-E12/ESC8000A-E12P FRU Parts & Upgrade Kits
List - Link