Assimilator I agree that RX 470 shouldn't need anything near 225W, but if that's the case, why are the manufacturers provisioning these cards with 8-pin PCIe power connectors? It's almost like a reversal of the RX 480, where that card did need up to 225W but was only provisioned for 150W. I just don't understand AMD and/or the AIBs' strategy in this regard.

That's a good question that we can only guess the answers to. If it was me designing these cards and they were going to feature a PCI-e connector, I might just spring for the 8 pin over the 6 pin for a few reasons: it gives me/users more power capacity to OC, it allows me to change the VRM design for something less efficient and get away with it, it is simpler than 2x6 pin plugs, it looks more marketable towards "enthusiasts".I strongly suspect the VRM designs are not OEM suggested types (my 2nd idea above). I don't have an exact reference on the Rx-series of current, but when AMD introduced digital VRM controls, I think with the HD2900 series (featuring much higher frequency phases and surface mount tantalum polymer capacitors), none of the AIBs followed that trend with their custom cards. We frequently see these VRM design changes from digital to VRM since that time and if you check the prices, the digital parts are more expensive, as are the capacitors they use, in exchange you get better regulation and finger voltage controls and you can design a flatter-profile cooler that is very close to PCB height. During the HD4870 era, a lot of AMD's top notch cards had their digital VRMs damaged due to Furmark tests (was a big issue) and a lot of the AIBs marketed more robust VRM systems that used the older analog VRM designs.