ASUS has released a new version of the GTX 950 called the GTX 950 2G, and the interesting part isn't what's been added, but what was taken away; namely, the PCIe power requirement.

When NVIDIA announced the GTX 950 (which Ryan reviewed here) it carried a TDP of 90W, which prevented it from running without a PCIe power connector. The GTX 950 was (seemingly) the replacement for the GTX 750, which didn't require anything beyond motherboard power via the PCIe slot, and the same held true for the more powerful GTX 750 Ti. Without the need for PCIe power that GTX 750 Ti became our (any many others) default recommendation to turn any PC into a gaming machine (an idea we just happened to cover in depth here).

Here's a look at the specs from ASUS for the GTX 950 2G:

Graphics Engine: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950

Interface: PCI Express 3.0

Video Memory: GDDR5 2GB

CUDA Cores: 768

Memory Clock: 6610 MHz

Memory Interface: 128-bit

Engine Clock Gaming Mode (Default) – GPU Boost Clock : 1190 MHZ , GPU Base Clock : 1026 MHz OC Mode – GPU Boost Clock : 1228 MHZ , GPU Base Clock : 1051 MHz

Interface: HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort, DVI

Power Consumption: Up to 75W, no additional PCIe power required

Dimensions: 8.3 x 4.5 x 1.6 inches

Whether this model has any relation to the rumored "GTX 950 SE/LP" remains to be seen (and other than power, this card appears to have stock GTX 950 specs), but the option of adding in a GPU without concern over power requirements makes this a very attractive upgrade proposition for older builds or OEM PC's, depending on cost.