[jmrm]

Not a bad idea IMHO. There are already computers (servers mostly, but also integrated models) who only have 12V power connections and the mainboard does the step-down voltage conversion, and IIRC some companies wanted to do the same to regular desktops.

I would be totally happy if the next gen of computers have 12V outputs to the mainboard and CPU and 48V to the GPU and other power-hungry components. This would make the PCB of those cards a bit bigger, but also would have less power losses and less risk of overheated connectors on the other hand.