12V ATX power connection, what is it?

[Rhonda85]

I have been kind of out of touch with new motherboards and power connections. I am working on a compaq that has the regular ATX power connecton and this one also has a little power plug with four wires that says 12V ATX power. I do not see this on all new motherboards. Is this a compaq/HP only connection?

 

[Smilin]

Intel thingy.

AMD (Athlon-xp at least) doesn't use.

 

[mechBgon]

Bottom line, if the mobo has a receptacle for it, plug it in. It triples the number of 12V power connections (there's one 12V wire in a 20-pin ATX cable), and adds two more grounds as well.

 

[Rhonda85]

What if the board has the 4pin 12V ATX slot and the powersupply does not, can it run?
BTW this system that I am working on has an asus socket A mobo w/ athlon xp 2800

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Rhonda85
What if the board has the 4pin 12V ATX slot and the powersupply does not, can it run?
BTW this system that I am working on has an asus socket A mobo w/ athlon xp 2800

No.

A socket A for an xp2800 won't have that connector though. no worries.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: Rhonda85
What if the board has the 4pin 12V ATX slot and the powersupply does not, can it run?
BTW this system that I am working on has an asus socket A mobo w/ athlon xp 2800

No.

A socket A for an xp2800 won't have that connector though. no worries.

Actually there are a fair number of SocketA boards that feature an ATX12V connector (Shuttles and Abits come to mind). Some will run without the plug hooked up, some won't. If the board's designed for one, then I'd definitely suggest using it regardless, by either getting an appropriate PSU or using an ATX12V-to-4-pin adapter. Pulling all the 12V amperage down one wire has been known to cause Bad Things To Happen, such as charred, arced and melted contacts on the main ATX fitting.

 

[BadThad]

Originally posted by: mechBgon

Originally posted by: Smilin

Originally posted by: Rhonda85
What if the board has the 4pin 12V ATX slot and the powersupply does not, can it run?
BTW this system that I am working on has an asus socket A mobo w/ athlon xp 2800

No.

A socket A for an xp2800 won't have that connector though. no worries.

Actually there are a fair number of SocketA boards that feature an ATX12V connector (Shuttles and Abits come to mind). Some will run without the plug hooked up, some won't. If the board's designed for one, then I'd definitely suggest using it regardless, by either getting an appropriate PSU or using an ATX12V-to-4-pin adapter. Pulling all the 12V amperage down one wire has been known to cause Bad Things To Happen, such as charred, arced and melted contacts on the main ATX fitting.

Once again, mech is spot on. So happens I own an MSI socket A mobo with a 4-pin ATX connnector. If the mobo has the connector, connect it, if it doesn't, no worries, let the cable dangle!