4pin or 8pin?

iwantatransam

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2001
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my motherboard has the 8pin ATX connector by the CPU, but half of them are covered to make it a 4 pin. is there a reason to use 8 or 4 pin or is it whichever i can plug in and route the cables the best (I have a E6600 if it matters)
 

iwantatransam

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2001
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My motherboard is an ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus
and my power supply is Thermaltake Purepower RX W0144RU ATX12V 600W
 

Spanki

Member
Mar 11, 2007
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Originally posted by: iwantatransam
my motherboard has the 8pin ATX connector by the CPU, but half of them are covered to make it a 4 pin. is there a reason to use 8 or 4 pin or is it whichever i can plug in and route the cables the best (I have a E6600 if it matters)

Yes, if your psu has an 8-pin connector, use that... if it only has a 4-pin connector, plug that into the 4 exposed.
 

SamzAthlon

Member
Jul 15, 2005
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I have the same exact question.

My GA-965P-DS4 also has the 8pin connector on the board with the right-side 4 pins covered with a cap. My psu is antec trio 550 which comes with the 8pin connector.

I am currently running the system with the 4pin plug. Should there be a reason to plug in the 8pin one instead?
 

alaricljs

Golden Member
May 11, 2005
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I hate to be a pedantic prick, but this should all be covered in the mobo manual. I know my GA-N650SLI-DS4 has mention of it in the manual.

The answer is: If you can do 8 pin power, DO IT. If you can't 4 will suffice. Is there going to be a difference? Perhaps, but it'll be undetectable without a lab. Maybe it'll extend the life of your CPU or RAM due to "cleaner" power... just do it. But if I already had a PSU with 4pin support and no 8pin, I wouldn't go buying a new PSU just for that.