6 pin PCIE power connectors need 2 Molex?

[Goaty]

Back in the day when I bought my last video card, Nvidia 6800 AGP, you plugged a 4 pin white molex connector into the AGP card to give it more juice.

I finnlly upgraded to a new box, Dell Dimension 9200 (don't laugh, got a great deal) and am looking to upgrade the cheap PCI Express x16 card that came with it. It seems that most of the cards I am looking at (8600GTS or X1950 Pro) require a 6 pin PCIe power connector.

When I look at the pics these cards have 6 pin PCIe connector with Y cable adaptor to 2 molex connectors. Does that mean you need 2 x 4 pin molex to feed a single 6 pin PCIe power connector?

Problem is I only have 1 4 pin molex which is marked in the manual for "PCIE video cards needing more then 75W". This white molex connector is 12v. I have a ton of SATA power connectors off this PSU but only one molex.

So do I plug my 1 molex into one side of the Y cable molex adaptor and leave the other molex on the Y unconnected, or do I need to do a SATA->Molex converter for the molex on the 2nd molex connection of the Y cable adaptor?

Sorry if this dumb question but I am old fart that has been off the upgrade hamster wheel for a while. Any and all help is appreciated :beer:

 

[aka1nas]

One might work with a midrange card like an 8600GTS or the X1950 Pro. The PCI-E 6 pin connector can deliver more power than is considered safe for a single 4-pin molex connector, which is why they have you plug two into the adapter.

 

[Matt2]

One molex cannot deliver the same amount of power as one PCI-E connector.

This is why when you use a molex -> PCI-E adapter, you have to use two 4-pin molexes. The adapter will you use three out of four pins from each molex equalling six total.

 

[Goaty]

thanks for the replies but it turns out I am an idiot

I found that my PSU does indeed have a 6 pin PCI-E connector tucked away in just the right spot to connect to the video card. So I should be good to go.

The molex connector must just be there for legacy IDE devices.

 

[betasub]

If the adapter only required a single 4-pin molex, why would it be made with two 4-pin sockets?