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8 pin atx 12v on Mobo but only 4-pin 12v on PSU

C

crissyb1988

Junior Member
I just picked up the gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 and it has 8-pin power socket named (atx_12v_2x4) I assume it means it can have two separate 4-pin 12v attached from the PSU. The problem is my PSU i got from my mate only has one 4-pin 12v connector. Ive read around the net u can use the one 4pin plug but its unstable. Im going to be running a core i5 2500k so i want the best out of it.

My question is can i use a molex to 4-pin adapter...
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...roducts_id=196 to plug in next to the other 4-pin so i can fill the 8-pin socket on the motherboard. Will it make a difference? Is it bad for the mobo?

i would appreciate some really good explainations if someone knows 🙂
 
The mobo won't care where the power comes from, as long as it's +12V power. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

What is the PSU? What is its rated wattage? How many +12V rails does it have and what are the current (Amper, A) ratings for the rails?
 
lehtv said:
What is the PSU? What is its rated wattage? How many +12V rails does it have and what are the current (Amper, A) ratings for the rails?
Click to expand...

Its a 650watt unit. I dont know how to decipher the rest..
So heres whats on the side of the PSU:
ATX 12V
Coolermaster eXtreme RP-650-PCAR
W/O PFC

AC input: 110V-115V/220V-230V 10A/6.3A 50/60Hz

DC output/Max.output: +3.3V/28A +5V/30A +12V1/18A +12V2/18A -5V/0.8A -12V/0.8A +5Vsb/2.0A
 
This one? http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=45

It says 18A on each 12V rail, which works out at 18*12 = 216W on each rail. That is very little, typical for a good 500W rated power supply. It doesn't mention what the combined +12V wattage is (it should be less than the wattage of each rail added together). Nor does it say how the connectors are divided between the rails. It could be that using so much power as to require the use of the molex->CPU adapter would overload one of the rails.

That it doesn't seem to be capable of its rated wattage may not be a problem as is, since it doesn't really come with enough connectors to take advantage of all that rated power (like that CPU connector that's missing...).

Honestly what I'd do: use the single CPU power connector, and if you experience stability problems (which I doubt; I'm running my i7 920 @ 3.2GHz on a 4-pin connector), replace the PSU with something of higher quality. Another option is to just replace the PSU right away (I wouldn't trust it powering my expensive new sandy bridge hardware)
 
Last edited:
What's the rest of your hardware? Antec 750W might be overkill, and possibly not even the best choice price-wise. Where are you buying from?
 
lehtv said:
What's the rest of your hardware? Antec 750W might be overkill, and possibly not even the best choice price-wise. Where are you buying from?
Click to expand...

I can get the antec PSU for AU$121
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?...ducts_id=18084

Im getting core i5 2500k
HIS HD6870 1G
2x4GB gskill ripjaws
2x HHD
1x DVD writer

I want to eventually overclock and add a gpu so i was gonna get a new PSU anyway when i did that. Coz i will add more fans and get a heat sink for the CPU
 
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