How important is the 8-pin CPU power plug on a mobo?

[Spike]

Like the topic says I'm building a cheap workstation using an AMD X2 240 2.8ghz Regor cpu with a Gigabyte GA-MA785GM. The PSU I want to use is an older 350w that has a 24pin connector but no 8 or 4 pin CPU connector. Will this work for the setup or is that 8 pin connector something I have to have?

Thanks!

 

[Kenmitch]

I'm no expert but I'd think that it wouldnt even boot up as the motherboard is made to power the cpu thru that connector.

But I guess you could use Pick up something like this and give it a shot.

 

[Spike]

Hmmm, if thats the case I'm betting a 4 pin would work. I can get one of those adapters for less than $3 shipped but it will take a while to get here and I need this semi-soon.

 

[lopri]

Do you mean the PSU has no 4-pin connector? How old is the PSU?

Today's CPUs get the power entirely from 4-pin or 8-pin connector. I hear it is a little different for Nehalem, but without the 4-pin or 8-pin connected the system won't boot.

4-pin should work fine for any dual-core CPU on the market today.

 

[Kenmitch]

4 pin would be better than none....8 pin would be best I'd think

Guess maybe somebody with more experience will chime in and set it straight

Pretty sure you could find a cheaper one than the link I did above....Was just a quick search for ya

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: lopri
Do you mean the PSU has no 4-pin connector? How old is the PSU?

Today's CPUs get the power entirely from 4-pin or 8-pin connector. I hear it is a little different for Nehalem, but without the 4-pin or 8-pin connected the system won't boot.

4-pin should work fine for any dual-core CPU on the market today.

Yeah, the PSU has no 4 pin plug. It's an allied 350w model that came with a Dynex case from best buy. The odd part is it has a 24 pin mobo connector and I thought that the 20->24 pin conversion came after the 4 pin CPU plug... It even has a single SATA plug.