new build, old builder p8p67d/ssd/6970/ax750 questions

[tomj1]

Its been a long time since I built up a system from scratch, and a lot has changed (or, I've forgotten a lot). here are a few easy to answer questions:

For the modular corsair ax750 power supply, the PSU END of the modular atx connector has 2 plugs, BOTH should be plugged into the psu, correct?

For the asus p8p67 deluxe, the q connector for the usb ports has a NC terminal. This is unused, correct? (I have nothing to connect to it...!)

I have a crucial 2.5" ssd, ctfddac128mag, 6gbps. I've hooked up the power connectors from the psu and plugged in to the marvell 6gbps ports on the mobo; is this correct or should I be using the intel 6gbps ports? Also, I'm assuming this 2.5" drive is compatible with the desktop just because all the connectors fit, am I good here?

The asus 6970 I'm using has an 8 pin and a 6 pin power connector. I've got BOTH connected using the y connector to the psu, is that correct?

Sorry for the simplistic questions, but I'd hate to make a big puff of smoke..

t

 

[00Aron]

- The PSU end of the ATX connector is a 10+14 pin connector. The motherboard end is a 20+4pin connector. The p8p67d is a 24pin power connector. So yes, BOTH ends of your ATX connector should be plugged in (they should clip together to form 1 single 24pin).

- Connect your SSD to the gray SATA terminal (Use the intel port). Go into bios and disable the Marvell controller unless you have more than two 6gb/s devices. This will shave some time off your boot as well. All you need for the SSD is power & SATA cable. If you're fresh installing Windows 7 and intend to use the SSD as your boot drive, it will pretty much take care of itself (TRIM, not scheduling defrag, etc...) but you will want to go look up "windows 7 SSD optimizations / tweaks" and read up a bit for more tips. Make sure in BIOS your SATA device (SSD) is in AHCI mode, which shold be default I believe.

- If the 6970 has an 8pin and a 6pin connector, there should be an 8pin and a 6pin power cable plugged into it. The opposite ends of those connectors should be fully plugged into the PSU (that should be 2 PCI-E cables since they have 6+2 connectors, I think).

Hopefully this helps. I am not an expert, so always refer to the manual or tech support before you do anything that doesn't seem right. Building should be the easy part though! =)

There are some very detailed, in-depth guides for building on Youtube.

 

[tomj1]

Thanks for the info- but although the PC mobo end of the atx connector is a 2 piece clip together adding up to the required 24 pins there, what I'm referring to is the power supply end. The power supply end is also made up of 2 separate connectors that do not clip together, an 18 pin and a 10 pin, both of which I have plugged in to the psu at the moment, just want to make sure that is correct. Reason I'm asking is also because I would think that the sensible thing to do if you have a modular psu in the first place is to have a single connector on the psu end and avoid any confusion!

The PSU was supplied with a y connector for pci-e, the psu end of the cable (single connector) is labelled 750ax/850ax only then splitting in to 2 connectors, a 6 pin and an 8 pin, both of which I have plugged in to the corresponding sockets on the 6970

the ssd will indeed be the boot drive, with a regular hdd added later as a secondary storage drive

thanks again for the info..
tom

 

[00Aron]

Yes, sorry... the PSU end of the ATX is 18pin + 10pin (had to go look it up!)... Looks like the 18pin plugs in top left and the 10pin in bottom left (looking at PSU from connector side with fan side up).

As far as the PCI-E, the PSU end plugs into a socket on the PSU and branches into two 6+2pin connectors, right? One of those will use all 8 pins on the 6970 and the other will only use the 6 pin portion with the +2 end hanging out (unplugged) once connected to the 6970. Either way, make sure the 6970 has a plug in each socket and make sure those plugs are fully plugged into the PSU.

 

[tomj1]

excellent, exactly, we are all good on all counts there... thanks! BTW the sata 6gbps connectors are stacked on the mobo, does it matter which one I have that ssd plugged into? Although the board is labelled, there is no way to tell from the labelling or the manual which in the stack is SATA6g_1 or SATA6g_2 on that intel connector...
thanks again
tom

 

[00Aron]

Makes no difference... which ever you want. Might be easier to use the bottom one though if you wanted to add a drive later and didn't want to fight with trying to plug another device under the first cable if you already had one plugged in the top and had it tied down behind the board? lol

... then again, you could just swap which port it's plugged into...

 

[tomj1]

great, thanks again for all the help!
t