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PSU and Video Cards

O

ortherion

Junior Member
Hello! This is my first post, and I hope I can get some help. I'll be sure to return the favor anyway I'm able!

I recently purchased components for a new build. The PSU I got was a Coolmax ATX 600W 120mm Silent Fan Semi-Modular Power Supply CU-600B. The Graphics card I got was an EVGA GTX 760.

My issue lies here, the PSU has one 6-pin PCI-E to connect to the graphics card. The card requires a 6-pin AND an 8-pin to power on. Would this be achievable by using a Y-splitter?

Thank you guys in advance. ^_^
 
B-Riz said:
Talking about something like this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201038

Should be fine, but be careful of which 12 volt rail is being used for the vid card, as that PSU has them split into 3.

As long as the vid card power rail is not shared with anything else, it will be ok.
Click to expand...

That won't cut it.

The 12v rails are only 18Ax2 and 15Ax1 which means only 216W max output per rail. That's the reason why the PSU only comes with a 6 pin power connector (although it puzzles me why there is no 8 pin). A 6 pin (75W) + 8 pin (150W) PCI-e connector power cables would require 225W. If you use the Y connector linked you will be overloading one of the rails and your PC will either not boot up or you could end up with some fried hardware very quickly.

What I would look for is a molex adapter for the 8 pin PCI-e power connector. That way, you're pretty much guaranteed to use a different/dedicated rail and reduce the chances of having issues.

This is what you should get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA29716C8626

But you should also try to look in your PSU manual to see how the rails are split up. There is a 99% chance that the 6 pin PCI-e power connector is on its own rail. Therefore molex power connectors will be either on the other 18A or the 15A rail. Either way, both rails are capable of providing more than 150W output which is required for the 8 pin PCI-e power connector.
 
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-760/specifications

nVidia specs the card at 170 W ~ 14.2 DC amps.

And lists it as requiring 2 x 6 pin connectors.

I would *guess* those PSU rails are one for; mainboard, graphics card, molex / drive power.

But the card does not draw all its power off the 6 + 8; some comes from the board too.

So you should be ok with my observation; but to be safe(r) you can use nwo's recommendation.

Or they are being shady and the 15 amp rail as the vid card rail, which almost makes sense, so use the molex to 6 pin adapter.

Or, return that PSU and get a nice bronze or silver 80+ certified single rail.
 
I'd definitely return that PSU if you are able to. It's such a scam/rip off... And the build quality is questionable at best. I would definitely not be able to trust it with any gaming graphics card. Considering it's a 600W PSU but it has three seperate and unequal 12v rails which combine for a max output of 450W speaks a lot about the crappy quality of the unit. Most decent quality PSUs are able to provide at least 90% of total output on the 12v rail(s).

Get a nice single rail (modular) PSU CORSAIR CXM series CX500M 500W comes out to only $35 after $20 MIR and promo code EMCPHHE36. That way you don't have to try to figure out which rail is where and you also don't have to worry about getting any power adapters since it has two 8 pin PCI-e power connectors and is actually able to provide stable, clean power on both of them unlike that shady Coolmax you have now.
 
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Thanks, you both have been awesome. I feared I may have to return the PSU and was hoping that would be a good fix, but I'd like to have my components a little bit longer. 🙂
I'm going to return the PSU I have (bought through Amazon, so I don't think I'll get too much grief... hoping) and grab the Corsair from Newegg.
Looks like I'll be getting a better deal, too. Not to mention 500W is still going to be more than plenty for me.
 
Coolmax makes generally awful units. Yes, they might power on your computer "flawlessly", but it could destroy all components attached to it once it dies or its voltage regulation or noise ripple control shorten the life of components within the computer. Or, system instability can occur.

And the worst part is that it can't really deliver "600 watts" or the rails it delivers it to aren't what matters for modern computers; the 12V rail is what matters.
 
ortherion said:
Thanks, you both have been awesome. I feared I may have to return the PSU and was hoping that would be a good fix, but I'd like to have my components a little bit longer. 🙂
I'm going to return the PSU I have (bought through Amazon, so I don't think I'll get too much grief... hoping) and grab the Corsair from Newegg.
Looks like I'll be getting a better deal, too. Not to mention 500W is still going to be more than plenty for me.
Click to expand...

Awesome! Amazon has the best return policy as far as I know.

Grab that Corsair while you can. Corsair rebates have also always been good to me.
 
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