PSU to Mobo Question Regarding ATX to EATX

[Walay]

Hi,

Last time I bulild a PC was 4~5 Yrs ago with a Socket A athlon.
with the most expensive PSU at the time...PC Power&Cooling 400W Silencer
which is still enough juice for my new rig...
and still offers better/cleaner power compared to the new high wattage one available now.

So anyways, I just got a new Asus P5S Deluxe,
and after everything gets in, I realized my PSU only have 20Pins(ATX)
whereas the Mobo needs 24Pins(EATX)

Now, do I really need a new psu, or can I just get one of those 20 to 24Pin converter with no problem?

Are voltage gonna be the same with the converter, or would I risk the chance of burn out something with a converter like that.

I mean seriously, I spent about 200 on that PSU 5yrs ago..., and I dun wanna get another one if I dun have to. It was the best at the time, and still the best around psu...and built better then most of the psu's nowdays...

So please let me know...I mean, if I have to get a new PSU..then I'll do it because i dun wanna break my new rig to save on a new psu...but however if a convveter works the same...then I will just get a converter.

Thanks for ur help...

seriously...I think the new 24pin its just a way of getting our money...
or else a good psu is not someting you replace regularly....

To make things easier...here is a poll..

 

[geecee]

It looks like it depends on the power requirements of your hardware, in particular, your motherboard and your graphics card. You could just plug the 20 pin connector directly into the 24 pin connector and forego the adapter completely and it should work. I have a 20 pin 430W Thermaltake PS connected to a 24-pin AM2 motherboard with a 6600 video card and I haven't had any problems (about 3 months now). It apparently has to do with how many amps your video card & mb are drawing together and what you are doing (i.e. gaming would draw more power). There is some interesting discussion of it here about halfway down the page. It looks like it would be OK for most people but might present some problems for hardcore gamers with high end or SLI-ed cards.

EDIT: For the lazy or challenged: (BTW, if you're interested, there is another post a few posts down from this one that goes into greater detail but is considerably longer)

One of the purposes of the 24 pin connector, is to provide a few
extra pins to carry power for PCI Express. But the 20 pin connector
can also do the job. The issue is, whether the load on the motherboard
would exceed the capacity of the 20 pin connector, to carry the current.

If you have a single PCI Express video card, and it is powered via
a 2x3 connector on the end of the card, then there will be no
stress to speak of, on the 20 pin main connector. The other
extreme would be two cards in SLI, and having no 2x3 or 1x4 connector
on the end of the two video cards, for additional power. In a situation
like that, then the full 24 pins might be advisable.

Usually the motherboard manual will have some comments on the subject.

The deal is, the 20 pin connector has only one +12V pin. The 24 pin
connector has two +12V pins. A single pin on the ATX power connector
is rated to carry 6 amps, before it gets warm. That means up to
6 amps could flow through the 20 pin connector without a problem.
On a typical motherboard, the only load on that pin, is for fan
headers (maybe 0.5A), plus the video card power drawn through the
edge card of the PCI Express video slot. A 6600GT card, which
doesn't have a separate power connector, draws 4 amps from the
20 pin ATX connector. So, the total in that case is 4.5A of a
total of 6A allowed.

Generally, a card more powerful graphics wise, will have a separate
power cable, for cards faster than a 6600GT. And then the 20 pin
connector is only carrying the fan current (0.5A or so). AFAIK,
the 6600GT is the most stressful card you can select, and the total
current is still within the 6 amp limit of a 20 pin power
connector. (One reason the 6600GT doesn't have a 2x3 power plug,
is because the five 1 amp pins on the edge card are enough to
carry the current the card needs).

 

[najames]

I don't have the cow avatar, but hope it is still ok if I reply. I'd vote for a new PSU for a couple reasons.

1) I think some boards do have trouble with 20pin power, don't have links or proof, but seems like I read it somewhere unless it was a bad dream.
2) If you get a new PSU like a Seasonic/Corsair or something similar, it will likely be both quieter and MUCH more efficient. It will likely pay for itself in power savings in a couple years. Most of the older PSUs were about 65-68% efficient vs over 80% now on some. Look at silentpcreview.com for more information.

 

[Walay]

thank u guys for the answer and suggestions, I will definetely go for a new psu now. Seems to make a lot of sense, since originally I only see it as another marketing gimmick, but I guess technology really have improved

 

[tapir]

I have an Enermax 370W 20pin powering my C2D setup with a 7900GTX, using the 24-20 pin adapter from newegg. It overclocked fine and is ultra stable. I can't say I don't have graphics card issues but after extensive research I believe all of them to be the result of my usage of Windows Vista x64 and the crappy nVidia driver support. I would say give it a shot unless you're comfortable doling out the extra dollars but a comparable quality PSU to the one you have now will likely cost your more than a hundred dollars.

Also I think I read in an anandtech article at one point that you can actually just plug an old 20pin connector into a 24pin header and it will work fine if you center it on the molex... I opted for the adapter anyway as it was only like $3.

If you are worried about the graphics aspect, I feel that most high-draw graphics boards operate with independent power plugged right into the back of the card, so I don't see why the motherboard header should give you a lot of trouble.

Like I said, if you have $100 and you want to feel the most secure about your computer's stability, you can't go wrong with a new one, but I wouldn't count a PC power & cooling unit out personally.