Standard PSU connections over the past 4 years

[SgtSpoon]

Hi all,

Im considering the purchase of a new system, probably an i3 530 system. My current setup is a 4 year old AMD Athlon XP 3500+ (socket 939). The PSU of that pc is an Antec 550W psu that i bought new for that system.

Can i still use that PSU? Last year i installed the Q6600 system for a friend of mine, and noticed the motherboard needed a wide power connector + a less wide power connector (3 or 4 pins wide? could be wrong).

I don't have that connector on my old Antec psu. Can i use splitters for this or should i buy a new psu?

 

[jdjbuffalo]

If you are using a 20 PIN power supply then it won't work as is with a 24 PIN motherboard. I have seen some workarounds but your power supply is already 4 years old. I wouldn't expect you to be able to get another 4 years out of it. A new power supply is your best option.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Generally speaking, the following things have changed in the past 5 years or so:

- 20 pin (10x2) main power connector -> 24 pin (12x2, 20+4) main power connector
- 4 pin EPS12V connector (sometimes called CPU power connector) -> 8 pin (4+4) EPS12V connector
- Addition of dedicated SATA connectors
- Addition of 6 pin, 6+2 pin, or 8 pin PCI-E connectors

Both SATA and PCI-E connectors can be run off of a molex adapter instead. IIRC, it's possible, though not safe, to run a 24 pin main / 8 pin ESP12v motherboard off of a 20 pin main / 4 pin ESP12V power supply.

Here's a good diagram of the various connectors: http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html Ignore the original PC main power connectors and 6 pin auxiliary power connector.

 

[frostedflakes]

Your PSU probably has 24-pin for the main power, but only 4-pin for CPU power. Shouldn't be an issue, if your board comes with an 8-pin CPU power connector just plug the 4-pin into it. No adapter or new PSU necessary.