Is there any need for the 6pin Aux plug from the PSU?

T

TruGeek

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 15, 2004
Messages
78
The title says it all. I'm resleeving my PSU and have never used the 6pin Aux plug in my PC. I have seen it used in older PCs but is there really any use for it in a modern PC? I'm planning on cutting the wires off (leaving enough to resolder on wires if it does prove useful in the future) putting a bit of shrink wrap on the ends to prevent any 'accidents' and leaving them inside the PSU housing. No need for it to clutter my PC if no current or future hardware will use this connection. Also, if there is any modern components that use the connector please let me know of them so that I can see if I will be including one of them in future upgrades. Thanks. :)

(P.S. I did search the archives and couldn't find a similar post, if there is one please post a link)
 
If you don't need it then you don't need it and you can cut it off. It is still used in modern hardware, just not in most consumer-level hardware. I don't know why el cheapo $30 power supplies have it since if you have the hardware that requires that connector then you would have a much better power supply.
 
Thanks for the replies. I will probably cut it off for now but make sure I can reconnect it in the future if I need it for either power for mods or misc. hardware. That's the great think about modding, you can add and remove stuff at a whim. :)
 
jpmkm said:
If you don't need it then you don't need it and you can cut it off. It is still used in modern hardware, just not in most consumer-level hardware. I don't know why el cheapo $30 power supplies have it since if you have the hardware that requires that connector then you would have a much better power supply.
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actually the only mobo i ever saw with the aux connector was some pos P4 board from shuttle or something...

i have never seen it on any of the server boards ive worked with... EPS psu's have made it obsolete in the server market...

it was for the old PII server boards since IIRC the PII used the 3.3v line for the CPU...

so yes, you can cut it off since its completely worthless, your CPU more than likely uses the +12 line, or the +5 line
 
I just moved my home fileserver into a lanboy, and tossed in a new antec psu, so space was an issue. I cut them off about 3 inches out of the psu, tossed some electrical tape over each wire, and hit it with some hot glue to hold it togeather, and keep it neat, so if i ever have to get back in there i can A just cut off the last 1/4 inch, or B strip off the tape and glue, but i doubt ill ever have to use it.

I do have some P2s and P1s lying around that use those for the mobo power, but thats the only thing ive ever seen that uses it.
 
I've got an Intel OR840 dual PIII slot 1 board that uses RDRAM and it uses the AUX connector and a 4 pin molex on the motherboard. That and my old ass TH7-RAID are the only boards I have ever seen that uses it. Cut em off if you dont need them now because I doubt you will ever need them in the future.
 
I just rolled it up tight and put it inside my power supply housing. Out of sight, out of mind.
 
Comte said:
I just rolled it up tight and put it inside my power supply housing. Out of sight, out of mind.
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Excellent idea, but watch out... If the heatsinks inside your power supply are live (they often are) and one of the +5V AUX wires is touching it, and any kind of chafing occurs between the wire and the heatsink (perhaps from vibrations caused by the power supply fan) which causes a short... you'll spontaneously have a couple hundred volts DC on your 5V rail.

Just make sure the coiled wire isn't touching anything inside.
 
I left the connector on the wires, and put them off to the side. All bound up nice and tight with wire ties. No problems there.
 
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