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New Build 8-pin 4-pin problem

W

Web250

n00b
Joined
Jan 30, 2005
Messages
13
Just happily unpacked my new stuff (Phenom II x3 2.8ghz, Gigabyte mobo, 4gb ram, GT220 1gb vid card) and I have an issue

The Antec 430W motherboard only has a four pin ATX connector, the motherboard wants an 8 pin.

Do I need a different motherboard, or can I just plug the 4 I have into my 8 and be ok?

CPU is 95W TDP, one video card (no extra PCIE power needed), one HDD, one optical drive.

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
 
You should be ok with the x3 CPU as long as you don't overvolt it to the bleeding edge of sanity. Ideally you would have an 8 pin connector from your PSU but that's not the case so unless it gives problems, just use what you have.
 
Connected everything.

Booted.

No problems! All the rails look good, don't think I'll have any problems. Thanks for the help.
 
I ran the 4 pin on my R2E and clocked the mess out of my i7 920 and had no issues at all. Used the 8 pin for the cpu power also and nothing special i see has happened with it though. If you have one use it if not i wouldn't worry about it.
 
The 8 pin aux 12V connector for the cpu is for compatibility with EPS (server) spec power supplies, on a single socket board putting a 4 pin from the power supply into the 8 pin on the board is perfectly fine.

Some enthusiast power supplies come with the 8 pin (with a 4 pin breakaway) some with just the 4, either way, use what you can making sure you are putting the correct connector in the correct place and you are good to go.

If really confused, read the manual, if the manual does not explain, contact motherboard tech support and waste their time asking them until someone at the manuf gets a damn clue and includes instructions for this all too common question in every manual they publish.


----- here is the story ------

Back in the old days, before USB memory sticks and such, Intel changed the way the cpu was powered and decided to run 12V from the power supply to a connector right next to the cpu voltage regulation circuity to prevent haveing to run high current through the regular 20 pin ATX connector and plus the pins in the connector where not heavy enough blah blah. And so the aux 4 pin 12V 2x2 cpu power connector was born. Meanwhile, back at the server farm, many high performance servers had two sockets and two (or more) CPUs and if you need 4 pins for one cpu, you need 8 for two. Server power supply manufacturers came up with a revision to the EPS (enhanced power supply ? ) speficications to provide this 8 pin plug. Back in these olden days there was no such thing as a high performance enthusiast power supppy. If you had or could find a 500W supply it was rare, and likely it was putting out the power on the 3.3 and +5 for the old way of powering the cpu. OMFG what was a heavy duty OCer to do ? Wait, lookie here, server supplies can run two cpus they should do bang up job running one OCed one. Some EPS supplies had both 4 and 8 pin plugs some did not. Crafty guys resoldered/ spliced/ modded and had no trouble getting the plug configuration they needed but for others it was a problem. Enthusiast motherboard makers found out what was going on with us using server power supplies for OCing and since these where enthusiast boards all of a sudden a lot of boards came with the 8 pin connectors (mainly the higher end boards) so one could just plug and go if you had 8 pin, otherwise you just plugged in your 4 pin, same difference. Then the enthusiast power supply business took off and now most suppiles (good ones anyway) come with an 8 pin connector that has a "break away" to reduce it to 4 pin. Moral of story, its a farking confusing mess but unless you are at some very extreame edge of OCing pulling insane current loads under dry ice or some other insane ( /envy ) cooling method, you go with what you got and it will work fine. A 4 pin to 8 pin adapter is a total waste of money for 99.9% of us. A eight pin to 4 pin is ok if you absolutley must have one but look double damn close at that 8 pin and make sure it will not slide/snap/pull/push apart into 2 four pins one of which you just do not use.
 
I've ran a 4pin cpu power on an 8 pin board and not had problems. It was Intel but the book said the 8 pin was only required quad core extreme edition cpu's.
 
BillParrish said:
The 8 pin aux 12V connector for the cpu is for compatibility with EPS (server) spec power supplies, on a single socket board putting a 4 pin from the power supply into the 8 pin on the board is perfectly fine.

Some enthusiast power supplies come with the 8 pin (with a 4 pin breakaway) some with just the 4, either way, use what you can making sure you are putting the correct connector in the correct place and you are good to go.

If really confused, read the manual, if the manual does not explain, contact motherboard tech support and waste their time asking them until someone at the manuf gets a damn clue and includes instructions for this all too common question in every manual they publish.


----- here is the story ------

Back in the old days, before USB memory sticks and such, Intel changed the way the cpu was powered and decided to run 12V from the power supply to a connector right next to the cpu voltage regulation circuity to prevent haveing to run high current through the regular 20 pin ATX connector and plus the pins in the connector where not heavy enough blah blah. And so the aux 4 pin 12V 2x2 cpu power connector was born. Meanwhile, back at the server farm, many high performance servers had two sockets and two (or more) CPUs and if you need 4 pins for one cpu, you need 8 for two. Server power supply manufacturers came up with a revision to the EPS (enhanced power supply ? ) speficications to provide this 8 pin plug. Back in these olden days there was no such thing as a high performance enthusiast power supppy. If you had or could find a 500W supply it was rare, and likely it was putting out the power on the 3.3 and +5 for the old way of powering the cpu. OMFG what was a heavy duty OCer to do ? Wait, lookie here, server supplies can run two cpus they should do bang up job running one OCed one. Some EPS supplies had both 4 and 8 pin plugs some did not. Crafty guys resoldered/ spliced/ modded and had no trouble getting the plug configuration they needed but for others it was a problem. Enthusiast motherboard makers found out what was going on with us using server power supplies for OCing and since these where enthusiast boards all of a sudden a lot of boards came with the 8 pin connectors (mainly the higher end boards) so one could just plug and go if you had 8 pin, otherwise you just plugged in your 4 pin, same difference. Then the enthusiast power supply business took off and now most suppiles (good ones anyway) come with an 8 pin connector that has a "break away" to reduce it to 4 pin. Moral of story, its a farking confusing mess but unless you are at some very extreame edge of OCing pulling insane current loads under dry ice or some other insane ( /envy ) cooling method, you go with what you got and it will work fine. A 4 pin to 8 pin adapter is a total waste of money for 99.9% of us. A eight pin to 4 pin is ok if you absolutley must have one but look double damn close at that 8 pin and make sure it will not slide/snap/pull/push apart into 2 four pins one of which you just do not use.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this information. I have been looking at buying the Asus M4a79XTD Evo and some of the criticism of the board was because it only had a 4 pin connector instead of the 8 pin. For what I will be using it for it is the perfect board and at least $75 less then the M4A79T Deluxe. This is the explanation I have been needing.
 
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