Questions regarding powering up a Geforce 280GTX, SLI & etc!

[Chase023]

I noticed that my Corsair HX620W only came with two 6pin PCI-E cables and no 8 pin for the new video card I just got (Evga 280GTX), so I sent them email that I needed a 8 pin PCI-E cable.
(Good customer service, replying back within a day and got my cable within 3 business days excluding the weekend)
Anyhow the cable I received splits into a 6 pin and a 8 pin so I was wondering, is it not a good idea to use one 6 pin output to hook up both of the inputs (6 and 8 pin ports) on the card?
Am I supposed to use one output port per input port??

I see that the Corsair HX620W has has two 6 pin outputs on top so I thought maybe one output port goes into one input port on the card but then when you do say SLI and etc where do you get the extra ports?? Molex to 6 & 8 pin power ports??

Just wanted to make sure when I go SLI, I am powering it up correctly.

 

[heatlesssun]

I have no idea what you are saying. You need two 6 pin plugs and two 8 pin plugs. I think the HX620 has a 12V single rail correct? If that's the case then it doesn't matter. In fact it still probably doesn't matter regardless because GTX 280 SLI is going to take all the PCI-E plugs anyway for that PSU I believe.

 

[Darth Bobo]

The HX620 is effectively a single rail build so it's shouldn't matter how many cables you use...

 

[Chase023]

I have no idea what you are saying. You need two 6 pin plugs and two 8 pin plugs. I think the HX620 has a 12V single rail correct? If that's the case then it doesn't matter. In fact it still probably doesn't matter regardless because GTX 280 SLI is going to take all the PCI-E plugs anyway for that PSU I believe.

Didn't mean to confuse..

Let me see if I can clear this up.

Basically, what I am asking is, can I hook up one 280GTX using just one of the 6 pin (12v) rails if one cable splits into 6 pin and a 8 pin?

The HX620 is effectively a single rail build so it's shouldn't matter how many cables you use...

If I may ask, how are you powering up your card(s)? Just want an example I guess.

 

[heatlesssun]

So are you asking is it okay to plug just the 6 pin part of a 6 + 2 plug into the the 6 receptacle on the GTX 280? No problem. It doesn't really matter how its done since you're on a single rail power supply. All of the power, no matter how the cables are plugged up is coming from one source. Just plug it up however works best for cable management.

 

[Darth Bobo]

If I may ask, how are you powering up your card(s)? Just want an example I guess.

Currently I only have an "old" 8800GTS/640MB that needs a single 6-pin powerconnector -so that's what it's getting. I do hope to get a 4870 or alternatively a GTX260 (if the 55nm version makes it to the stores before then) before the end of the year, and in such a case it will get only one cable from me (assuming that the 8 and 6 pin connector is on the same cable). Part of the idea of modular PSUs is to have as few cables as possible cluttering the case and that is what I strive to achieve

 

[Chase023]

So are you asking is it okay to plug just the 6 pin part of a 6 + 2 plug into the the 6 receptacle on the GTX 280? No problem. It doesn't really matter how its done since you're on a single rail power supply. All of the power, no matter how the cables are plugged up is coming from one source. Just plug it up however works best for cable management.

I bet diagrams would be so much clearer to explain what I was trying to say. hehe.
Regardless I do understand.

But I do want to try to explain why I was confused. (Let's not think of the PSU being a single rail for the moment, and think of it as terms of number of output plugs it is)

HX620W has two 6 pin power output plugs, and the 280GTX has two power receptacles.
Which is clear.
I originally thought that I had to use both of the 6 pin power outlet plugs from the PSU to connect to one GPU because the GPU has two power receptacles, meaning that each receptacle on the GPU required one output from the PSU. That is why I was confused on how I would set up a SLI because one GPU would take up both 6 pin outputs from the PSU leaving a 2nd GPU with no outputs to plug into each of its power receptacles.

What I wanted to do was use only one single 6 pin output from the PSU to plug into both receptacles on the single GPU because I received 1 cable that split into one 6 pin and one 8 pin.

But from what you guys are saying, it doesn't matter which way I plug in as long as I have a plug in both receptacles because of the power source being a single rail.

 

[heatlesssun]

I bet diagrams would be so much clearer to explain what I was trying to say. hehe.
Regardless I do understand.

But I do want to try to explain why I was confused. (Let's not think of the PSU being a single rail for the moment, and think of it as terms of number of output plugs it is)

HX620W has two 6 pin power output plugs, and the 280GTX has two power receptacles.
Which is clear.
I originally thought that I had to use both of the 6 pin power outlet plugs from the PSU to connect to one GPU because the GPU has two power receptacles, meaning that each receptacle on the GPU required one output from the PSU. That is why I was confused on how I would set up a SLI because one GPU would take up both 6 pin outputs from the PSU leaving a 2nd GPU with no outputs to plug into each of its power receptacles.

What I wanted to do was use only one single 6 pin output from the PSU to plug into both receptacles on the single GPU because I received 1 cable that split into one 6 pin and one 8 pin.

But from what you guys are saying, it doesn't matter which way I plug in as long as I have a plug in both receptacles because of the power source being a single rail.

Okay, I think I understand you now. Yeah, a diagram would have made it very obvious what you were asking. Yes, doing it this way is fine, as you got, its a single rail PSU so it doesn't matter. Good luck if you decide to go with SLI.