Power Supply PCIe connectors

lmaonade200 · Nov 5, 2013

Hiya everyone, first thread here since I couldn't find a definitive answer by googling (and using the search function)!

I'm currently looking for parts to plan a computer (which will be my first built), looking at around the end of the year ish to start buying, or maybe during black friday.
Anyways, I was confused about the PCI express connectors on PSUs so I did a bit of reading on them, and it seems to me that the PSU I was planning on getting, the Seasonic s12ii 620, is incompatible with the newly released AMD R9 280x, because 1 has 1x6 and 1x6+2 pin connectors while the other uses 2x8 pin connectors.
However, when I tried to search for the answer online of whether or not these 2 components can work together, the answer (in several different threads) was always "Yes." Am I missing something here? It wouldn't be surprising since I'm pretty new at all this, but it seems that these 2 components can't be used together since the connectors don't match. That and I've read that using 6 pin to 8 pin adapters is dangerous since the power draw will be higher than what the 6 pin is rated for.

So, am I just delusional/over-thinking this? Or are these 2 parts actually compatible.

Thanks in advance!

Dark Lord of Tech · Nov 5, 2013

You can use the 8 pin molex power adapter that will come with your card.

lmaonade200 · Nov 5, 2013

Thanks blackbird

guess I made the thread a bit too soon, since I saw the same discussion on the other thread that was made 6 mins before me

hunter315 · Nov 5, 2013

The S12II 620 is capable of handling the 280x without issue, it has enough capacity so i am unsure why they didn't provide 2 6+2 connectors on the PSU.

The extra 2 pins on the 8 pin connector are additional grounds so the 6 pin portion of the connector will be carrying the same amount of current down the +12V lines and the pins aren't any different so it isn't dangerous to use the 6 to 8 pin adapters as the contacts in the 6 pin connector can deal with the current draw fine already(~4A per pin isn't a ton), the primary issue with the adapters is when someone takes 2 of them and sticks them on a 500W raidmax unit that could barely output 350W at the start of its life, that is when things get dangerous because they were restricting how much you could load it up based on its connectors.

I personally would have no qualms with putting a 6-8 pin adapter on the cable and going on my way since we know the PSU has the capacity to support it.

lmaonade200 · Nov 5, 2013

hunter315 :

The S12II 620 is capable of handling the 280x without issue, it has enough capacity so i am unsure why they didn't provide 2 6+2 connectors on the PSU.

The extra 2 pins on the 8 pin connector are additional grounds so the 6 pin portion of the connector will be carrying the same amount of current down the +12V lines and the pins aren't any different so it isn't dangerous to use the 6 to 8 pin adapters as the contacts in the 6 pin connector can deal with the current draw fine already(~4A per pin isn't a ton), the primary issue with the adapters is when someone takes 2 of them and sticks them on a 500W raidmax unit that could barely output 350W at the start of its life, that is when things get dangerous because they were restricting how much you could load it up based on its connectors.

I personally would have no qualms with putting a 6-8 pin adapter on the cable and going on my way since we know the PSU has the capacity to support it.

I see I see, thanks for the explanation hunter! Learn something new everyday.

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Power Supply PCIe connectors

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