Can I connect the 4+4 pin 12v cpu power connector of the PSU to the 8-pin connector on the MSI Z97 PC Mate Motherboard? Or do I need a separate single piece 8-pin adapter?
Yes you can use 4+4, the reason way PSU have 4+4 is that lower end motherboard use 4-pin and higher end 8-pin so instead of attaching 2 cable to PSU the yjust split one