Using an 8-Pin CPU PSU Extension Cable

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MetalSparks

MetalSparks

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I'm gutting parts from my old chassis to put it in my new one, and this time I'll be focusing on cable management.

I have a RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS PSU with a rather short CPU power cable. Every one of my builds required me to snake that cable across the motherboard and over the GPU to reach the motherboard's CPU power port because the cable simply wasn't long enough to reach that port if I routed the cable through the back of the chassis.

I figured that an 8-Pin CPU Power Supply Extension cable would do the trick, but now I'm worried that it may damage my entire build. I've seen forum posts with fried extension cables frying every component on the motherboard, and I'd rather not lose another couple thousand on building a new PC. Before focusing on cable management I also had a chassis fan connected to a motherboard 3-pin header with an extension cable, but that cable halved the maximum RPM of the fan; there must have been ridiculous voltage drop through the cable as the motherboard was not able to provide enough power. I'm thinking that either the same would occur, or the PSU would be forced to send too much power through the cables - I'm not sure if I want to take that chance.

So now I'm worried - would using an 8-Pin CPU PSU extension cable do more harm than good?
 
Solution
smorizio
most fried pc are not from to much power draw through 6 or 8 inch extion cable. it becuase most people are not care full and slice the power cable with the rear computer door and track. or they dont lock the cable together right and they gap and short. on my last build i used a good cable extion to put the 8 pin cable behind and through the mb slot. all i did was try wrap and use a little bit of electrical tape to keep the two connectors from gaping.
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smorizio

smorizio

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most fried pc are not from to much power draw through 6 or 8 inch extion cable. it becuase most people are not care full and slice the power cable with the rear computer door and track. or they dont lock the cable together right and they gap and short. on my last build i used a good cable extion to put the 8 pin cable behind and through the mb slot. all i did was try wrap and use a little bit of electrical tape to keep the two connectors from gaping.
 
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Solution
geofelt

geofelt

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What is your motherboard?
It is bothersome that a simple 3 pin extension should lose so much voltage.
Possibly, your motherboard is a cheap one that does not supply sufficient amps for the headers.

As to a 8 pin extension, I think you are better off using one.
stretching a cable over parts seems more risky to me.

And, it pays to always use a quality PSU.
If you can return the raidmax , I would.
 
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MetalSparks

MetalSparks

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...all but Smorizio is extremely rude. Thank you for the advice; I will make sure I'm not pinching any cables. Just to be save I'll test the voltage draw in BIOS with that cable installed, and we'll see if it's a good idea to keep it or not.

I didn't expect that kind of response from moderators - shameful.

This isn't a debate - I've owned this PSU for 2 1/2 years, and there has been absolutely zero drop in cable voltage. I've also installed this exact PSU on two other builds, and there are no issues. Maybe everyone else is drawing too much power from theirs. The only true power-drawers I have are an i7-4790k @ 4.2Ghz, an MSI Golden 980 Ti, and an MSI 650 (PhysX card.)
 
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MetalSparks

MetalSparks

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Didn't see your comment until just now.

ASRock Z97 Extreme6.
 
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Rogue Leader

Rogue Leader

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Rude? Because you posted here concerned about damaging your equipment, and you tell us you have a PSU known to be a fire hazard. We gave you the answer you were asking for.

Just because you have gotten lucky and not damaged anything does not improve the quality of said PSU, especially if you will either be stretching cables or using an adapter. That PSU is junk on a good day.

 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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'extremely rude'
'shameful'

We're just trying to keep you from being close buddies with your insurance guy.
That is a bottom of the barrel power supply. I would not recommend that to my worst enemy.
Adding extra cables and whatnot to it only makes it worse.

That you have been using it for 2.5 years doesn't make it any less crappy. It just means it hasn't died...yet.
And when it does, it may take parts of that multi thousand dollar PC with it.
Worst case....carpet, drapes, walls, house.

Your choice, though.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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CHA-1 max is 12w, others are 6w.
Check the amps/watts required for your fan.
Connecting to cha fan-1 might not cause the issue.
Or, possibly the extension has substandard wire guage or it is not connected well.

As to the psu, the danger in a psu is not that it might not deliver the power required.
As a psu ages, it can lose capability. If a cheap psu fails under load, it will not have the protective circuitry to keep from damaging other parts.
Sometimes we do not like what we hear.
 
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Gillerer

Gillerer

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If a fan cable lowers your RPM by half, it's probably one of those voltage-reducing (something like "12 V to 5 V") cables. They're designed to be able to run fans at lower than spec RPM. If you just use a regular 3-pin cable, there shouldn't be any RPM drop.

And about the PSU - people on this forum would be doing you a disservice if they didn't warn you of a seriously bad product. This regardless of the fact that you've owned and used it for a long time.
 
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MetalSparks

MetalSparks

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See, THIS is a valid, deductive form of logic that can alter opinions. "Your PSU sucks" is not.

Thank you for your concerns and input - I will be purchasing a new PSU before I complete my build. I'll also check the reviews to make sure its average lifespan is over 2 years.
 
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Rogue Leader

Rogue Leader

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Dec 22, 2014
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Note the video shown above. As we said, you asked because you were concerned about damage, we answered because that PSU is damage waiting to happen. You may not like how we said it, thats your prerogative, however our repsonses were neither rude nor shameful, unless for some reason you take our knowledge that your PSU is of poor quality personally.

Your electronics choices are not a reflection of you personally, but yes, your PSU sucks and thats what we are telling you, based upon our years of collective knowledge and the qualities of different brands of PSU. You came here with a concern, we gave you an answer.
 
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MetalSparks

MetalSparks

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The reasoning behind your logic is not a valid form of an argument.
You could have over 9,000 years of experience, but if you were to simply say "it sucks" it's not an argument worth debating.
 
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hang-the-9

hang-the-9

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The age of the power supply does not matter nearly as much as the quality, picking that as the reason to change vs the reason that the PSU is jut poor quality is a bit funny. Reasoning that the power supply is fine because you were using it for years so far so there is no reason to change is the exact same argument that I hear about smoking when they say "but my grandpa smoked for 40 years and he is not dead yet". Just because you own it does not mean you have to defend it, happens way too often on the forums, people are all attached to what they got or what they picked (because they are so smart there is no way that they got a wrong part, so anything contradictory to that is wrong), and just turn stubborn. Happens all the time, and everywhere. I also post a lot in a billiards forum, the amount of people that spend time arguing that their fancy cue from 50 years ago is worth $1,000 when it's actually a $10 piece of junk from Taiwan is staggering, just because they are attached to the cue and someone said 20 years ago it was valuable. Never mind that 4 people with 60 years of cue collecting knowledge say otherwise, it's their cue and if some random guy said it was worth $1,000 that is what it's worth.
 
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