12v ATX 4 pin plug replacement?

[Lonemagi]

My new motherboard (Abit NF7) has one of those 4 pin ATX 12 connectors above the normal ATX connector. Problem with this, my 400w antec psu does not have that connector. Can I get an adapter anywhere? Im thinking I need it, as my motherboard has this constant red led lit on the bottom of the board. It runs fine so far, but I dont want to chance it.

--
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy."
-George Washington

 

[tuesday630]

You can, but its not recommended. The reason for the 4-pin cable is that it provides two grounds and two 12V wires that are rated to handle about 5Amps each. Meaning, that connection could pull as much as 10Amps. If you hook it up to an adapter, you most likely be using a single molex (normal hard disk connector) that has only one 12V wire. You could easily over rate the adapter, which would increase resistance and heat. Intel even says that it will cause startup problems due to this.

I suppose you could take two molex connector and splice them into an adapter, but really, you should get a new power supply.

---There may be more than one way to do it, but why would anyone want to remove the fur from a feline?---

 

[Lonemagi]

I was looking at finding an adapter to the other 12v connector I have on there. It looks kinda like an AT connector. I thought these 2 where the same. What does this connector do anyway?

One other thing, I thought that this type of connector was a P4 thing. Why on a AMD board?

--
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy."
-George Washington

 

[tuesday630]

Both AMD and Intel need more current to the motherboard. The current main connection to the motherboard only supplies on 12V wire. This adds two more, allowing the motherboard to draw more amps.

Here's a good article that deals with it:

http://www.directron.com/p4install.html

edit: Actually, I should have asked what AMD processor you have. Not all require the extra juice. If that's your case, you can just ignore the plug. Check AMD's site for the specs on your CPU.

---There may be more than one way to do it, but why would anyone want to remove the fur from a feline?---<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Tuesday630 on 03/12/03 10:55 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Lonemagi]

Xp 2100 tbred b oc'd to 2020mhz.. figure with overclocking I need a bit more.. my mobo also has the selections of running the cpu volts up to 2.3 for oc'ing

--
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy."
-George Washington

 

[Lonemagi]

Another question... are those 2 12v wires both +12v? If so I could take an adapter I found on a site and wire 2 of the 12v leads off of the other 12v aux connector. Same with the ground.

Reason Im thinkin of doing that is because my funds are running low for computer parts. I just bought a new mobo and a Radeon 9700 Pro. The less money spent, and a bit of safe modding are tops in my book.

--
"To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy."
-George Washington