I am in the process of building the following:

Q6600
XFX nVidia 680i
XFX GeForce 7600 GS
320 GB Seagate SATA
2 GB RAM
2 DVD+RW Drives

No overclocking, no near term plans to add another graphics card.

I bought a Sonata II case + 450W PS (included) and ran into what I fear may be a big issue:

There is no 8-Pin CPU 12v connector. This causes a problem because the mobo install guide tells me I can use a 4-pin connector, but use pins 1, 2, 5, 6 -- but my connector only fits pins 3, 4, 7, 8. Minor question: is this a problem or possibly a typo in the install guide? I can get a cheap cable that will allow me to turn the 4 pin into an 8 pin. Major question: If I use a converter or even just the 4-pin, am I robbing my CPU of precious power? I heard on another site that you only need the 8-pins if you're using a Quad - which of course I am.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6812183045

Thanks for the link. Will this pull more power, or is this just to fix the connector issue?

If your PSU has only the 4 pin auxillary power lead, the TT adapter will work to make the lead you have into an 8 pin 12v to fit your MB. The adapter I posted is out of stock currently. Just do a search on newegg and there are others. If you can not manage to find a suitable adapter, just plug the 4 pin into one side of your MB's 8 pin socket and yoiu should be fine.

ffejie, I have the exact problem....and a similar setup. I read (can't find the link) that you can get an adaptor that runs two molex into an eight pin. The adaptor on the newegg link pulls from one molex, not two.....still works though. Just wondering how it went...did you go with four pin, or get an adaptor?

My Asus P5k had a cover over 4 of the pins on the connector, and the manual states using either a 4-pin or 8-pin connector would be fine. My PSU has both, but I ran my cables behind my motherboard tray (P180 Case), and only the 4-pin would reach, so I used it. I haven't powered up the system yet, as I am waiting on my Q6600, but I figure if the PSU that can supply enough amperage the second 4 shouldn't be needed. I didn't see any information stating quads needed the 8-pin, can you supply the source of your information?

Also, ffejie, chances are the manual doesnt have a typo. Your connector will only fit one way, plug it in the way it fits properly. Pins for headers increment across from each other. Counting sideways you would have pins 1, 3, 5, 7. Therefore you will either use 1-4, or 5-8. Your orientation is most likely upside down, which is why you would be trying to plug into 5-8.

why did u get a 7600 with a quad core??

8800 gts and pc power and coolings 610 eps12v would be a nice upgrade before u go on pause with not upgrading for a few yrs

I have a related issue as well. My setup is as follows:
MSI SLI 650 Platinum P6N Mobo
Q6600 Quad Core CPU
2GB OCZ DDR800 SLI Certified Dual Channel RAM
OCZ 700W nVIDIA SLI CERTIFIED Power Supply
EVGA e-GeForce 7900 GS KO Graphics Card

Anyways... When I boot up I don't get any output on the monitor. I'm rather new to CPU building and thought that maybe my CPU not receiving power could be the culprit. My mobo has an 8-pin CPU power connector and also came with a cover over 4 of the pins like schneimj said his has. My power supply doesn't have an 8-pin connector, but does have two 4-pin connectors that are labeled "cpu-1" and "cpu-2". I was able to connect both to collectively cover the 8-pin CPU power connection. Does this make sense, or would I want to try some of the solutions listed here such as buying an adapter? By the way, I have swapped out video cards and think I can safely rule that out as being the problem. Being new to the game, if anyone has any ideas on this specific issue or my much larger issue of my newly purchased computer not displaying video, it would be much appreciated.

thanks,

~Duhrman

Hey, my Asus Striker Extreme also has an 8 Pin connector near the processor but it has a black cover over 4 of the pins. I am also using a Q6600. Right now, I have my 4-pin coming from my power supply connected to it. But my power supply also has an 8-pin connector.

Which one should I be using? The 4 or the 8 pin?

i would use the 8 pin, so that everything is fully connected and there are no unplugged power inputs in my motherboard. im not sure if it would make a diff but if its an 8 pin it was probably made to be an 8 pin for a reason.

Some of the people from Asus's website told me that 8Pin is the way to go with a Q6600, hence I have already switched from 4Pin to 8Pin....haven't noticed any difference though.

Thats debatable, some say that getting a DX10 card for the sake of having a DX10 card is a waste of money since if you havent seen actual improvement from DX9 to DX10 on current DX10 gaming apps/demos is very very small, the performance drop however is quite large. 8800GTS 320mb just cant handle it.

Personally I think its a waste of money to go to DX10 now when just before Xmas nvidia release theri more powerfull dx10 card and after it ATI release a few of their dual cards.

I have an Abit AX78 motherboard which also requires an 8 pin 12V CPU connector but my PSU only has a 4 pin connector. Alot of people say you don't need the 8 pin but it is said to be required for quad core processors like mine. I have started to think about this as when im playing games, after a bit my FPS drops from 70 to 30 and the gameplay slows right down. Alot of people say it could be heating but checked my CPU and GPU temps and they are at the standard temp when this happens. I was wondering whether the 4 pin power connector isn't supplying enough juice to my 2.2Ghz AMD Quad Core processor so after a bit it starts to fall in performance...

What do you think?

Comp Spec:
AMD Phenom 2.2Ghz Quad CPU
9600GT GPU
3.18GB DDR2 RAM
Abit AX78 Mobo
650 Watt SLi Ready PSU

Chris

The 8 pin connection is recommended if your CPU is 125/130 Watts or greater. It was added orginally for the older P4 extreme processors. For the newer C2Q's at the high end OC's you may approach the 125 Watts. The Q9550 is 95 W, Q6600 = 105 W)
I believe you will find that the +12V pins are all shorted at the MB and the ground (Rtn) lines are also shorted. At work so I con not verify, but with a multimeter you can check by ohms checking one +12 pin to the other 4 (No power to board and PSU disconnected). If this is correct, Then unless your 12V is on the low side (measures 11.6 V, or your voltage regulator on the Motherboard is poor (Converts the +12 to 1.xx), the 4 Pins is fine (If you have the 8 pin connector use it.

Primary reason for the 8 pin vs 4 Pin is to reduce the I squared R drop (loss in the form of Heat) at the connector. Excessive heat at the connector can damage the connector - Repeat, should only be a factor if CPU Power is greater than the 125 Watts. Seconary reason is that his loss subtracts from the voltage delievered to the MB onboard voltage regulator. My quess is - at 10 amps this loss is about 0.1 -> 0.2 Volts for a 4 Pin connector and would be cut in half with an 8 Pin connection.

Hope this helps (PS this has been posted many times on Tom's site)

Added - If the pins are shorted, then it makes no difference in using the top half vs the bottom half AS LONG as The +12V from the PSU goes to the +12V on the MB connector - Use MB manual to verify)

I can say with experience, the XFX 680i board WILL function with a Q6600 if you use the 4pin CPU power connector. You just have to figure out how to get it into the 8-pin socket. The directions in the manual were incorrect for me as to which of the 8 plugs to put the 4-pin into. But my system ran fine for 6 months or so like that until I upgraded my PSU.

Keep in mind though, if you do ever wish to OverClock your CPU, the 680i board is NOT the best way to go. Though it'll allow you to run SLI.