6 pin pci express to good use

[Rasta Mon]

My problem is that i don't think my power supply meets my graphics cards power needs using my 4 pin molex. I want to use my 6 pin to power my card but the card has a 4 pin. I know this has been discussed before but i found this adapter.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186&products_id=21141
If i not mistaken using this adapter the 4 pin will not have the 5v wire that my card needs. So what if i took the 5v from the end of a 4 pin strand and connected it into the 4 pin on the adapter.

Now having said all that would this raise my max load amps and solve my problem?

 

[chookman]

Need more info... what card are you running what PSU are you running.

 

[Rasta Mon]

6800xt AGP and thermaltake tr2 420, http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Power/TR2power/w006162/w006162.asp
it has 12v 10a and 12v 15a but how do i tell them apart? how do i know what the max load of the 6 pin is? I was thinkin of just goin to a 1950pro but i don't think i have the power.

 

[chookman]

You dont have the power for the 1950pro with that PSU.
You havent actually stated if you have got a problem with the card running off a normal molex connector (as it should be run)
Seems most places state 400-500w with 19amp on the 12v which is pushing it a little for your PSU.
Hard to tell how the PSU is setup (some can combine 12v rails to split load) but generally the mainboard connectors will run off 1 rail while the 6-pin will run off the other. So moving the GPU over to the 6pin will give you more stable power and therefore help with an instability

 

[jsc]

If i not mistaken using this adapter the 4 pin will not have the 5v wire that my card needs. So what if i took the 5v from the end of a 4 pin strand and connected it into the 4 pin on the adapter.

I have been working with electronics in one form or another for more than 45 years ( I have even rewound analog meter movements back when the the world was young and snakes walked the earth), and I wouldn't do this. It's a good way of frying a video card or even your mother board.

If you suspect that your PSU is inadequate, and you know that you are going to upgrade your video card, upgrade your PSU first.

 

[jsc]

Oh. Forgot to mention: According to graphics card specifications, the maximum load on the 12 volt 6 pin video card aux power connector is supposed to be no more than 75 watts ( 6.25 amps).

 

[lunyone]

I have been working with electronics in one form or another for more than 45 years ( I have even rewound analog meter movements back when the the world was young and snakes walked the earth), and I wouldn't do this. It's a good way of frying a video card or even your mother board.

If you suspect that your PSU is inadequate, and you know that you are going to upgrade your video card, upgrade your PSU first.

Totally agree here! Don't try that GPU on that PSU, your just asking for problems and/or damages. I'd go with at least this PSU for starters. There are others, but this is at least a QUALITY PSU and can handle a x1950pro and then some.

PSU - $60 shipped - $30 MIR = $30!! Hard to beat at this price w/30A on 12V rails combined!!
Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC – Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006

 

[apache_lives]

ummm 6800xt by nvidia for agp in other words a cut down 6800, it will easily run on that thermal take power supply you refered to, dunno what all these guys are saying and why you need that converter, just install it and fire it up with the molex plug.

Iv seen an AcBell 300w PSU power a 7800GTX 512 solid no worrys, aswell as generic 400w PSU's running 6800GS's and 8600GTS's and even an AcBell 400w with a 8800GTS 640mb (it was running in my display for months with an E6600, 2gb, dual HDD's etc) - customers come into my store with similar setups and ask for upgrades like ram and have that configuration setup and working for months (they dont even know that the power supplies make any difference).

All this "sufficient PSU" is all BS, as long as you got something with balls to back your system and match it with an evenly priced PSU you will be fine, so stop worrying about the PSU.

 

[Rasta Mon]

I cant upgrade my psu yet because of space problems. Im keeping the one i have till i build my next rig in about a year. This was my first build. A very good learning experience and believe me i look back and call myself a noob for some of my component choices. My next build is gonna be much smoother.

The reason i wanted to know if i didnt have sufficient enough power is because my graphics card stopped working and even when it did i had stability problems. Problems like random freeze ups but they became less common as i tinkered around with resolution and fsb. It stopped working a few days ago when the power went out for about an hour. Then when i powered it back up my screen says no hdmi signal detected. I tryed to fix it every way i know how but failed. So i just unpluged my graphics card and now im using the onboard video. Does anyone know what my problem is?

 

[ir_efrem]

no one here really *knows* what the exact problem is.

If i were to wager a guess, I would say it is 1 of 3 things: Video Card, Power supply, or Motherboard. I am kinda leaning towards a volted video card, I could be completely wrong though, perhaps the socket went bad, if you have the guts to give it a whirl, look at the pins on the AGP socket see if you don't see an issue. Perhaps even light side to side pressure on the socket will reveal a bad solder joint. Ive touched up solder points on both motherboards and boards inside of a monitor, and they started working normally again without issues ever again.

Best bet it to try replacement parts you may have laying around (hard to do if ya don't have them) perhaps a friend with a similar build. Since it is the easiest (to me anyhow) I would personally just go get a new power supply and drop it in, it might do the trick, it might not.

Good luck my friend.

 

[Rasta Mon]

Figured out its a bad agp socket. Ill inspect further to see if it can be repaired. Otherwise ill just have to use onboard video or buy a cheap pci card. Either way i will make it till my next build in bout a year. Here is what i would build right now, but who knows what will be out when i start.

P5k3 Deluxe
Core 2 Extreme QX6850
2 Gigs of Kingston hyperX DDR3
2 Raptor 150gb in raid0
with a 320 external backup HDD
Diamond Radeon HD 2900 XT
1gb DDR4
Custom Water Cooling for processor, ram, and graphics card. Probably 2 separate systems.

compaired to my
P5VDC-MX
Pentium D 840 3.2
1 Gig Kingston hyperX DDR2
Western Digital 250
XFX Nvidia 6800 XT 256MB AGP
Water cooled cpu with single 120mm radiator and promochill reservior

 

[lunyone]

And only for $3k, what a deal!!