Can I use 8-pin 12v in my P35-DS3L 4-pin connector?

[davidc]

I've got this mobo:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

and this psu:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

The problem is that the mobo has a 4-pin 12v connection and the psu only have 8-pin. Can i plug the 8-pin into the 4-pin slot? It's phycially easy to do (tried w/ power off) but I want to make sure this is what I'm supposed to do.

Thanks

 

[Lord Gornak]

Short answer looks to be "You can but I wouldn't".

From Playtool - http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

"You can plug a 4 pin 12 volt power cable into an 8 pin EPS motherboard connector but there's no guarantee that it will work. If the motherboard expects only one 12 volt rail then a 4 pin 12 volt cable may work. If the motherboard expects two 12 volt rails (many dual CPU motherboards require one 12 volt rail per CPU) then it won't work. Even if the motherboard works with a 4 pin 12 volt cable, you are still only providing half of the current carrying capacity which would be provided by an 8 pin EPS cable. That can overheat both the motherboard connector and 4 pin cable. Scorched or melted connectors can be a result. A motherboard which has the 8 pin EPS connector expects a lot of current and you are taking a serious risk by plugging in a 4 pin cable. The 4 pin cable only fits at one end of the 8 pin EPS motherboard connector so you can't plug it in improperly. That is, it only fits into one end of the motherboard connector unless you force it. If the cable doesn't go into the socket easily then you're probably trying to plug it into the wrong end. But then again, it's not a good idea to try to run with a 4 pin cable in an 8 pin motherboard anyway."

 

[rezdogg]

This question was not answered right. The person asked if you can use an 8-pin EPS into a 4-pin 12v on mother board? I actually have the same problem, my PSU only has a 8-pin eps, but my motherboard only has 4-pin. I have been using the 8-pin EPS on my 4-pin, but only using half of the connector, and I have been using it this way for over a year on my AMD Athlon X2 4400+ 2.2GHZ 939 computer. Is this ok to be using it this way? I could swear that my PSU is totally missing the 4-pin 12v adapter... my Ultra X-Finity 500w PSU shows an 8-pin EPS and a 4-pin 12v connectors on any website, on the box, and in the manual... but there seems to be absolutely no 4-pin 12v on my PSU, and not sure what the means. After a year, I finally decided to contact Ultra about this problem, or if it is a problem at all.


But to answer your question, I have been using the 8-pin EPS connector on my PSU to power my 4-pin 12v on motherboard for over a year now, and seems to work, but not sure if that is a problem or not. ill report back soon enough.

If anyone has any info on this, please let me know

 

[bigkumadog]

I have he same Gigabit mobo (Hackintosh)and a Thermaltake 700w PSU. I think that you will be OK my Tt PSU has 2-4pin connectors that snap together to make one 8pin EPS as the positives and grounds correspond there should be NO problem at all. I have not fired up my system as yet since I have a current Alienware case with preparatory control wiring for the mobo that came with it which I don't have. But I think I answered the question that if Tt just connects both 4-pins together to make an 8-pin than just using 4-pins of the 8-pin connector should work.