Do molex splitters provide enough power?

Hello,

I've ordered a HD 4870 and recently found out it requires 2 6-pin connectors to run.

I could get 1 of the 6-pin slots connected but i can't get the other connected...

The only way I could get the extra 6-pin connected is through a Molex Splitter cable.

Are these safe? Because they are being split will not enough power go through to the graphics card?

Thanks,

Airsoftspock.

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Not the optimum solution, but if the PSU can provide enough power, the adapter is safe.

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Reply to jsc

I'm sure my 600w with 2 12v rails, each 18a is enough??

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Reply to airsoftspock

jsc wrote :

Not the optimum solution, but if the PSU can provide enough power, the adapter is safe.

If it's not the 'optimum' solution, is there anything you'd recommend?
Even though i've ordered the splitters already (stupid, i know), i just need to know if it'll run stable, also no performance loss due to power shortage would be nice XD

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Reply to airsoftspock

You have 18amps total on that line to power that card? I think the recommendation on the AMD/ATI website is to have 30 amps on that 12 volt line. What's the specific make and model? I just finished my build so I remember where to find all this stuff.

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Reply to coolridge

coolridge wrote :

You have 18amps total on that line to power that card? I think the recommendation on the AMD/ATI website is to have 30 amps on that 12 volt line. What's the specific make and model? I just finished my build so I remember where to find all this stuff.

The make is an Alpha Power 600w PSU, can't remember model name, think it was just called 600w...

They're sposed to be reliable, and anyway aren't those recommendations for a single rail, or for the 2 rails combined??

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Reply to airsoftspock

airsoftspock wrote :

The make is an Alpha Power 600w PSU, can't remember model name, think it was just called 600w...

They're sposed to be reliable, and anyway aren't those recommendations for a single rail, or for the 2 rails combined??

The 30 amp is for a single line split I believe ( hence if you have two 15 amp rails separate I'd think you'd be good).

But in any case, I meant the make and model of your specific graphics card (for instance mine is a Sapphire VaporX 4870 which has different power requirements I think than a regular 4870 that is made directly by ATI )

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Reply to coolridge

coolridge wrote :

The 30 amp is for a single line split I believe ( hence if you have two 15 amp rails separate I'd think you'd be good).

But in any case, I meant the make and model of your specific graphics card (for instance mine is a Sapphire VaporX 4870 which has different power requirements I think than a regular 4870 that is made directly by ATI )

The model is a Sapphire made card

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Reply to airsoftspock

airsoftspock wrote :

The model is a Sapphire made card

Ah, got it. You should be quite fine on the amperage then with two 18amp 12 volt lines given that both of the 12v lines get their own spot on the card.

And yea, I seriously doubt that you'll have a problem splitting the power out of a molex. good luck. I've been impressed with these cards so far (especially for the price).

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Reply to coolridge

coolridge wrote :

Ah, got it. You should be quite fine on the amperage then with two 18amp 12 volt lines given that both of the 12v lines get their own spot on the card.

And yea, I seriously doubt that you'll have a problem splitting the power out of a molex. good luck. I've been impressed with these cards so far (especially for the price).

Hey thanks man, feeling alot more confident now

Thanks

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Reply to airsoftspock

Those older generation PSU typically has around 24-30A combined for 12V rails so for a typically overclocked CPU+GPU(1) setup that's not a problem.

What brand of card does not matter as all consume pretty much the same power for given GPU and its default freq. (not an overclocked version).

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Reply to wuzy

coolridge wrote :

Ah, got it. You should be quite fine on the amperage then with two 18amp 12 volt lines given that both of the 12v lines get their own spot on the card.

And yea, I seriously doubt that you'll have a problem splitting the power out of a molex. good luck. I've been impressed with these cards so far (especially for the price).

One more thing though... I know this is sort of slipping of the initial question but i can't really tell how to identify the separate rails via molex wires, the closest piece of evidence i do have though is that the molex's i do have left are seperated, but are daisy chained together... I guess the different chains mark out the different rails??

Thanks Again

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Reply to airsoftspock

Typically the ATX12V and ATX-24 plugs are assigned to one rail while PCIe plug and the SATA/Molex chains are on the other.
Since a single HD4870 is drawing just below 15A on a typical full load it's not a problem to power it with just one rail.

This is also the reason why modern PSU have dumped the 240VA (12V x 20A) limit per rail long ago for this very reason. To able to use all power available on the single 12V rail combined without artificial separation and causing grief to high powered components in a system.

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Message edited by wuzy on 06-01-2009 at 11:04:24 PM

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Reply to wuzy

wuzy wrote :

Typically the ATX12V and ATX-24 plugs are assigned to one rail while PCIe plug and the SATA/Molex chains are on the other.
Since a single HD4870 is drawing just below 15A on a typical full load it's not a problem to power it with just one rail.

Thanks so much for all everyones help, I can actually look forward to it now with no real worries

Thank you!!!

Airsoftspock.

Message edited by airsoftspock on 06-01-2009 at 11:04:37 PM

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