Installing new card, confused about power connections...

[AndrewJJ]

Hello. I'm switching out my old 8800 GTX that died on me with a new Radeon 5870 that I just received. I don't know a whole lot about this type of stuff, and the power connections on the two cards are a little different from one another, so I don't know how to go about connecting my new card. I took some pictures rather than try to explain what I'm dealing with.

Here's the power connections on my old 8800 GTX.

Here are the plugs from the power supply that were plugged into the 8800 GTX.

Here's the power connections for the 5870. Obviously, the connector on the right is bigger.

And this is an adapter that came with the 5870 that I'm not sure if I need to use or not.

If anyone could please explain to me what I need to plug into where, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks.

 

[PhantomWraith]

from what I was reading you only need the 6 pin to power the card the extra one is for crossfire support, at least that what it was indicating to me on newegg looking at the tech specs.

 

[rolli59]

It is recommended to hook both of them up even if you have to use adapters to get there.

 

[17seconds]

In my research, I found that you do need to connect two power cables to the video card for a normal one card setup. Based on your photo, one cable should be 6 pin and the other 8 pin using the adapter.

Not sure what card you have, but the MSI Lightning uses two 8 pin power sockets:
"Installation of the product really is easy. Once the card is installed and seated into the PC we now connect the two 8-pin power connectors to the graphics card.
And yes... do make sure your power supply is compatible, preferably with two 8-pin power PEG headers directly from the power supply. If not, two 6-pin PEGs are sufficient as well, just use the two converter cables that are bundled with the Lightning."
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-r5870-lightning-review/7