Please help I'm new at this.

[mattbrinkman1]

Hey everyone I just have a couple of questions this is my first build that I'm doing on my own and I'm a little confused on a couple of things.

Okay so first off I see on my motherboard that there is a place to power my CPU, it's a 8pin connector. On my cables on my PSU I have only one 8pin it's actually a 6pin with two right next to it, but around it it has a sticker that says PCI Express 8pin. Is that the same? and is that the one I need to use?

Secondly The graphics card I ordered (a GTX 570 Evga) says it needs two 6pin to power it
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...613&cm_re=evga_gtc_570-_-14-130-613-_-Product

I noticed that there are two adapters in the card that go to a molax 4 pin do I just attach those to a cable my power supply came with?

Sorry if any of this is unclear I'll try my best to explain anything. Any help would be great thanks!

 

[geofelt]

What psu do you have? It sounds like it might be inadequate or very old.
A GTX570 needs 550w with 38a on the 12v rails plus two 6-pin PCI-E power leads.

The 6/8 pin labeled pcie express is for your graphics card.
A strong enough psu should come with at least two of them.

In the event that you do not have two 6 pin pci-e connectors, EVGA has included a molex(4 holes) adapter which will give you the second needed pci-e 6 pin connector.

Your psu should have at least a 4 pin cpu connector. It may be sufficient, it will go into one half of the cpu 8 pin hole. It is needed for things like overclocking, and many motherboards will run fine with using only 4. If your psu has only a single 6 pin pci-e connector, I doubt if it came with a 8 pin cpu adapter.
There are molex to 8 pin cpu adapter cables available, but make certain that your psu is strong enough to begin with.

 

[compulsivebuilder]

No, the PCIe connector is NOT the same - same number of pins, but the shapes of the shrouds around the pins are different, so you can't plug it in. Do you have a 4 pin connector that looks similar to the PCIe? You can use that in a pinch - just plug it into one side of the 8 pin socket (the plastic shapes around the pins will let you know which side). You should make sure you aren't drawing too much power, though - don't go using an i7 990X, for example.

Yes, that card does need two PCIe cables. You could use a Molex adapter (using two Molex connectors from DIFFERENT cables) to connect the second socket on the graphics card, but it's not ideal (draws on two 12V lines instead of three), and it makes your cabling messy

Sounds like maybe you'd be better off getting a new power supply - one with an 8 pin CPU power cable and two PCIe cables. There are lots of options.

 

[mattbrinkman1]

Okay that helps some, I do have a cord that has two 4pin connectors on one cord equallying 8 maybe that is for my CPU power?.
The PSU that I have is an antec 550watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Also I notice there is one cord that is red on one side that I'm assuming goes into the red slot on the PSU and it has a 6pin on both sides would I just use that and then the 6/8 pin cord for my video card? thanks for your help btw

 

[geofelt]

Okay that helps some, I do have a cord that has two 4pin connectors on one cord equallying 8 maybe that is for my CPU power?.
The PSU that I have is an antec 550watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Also I notice there is one cord that is red on one side that I'm assuming goes into the red slot on the PSU and it has a 6pin on both sides would I just use that and then the 6/8 pin cord for my video card? thanks for your help btw

Good, you have a good psu with all the leads that you need.

Here is a link to the business end of each connector:
http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/connectors.php?ProdID=23502


The psu is modular, so look first for a cable with 8 pins all attached together. One end should fit the mobo 8 pin socket, and the other fit into the psu. Normally, things are keyed so that they only fit where it is appropriate. There should be some labeling on the psu. I think the red end of the 8 pin connector will go into the red slot of the psu. It looks like the psu comes with both a 4 pin and a 8 pin cpu connector.

The 6 pin pcie connector can go into any of the remaining 4 places, and the 6/8 pin pcie the same.

The remaining 2 slots will be for the sata leads and the molex leads. It will not matter which ones you use there.

 

[venjhammet]

You should get a new PSU atleast 600W with 38amps +12v rails. Try Corsair TX750W, Seasonic or XFX brands. Settle atleast 750W to give more room on power. The ATX 8 pin connection for your motherboard has different connection than that of your videocard. It's a 4 + 4pin.

 

[mattbrinkman1]

Okay thank you so much for this I appreciate it!, I'm assuming the molex leads from my fans in my case I can just attach to any of the molex spots on my cords? The only thing I was unsure about with the build is the actual powering of it

 

[geofelt]

Okay thank you so much for this I appreciate it!, I'm assuming the molex leads from my fans in my case I can just attach to any of the molex spots on my cords? The only thing I was unsure about with the build is the actual powering of it

Yes, you can attach the fans where you want. multiple ones on the same lead is ok.

Your psu can deliver 37amps total on the 12v leads, not the 38 EVGA suggests. But Antec is a quality unit that can deliver power continuously and at hotter temperatures.
You should have no problems.

 

[mattbrinkman1]

Okay, So you don't think that even though it's one volt less it wont damage or harm it in anyway?

 

[geofelt]

Okay, So you don't think that even though it's one volt less it wont damage or harm it in anyway?

One amp less.

No, I don't think it is a problem.

Evga will be somewhat conservative, not knowing that some users might be using crap psu's. Antec is a high quality psu that will deliver what it advertises.

Also, the recommendation assumes a reasonable number of hard drives peripherals, and even some overclocking. It is a rule of thumb which works quite well.

If, by any chance, there was insufficient power, you might notice it by strange graphics behavior while playing gpu intensive games.

 

[mattbrinkman1]

yeah, I dont plan on really overclocking any. I watched a video and the total power usage never went over 500watts under intense gaming so i figured it would be okay