New video card, requires 2 power connectors?

[pyromaster114]

Okay, so my friend wants to upgrade his video card in his desktop computer.
Well he picked out one that is supposedly compatible with his motherboard, and when asked I told him to hold off ordering it, because I wasn't sure if his power supply would handle it, and since I haven't bought any cards from the manufacturer, I wanted another opinion.

The card is a DIAMOND 4890PE51GXOC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103076 ).

His power supply is a ENERMAX ELT500AWT, which IS 500 watts as stated is required for the card, but I'm not sure if it has 2 6-pin connectors, and if they are indeed 75 watts like the specifications for the card state.

His motherboard, is a Gigabyte, model GA-965P-S3, and it does have a PCI x16 slot, and although only version 1.1 (as far as I know) should run the 2.0 card, unless I am mistaken, so no problems there.

 

[red1776]

Hi pyro,
pcie 2.0 cards are indeed backwards compatible with pcie v1.0, so your good there. i looked up the psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194043&Tpk=ENERMAX ELT500AWT and it shows that it comes with 2-6+2 pcie power connectors. these connectors are standardized and will provide 75w each as needed. The enermax unit provides 48A along two 12v rails, and that is sufficient amp rating for the 4890.
happy upgrading!

 

[pyromaster114]

Thanks man, we shall proceed with the upgrade then.

 

[pyromaster114]

Alright, well we've lost the other PCI-E 6-pin connector for the power supply...
Any ideas where to buy a new one?

 

[red1776]

hey pyro,
ahh the perils of the modular PSU LOL, if your in the USA, a 4 pin molex to 6-pin adapter can be had at newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812887001

 

[pyromaster114]

Problem: He has lost ALL the other cables to the power supply except the ones he's using. He doesn't have ANY of the other cables that end in 4 pin molex connectors... only the one that is already powering his hard disk drive, CD-ROM, and is split off several times to power some fans.

I'm worried that if just split off one of the in-use cables to make more 4-pin molex connectors and use that adapter, that it will overload something.

I don't know if that would be a problem, because for some reason I can't for the life of me find any technical info on what rails hook to what cables in that power supply, so I'm very stuck at this point... Do you think all of the "peripheral" plugs hook into one rail? (The 4-pin molex connectors and the Sata power connectors hook into the slots on the thing marked 'peripheral'... so if they're all on one rail, it probably doesn't matter if I split one of the 4-pin molex connectors another time...)

 

[red1776]

exactly pyro,
they divide the 12v into rails for stability and to limit the amount of current on a single wire set. the rails are separate but not completely independent as they are tied into the same 12v source. if demand from one set of wires needs more current, if will pull it from the other rail, however you run the risk of overheating, or tripping the built in circuit breakers.
i wonder if you can get the original wire harnesses missing from the manufacturer, or aftermarket sets and then split the molex, HDD, 6-pin, etc.

 

[pyromaster114]

I wish my multi-meter thing still worked, cause I'd go down to the electronics part shop, order 2 PCI-E 6-pin extenders, and splice to make a double-ended male PCI-E cable, and use that for the power supply. (The jack for the PCI-E 6-pin on the modular power supply is actually exactly just like the thing on the video card... a female 6-pin...)

My concern (why i'd need the multi-meter) is the pin mapping on the PSU's 6-pin might be different than the video card's... (pin 1 may not be pin 1 on the other end...). I wish the manufacturer would publish their pin mapping... but the day that happens is the day they give up their patent usually.

I'm gonna have to go buy a new multi-meter for myself and just actually roll up my sleeves and USE the education in electronics that was given to me... (wow ... electronics in computers? Never thought I'd need that.... lol)

(My friend is going to be like "you're going to do WHAT with a soldering iron and my computer?")

 

[red1776]

(My friend is going to be like "you're going to do WHAT with a soldering iron and my computer?")

:haha: yeah that would make most of our friends nervous LOL...if ya want to really watch him squirm...show up with a grinder and welding goggles!:haha:
i wonder if enermax would sell you the individual cables? as far as the 6-pin connectors, that's easily enough solved with 4 pin molex to 6 pin conversion cables.

Enermax USA Corporation
17733 Rowland Street
City Of Industry, CA 91748
Ph:626-913-8899
Fax: 626-913-9988