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graphics card power supply
02GF74 - 25/7/16 at 05:19 PM

I probably know the answer but just want to throw it out to the collective brain.

Rxternal power to graphics card is typically by one or two 6 way connector (arranged as two rows of 3 pins, btw what is this connector called?)

Anyway one row is 0v and other is 12v. Am I right in saying the wires are paralled in order to allow larger current to be supplied?

With cards that have two sockets, the 0 v and 12 v can be supplied from the same source assuming it can supply the required current?

ennten - 26/7/16 at 02:34 PM

Sounds like the power to your graphics card is by PCI-E aka PCI-Express connectors.
They come in 6- and 8- pin versions.

If you don't have enough PCI-E supplies available to power your graphics card,
but you do have Molex (4-pin) or SATA power connectors,
then you can buy Molex to PCI-E or SATA to PCI-E adaptors.

Slimy38 - 26/7/16 at 03:21 PM

quote:
Originally posted by 02GF74
I probably know the answer but just want to throw it out to the collective brain.

Rxternal power to graphics card is typically by one or two 6 way connector (arranged as two rows of 3 pins, btw what is this connector called?)

Anyway one row is 0v and other is 12v. Am I right in saying the wires are paralled in order to allow larger current to be supplied?

With cards that have two sockets, the 0 v and 12 v can be supplied from the same source assuming it can supply the required current?


Yes, I believe that is the case. My last PSU had current ratings for each wire, and none of them were above a certain level (2 amps if I remember correctly). To get the huge power that some cards need, they run separate feeds. But if you have a PSU that is able to put out higher amps on single wires, there shouldn't be any need to distribute the connection. My current PSU is much bigger (800w) and has just one set of wires going through many connectors.

It's the same situation on hard drive SATA connectors. The old connectors were just 4 chunky bullet connectors, but the new ones are 15 tiny pins. Those 15 are grouped in 3's to spread the current that a hard drive would use.