20 and 24 pin ATX power connectors

[Red Sheraton]

Some mainboards still have 20 pin ATX power connectors, while some
newer boards eg A8N-E have 24 pin power connectors. Why is this? My
local supplier sells 20 to 24 pin adaptors. Will these work for most 24
pin motherboards when coupled with 20 pin ATX PSUs?

 

[Ken Maltby]

Some mainboards still have 20 pin ATX power connectors, while some
newer boards eg A8N-E have 24 pin power connectors. Why is this? My
local supplier sells 20 to 24 pin adaptors. Will these work for most 24
pin motherboards when coupled with 20 pin ATX PSUs?

The first 20 pins are exactly the same. The four extra
pins repeat some of the voltages found in the first 20 pins.

For most users the 20 pin connector plugged into the 24
pin socket on the A8N-E, will work fine. If you were
going to be using all 10 USB-2 ports, and the other PCI-E
slots (besides the one for the vid card), and all four SATA,
you might then need to use the additional current distribution
provided by the extra four pins.

I'm using a 20 pin 550W PSU with my A8N-E and have
no problems.

Luck;
Ken

 

[Red Sheraton]

The first 20 pins are exactly the same. The four extra

pins repeat some of the voltages found in the first 20 pins.

For most users the 20 pin connector plugged into the 24
pin socket on the A8N-E, will work fine. If you were
going to be using all 10 USB-2 ports, and the other PCI-E
slots (besides the one for the vid card), and all four SATA,
you might then need to use the additional current distribution
provided by the extra four pins.

Thanks Ken. Sounds good. Has anyone else had the same success with
plugging a 20 pin ATX power connector into a 24 pin ATX motherboard
socket?

 

[Bubba]

My PS just fried from rough handling by movers and I bought a new Antec
Smart Power. It had a 24 pin connector where 4 pins of the connector can be
unsnapped to fit into the P4 4pin connector. It's also much quieter than my
old Antec PS. Well worth the $70.

 

[Michael W. Ryder]

Thanks Ken. Sounds good. Has anyone else had the same success with
plugging a 20 pin ATX power connector into a 24 pin ATX motherboard
socket?

I am running a P5P800 with the 24 pin socket using a 20 pin power
connector. Have never had any problems with the setup and I am using a
3.4 GHz P4 with it.

 

[T.O.]

Using a 400 watt supply 20 pin on a P5LD2 (24pin).
3.0 Dual processor
2gigs ram
2 CDs
2 drives
Sound card, firewire card, some fun lights.

It lugs down when the processor is cranking (you can hear the fans slow
down), but so far works fine. I'm using one of the 20-24 adapters, but it
booted OK the first few times while under construction until I got the
adapter put on.
I'm going to the computer show this weekend to replace it since it's
obviously being pushed to the limit and I want to put a RAID on it later.


T.O. Galloway