Power connections for ASUS P5K WS: 8 pin or 4pin

[Ken]

I am putting together a system with an ASUS P5K WS rev 1.02G. There are
two power connectors on the mb: a 24-pin EATXPWR and an 8-pin EATX12V
connector. The 8-pin connector has a removable plastic plug that leaves
a square configuration 4-pin receptable.

I have a Corsair 520HX power supply that has both an 8-pin power cord
and a 4-pin power cord in addition to the 24-pin power cord, of course.

Does anyone know which is the correct connector to use? Why are there
the two smaller connectors? Was the 8-pin connector used on older
models and the 4-pin on newer ones? (Perhaps ASUS was using up old
stock of 8-pin connectors?????)

Thanks for the help,
Ken K

 

[Ken]

I am putting together a system with an ASUS P5K WS rev 1.02G. There are
two power connectors on the mb: a 24-pin EATXPWR and an 8-pin EATX12V
connector. The 8-pin connector has a removable plastic plug that leaves
a square configuration 4-pin receptable.

I have a Corsair 520HX power supply that has both an 8-pin power cord
and a 4-pin power cord in addition to the 24-pin power cord, of course.

Does anyone know which is the correct connector to use? Why are there
the two smaller connectors? Was the 8-pin connector used on older
models and the 4-pin on newer ones? (Perhaps ASUS was using up old
stock of 8-pin connectors?????)

Thanks for the help,
Ken K

I should perhaps add that I have a Q6600 Core2 quad processor.

 

[Paul]

I am putting together a system with an ASUS P5K WS rev 1.02G. There are
two power connectors on the mb: a 24-pin EATXPWR and an 8-pin EATX12V
connector. The 8-pin connector has a removable plastic plug that leaves
a square configuration 4-pin receptable.

I have a Corsair 520HX power supply that has both an 8-pin power cord
and a 4-pin power cord in addition to the 24-pin power cord, of course.

Does anyone know which is the correct connector to use? Why are there
the two smaller connectors? Was the 8-pin connector used on older
models and the 4-pin on newer ones? (Perhaps ASUS was using up old
stock of 8-pin connectors?????)

Thanks for the help,
Ken K

8 pins would be needed, if the processor being used needed more than 130W.
(That works out to about 6 amps per yellow wire, assuming 90% Vcore efficiency.)
You can check the "TDP" rating of the processor, to get some idea what
it uses. Q6600 come in 95W and 105W, and if overclocked, the processor could
use more power.

The MiniFit Jr connector series, has a whole lot of documents with good info
in them. I selected a couple at random, to show that the current rating of
the connector, is a function of the size of the connector, as well as the
wire gauge used. The 6 amp limit, handles the case where the manufacturer
used thin wires. It is possible the connector would be safe to 8 amps,
if some good wire was used.

http://www.molex.com/catalog/pdf/5566VW.PDF
http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/ps/PS-5557-011.pdf

Since we very seldom hear of burnt connectors these days, the
rules must be conservative enough for most situations.

In thinking about this question, something else occurred to me.
AMD is making processors that draw up to 140W, and Asus has
made motherboards that claim to support them. And the motherboard
uses a 2x2 connector So much for rules of thumb. I guess in
that case, they're assuming the connector pins are good for
more than 6 amps each.

http://event.asus.com/mb/140w/

Phenom 9950, 140W.
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=447

Even Intel can make a piggish processor, but this is LGA771, so you
won't see this particular one in a desktop

Xeon X5492 LGA771 150W
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBBD

Paul

 

[Ken]

Paul said the following on 9/20/2008 8:39 AM:

8 pins would be needed, if the processor being used needed more than 130W.
(That works out to about 6 amps per yellow wire, assuming 90% Vcore
efficiency.)
You can check the "TDP" rating of the processor, to get some idea what
it uses. Q6600 come in 95W and 105W, and if overclocked, the processor
could
use more power.

The MiniFit Jr connector series, has a whole lot of documents with good
info
in them. I selected a couple at random, to show that the current rating of
the connector, is a function of the size of the connector, as well as the
wire gauge used. The 6 amp limit, handles the case where the manufacturer
used thin wires. It is possible the connector would be safe to 8 amps,
if some good wire was used.

http://www.molex.com/catalog/pdf/5566VW.PDF
http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/ps/PS-5557-011.pdf

Since we very seldom hear of burnt connectors these days, the
rules must be conservative enough for most situations.

In thinking about this question, something else occurred to me.
AMD is making processors that draw up to 140W, and Asus has
made motherboards that claim to support them. And the motherboard
uses a 2x2 connector So much for rules of thumb. I guess in
that case, they're assuming the connector pins are good for
more than 6 amps each.

http://event.asus.com/mb/140w/

Phenom 9950, 140W.
http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=447

Even Intel can make a piggish processor, but this is LGA771, so you
won't see this particular one in a desktop

Xeon X5492 LGA771 150W
http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLBBD

Paul

Many thanks, all. 8-pin it is.