# Ower 8 Pin Motherboard with no 8 pin PSU?



## byteninja2 (Jun 9, 2012)

I got a asus p8p67, and am waiting to get a CPU for it. But, I noticed the asus uses a 8 Pin ATX power connecter, and my psu only has 1 6 pin and 1 4 pin. Could I like use half of the four pin and 6 pin to power the motherboard? Or, do I have to buy a 8 pin adapter?


----------



## wolfeking (Jun 9, 2012)

are you talking about the CPU power? If so, thats not an ATX connector. Its a modified P4 connector. But you can use the 4 pin to power it. I would not get an adapter as it will still get the same power as the P4 your using.


----------



## johnb35 (Jun 9, 2012)

If you plan on gaming with it, then its recommended to get a new psu with an 8 pin 12volt connector.


----------



## spirit (Jun 9, 2012)

wolfeking said:


> But you can use the 4 pin to power it. I would not get an adapter as it will still get the same power as the P4 your using.


Wolfe's right, you can still power the system fine with just one 4-pin P4 connector because it did it on my P75P55D-E for a while...



johnb35 said:


> If you plan on gaming with it, then its recommended to get a new psu with an 8 pin 12volt connector.


...but I'd follow what John said above and get yourself a better power supply with all 8 pins.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 10, 2012)

Should I use a 6 pin? That should give some more power.


----------



## johnb35 (Jun 10, 2012)

byteninja2 said:


> Should I use a 6 pin? That should give some more power.



The 6 pin isn't used for the cpu, its used for a video card.  You need to upgrade your psu to one that has an 8 pin cpu power connection.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 10, 2012)

johnb35 said:


> The 6 pin isn't used for the cpu, its used for a video card.  You need to upgrade your psu to one that has an 8 pin cpu power connection.



This year, in about 6 months, my psu will be upgraded. My gpu is taking all the draw d\from the pci, thats what scares me. Im putting all that power on the motherboard. And, some mobos use a 6 pin, I have seen it. And, isnt pci 75 watts max, so why does this sat 180 watts in the power section?
http://techgage.com/article/asus_geforce_210_gt_220_gt_240/10


----------



## johnb35 (Jun 10, 2012)

There is no such thing as a 6pin cpu connector, it's either 4pins or 8 pins.  The 6 pin is used strictly for video cards.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 10, 2012)

Whats this?


----------



## johnb35 (Jun 10, 2012)

What is the model of the board so I can look it up?  I do believe I see 8 pin connections up top.


----------



## wolfeking (Jun 10, 2012)

byteninja2 said:


> Whats this?


That is a 6 pin power to the PCIe that some boards add for CF/SLI setups. It will not power the CPU at all.


----------



## FuryRosewood (Jun 10, 2012)

supplementary power for PCI-e lanes, my biostar t-power n750 had a 4 pin molex for powering those lanes you do want to have 8 pin on your cpu power, a 6 pin pci-e power cable is not the same as a 2x4 pin 12 volt cpu power connector.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 10, 2012)

Okay guys thanks, can I run it with a 4 pin and my low power 240 that takes all its power from a pcie?


----------



## spirit (Jun 10, 2012)

byteninja2 said:


> Okay guys thanks, can I run it with a 4 pin and my low power 240 that takes all its power from a pcie?


It would probably run OK, but I'd upgrade to an 8-pin PSU ASAP.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 10, 2012)

Just figured out something.I guess that a 4 pin is all you need.Some electric association requires the motherboard to have a bigger input of power just to be safe.And a 4 pin is all you need, I guess, as the wires can carry enough power to a 8 pin with a 4 pin.But i ma still upgrading my psu as soon as I get my sli setup in 6 months.


----------



## FuryRosewood (Jun 11, 2012)

the six pin is optional, you could run with a 4 pin, but i dont recommend it myself.


----------



## StrangleHold (Jun 11, 2012)

The six pin is a PCIe connector, not keyed the same or wired the same as a 4/8 pin CPU power connector. The extra 6 pin connector is for PCIe slots if your running multi cards for extra power to the slots. If a board has a 8 pin CPU power connector, all are wired different. Some will work just fine with a 4 pin. Some will not boot at all with a 4 pin. Some will run fine, but you will have problems with a higher wattage processors, especially if your overclocking.


----------



## byteninja2 (Jun 11, 2012)

I think it will run with a i3, only 65w I think.


----------



## ClearCase (Jun 11, 2012)

Research, research, research.

Next time read this guide if you have questions about pins. It tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about PSU and motherboard pins.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html


----------

