Power Supply 20 - 24 pin

I recently purchased a K8N SLI moteherboard and (for now) a single
video card. When I went to install it in my system, I learned that
there is a 24 pin standard power connector out now. My power supply is
550 watts and is not very old so I would perfer not to have to buy
another one but it has the seperate 20 and 4 pin connectors. I tested
(with the power off of course) to see if I could fit the 20 and 4 piin
connectors would fit side by side and I found that the 20 pin fits at
one end of the motherboard's 24 pin connector but the 4 pin seems to
only fit the same end as the 20 pin so I can not connect them side by
side.

When I researched new power supplies, they seem to have 24 pin
connectors that will seperate into 20 & 4 pin connectors. I'm not sure
I understand how this works since my 20 pin and 4 pin don't seem to
have pins that will fit that configuration.

I did notice that there is a seperate place on the motherboard for a 4
pin connector. What would happen if I just hooked up the 20 pin
connector and plugged the 4 pin connector in the other spot. Would it
work? Would I wreck the board?

I saw that they make 20-24 pin adapters but I cant tell if that is for
plugging a 24 pin PS into a 20 pin motherboard or vice versa.

Any help?

Thanks

"Hiro" <> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
>I recently purchased a K8N SLI moteherboard and (for now) a single
> video card. When I went to install it in my system, I learned that
> there is a 24 pin standard power connector out now. My power supply is
> 550 watts and is not very old so I would perfer not to have to buy
> another one but it has the seperate 20 and 4 pin connectors. I tested
> (with the power off of course) to see if I could fit the 20 and 4 piin
> connectors would fit side by side and I found that the 20 pin fits at
> one end of the motherboard's 24 pin connector but the 4 pin seems to
> only fit the same end as the 20 pin so I can not connect them side by
> side.
>
> When I researched new power supplies, they seem to have 24 pin
> connectors that will seperate into 20 & 4 pin connectors. I'm not sure
> I understand how this works since my 20 pin and 4 pin don't seem to
> have pins that will fit that configuration.
>
> I did notice that there is a seperate place on the motherboard for a 4
> pin connector. What would happen if I just hooked up the 20 pin
> connector and plugged the 4 pin connector in the other spot. Would it
> work? Would I wreck the board?
>
> I saw that they make 20-24 pin adapters but I cant tell if that is for
> plugging a 24 pin PS into a 20 pin motherboard or vice versa.
>
> Any help?
>
> Thanks
>

Your 20 pin power connector should work fine in the 24 pin slot. I am sure
you noticed,
it will only go in one way. I believe if you look in the manual for your
motherboard, you will
see where it states this - mine does on my K8N Neo4.
The other 4 pin, should be a 2x2, and belongs in that other slot you
are speaking of, not with the 20 pin. And yes, that definitely has to be
plugged in there
as well, I believe it provides power to the cpu if I am not mistaken.


Don

Thanks Don,

I went through the manual before posting and I did not see anything
listed regarding the use of a 20 pin power source. In fact, the manual
shows a couple of photos of someone pluging (or unplugging) cords to
the board and the photos are not even the same board which is a bit
annoying. Other than that, the manual is fine. I just wanted to be
certain that I would not blow it up by putting the 20 pin PS into the
motherboard.

Thanks again!


Don Burnette wrote:
>
> Your 20 pin power connector should work fine in the 24 pin slot. I am sure
> you noticed,
> it will only go in one way. I believe if you look in the manual for your
> motherboard, you will
> see where it states this - mine does on my K8N Neo4.
> The other 4 pin, should be a 2x2, and belongs in that other slot you
> are speaking of, not with the 20 pin. And yes, that definitely has to be
> plugged in there
> as well, I believe it provides power to the cpu if I am not mistaken.
>
>
> Don

I think that the 4-pin connector that you are looking at is the ATX12V
connector, NOT the "extra 4-pin" power supply connector. Those two are
totally different (although both are 4 pins). The ATX12V 4-pin
connector goes into the ATX12V socket on the motherboard. Again, it's
NOT the same as the extra 4 pins that take you from 20-pin to 24-pin.

The purpose of the extra 4 pins on the main power connector (e.g. 20 to
24 pins) is to increase current capacity on some of the rails, and in
some cases to "split" the 12 volt rail (but this [splitting of the
rails] varies by motherboard).

If your power supply does not have split rails, you can try using just
the 20 pin plug. It may work, but your system may be unstable when peak
currents (peak power) is required. If you motherboard was designed for
a split rail supply, you can try a 20 to 24 pin adapter, but this will
tie the two rails together, and this may also result in an unstable
system. However, it is unlikely that you will do any actual hardware
damage.

Hiro wrote:

> I recently purchased a K8N SLI moteherboard and (for now) a single
> video card. When I went to install it in my system, I learned that
> there is a 24 pin standard power connector out now. My power supply is
> 550 watts and is not very old so I would perfer not to have to buy
> another one but it has the seperate 20 and 4 pin connectors. I tested
> (with the power off of course) to see if I could fit the 20 and 4 piin
> connectors would fit side by side and I found that the 20 pin fits at
> one end of the motherboard's 24 pin connector but the 4 pin seems to
> only fit the same end as the 20 pin so I can not connect them side by
> side.
>
> When I researched new power supplies, they seem to have 24 pin
> connectors that will seperate into 20 & 4 pin connectors. I'm not sure
> I understand how this works since my 20 pin and 4 pin don't seem to
> have pins that will fit that configuration.
>
> I did notice that there is a seperate place on the motherboard for a 4
> pin connector. What would happen if I just hooked up the 20 pin
> connector and plugged the 4 pin connector in the other spot. Would it
> work? Would I wreck the board?
>
> I saw that they make 20-24 pin adapters but I cant tell if that is for
> plugging a 24 pin PS into a 20 pin motherboard or vice versa.
>
> Any help?
>
> Thanks
>