4pin to 8pin query

sunderland · 2 Feb 2010 at 19:34

ive got a hx520 corsair psu and im going to put a new motherboard in for crossfire,but the boards have a 8pin connecter and my corsair is only 4pin will this cable work
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-022-AK&tool=3
but if not were can i get a cable to do the job cheers

Azra · 2 Feb 2010 at 19:44

It is an extender not a converter

Ricardox1 · 2 Feb 2010 at 19:48

correct extender

sunderland · 2 Feb 2010 at 19:55

thanks wil have to have a look around then to see if i can pick one up,wonder if corsair would send me one

PhillyDee · 2 Feb 2010 at 19:59

A lot of the time you can use the 4 pin in the 8 pin socket. It just doesnt use half of them. Ive done it on a Dual Xeon board I had.

sunderland · 3 Feb 2010 at 10:59

so what would the 4pin power as to what the 8pin would do,i.e would i still be able to use crossfire,overclock my cpu or does it disable something just using 4pin cheers

stulid · 3 Feb 2010 at 11:03

Not 100% sure. Think using a 4pin means you can't overclock as much/at all.

JonJ678 · 3 Feb 2010 at 12:08

A 4 pin to 8 pin atx adapter would achieve nothing whatsoever. You can plug a 4 pin into an 8 pin board and it'll work fine. The voltage supply will be less stable but it'll work as long as you don't try to draw too much current down the 4 pin wire. If it gets hot, that's a sign to use less vcore. If you need verification, it's fairly trivial to find 775 boards where some have a 4 pin socket and others the 8 pin, yet they run the same processor.

If you use a 4 to 8 pin adapter, those same 4 wires are carrying the same current, so you get the same problems you had before with the additional one of voltage drop across the adapter. Don't get a 4 to 8 pin adapter.

sunderland · 3 Feb 2010 at 15:36

so what are you saying its best to get a new psu with the 8pin already on it,

JonJ678 · 3 Feb 2010 at 16:51

I'm saying you should try the one you've got now since I think it'll be fine, but if the cpu overclock is much less than expected and the 4 pin wires are hot to the touch, you then want a new psu.

Either way, a 4 pin atx to 8 pin atx adapter cannot offer any benefit.

sunderland · 3 Feb 2010 at 19:17

JonJ678 said:
I'm saying you should try the one you've got now since I think it'll be fine, but if the cpu overclock is much less than expected and the 4 pin wires are hot to the touch, you then want a new psu.

Either way, a 4 pin atx to 8 pin atx adapter cannot offer any benefit.

thanks for the help.i wouldnt mind i have a hx450 corsair in my htpc and its 8pin but i cant see it running 2 5770s in crossfire

Uriel · 3 Feb 2010 at 20:01

Erm - have you missed something? I have an HX520 and it has both 4 pin and 8 pin. I have the 8 pin plugged in now.

Edit : and 4 pin into an 8 pin slot is fine for most CPUs. I did that with a Hiper Type R 480w while testing my current motherboard outside the case. Wouldn't want to use anything particularly power hungry with it though.

sunderland · 3 Feb 2010 at 20:17

my hx520 only has a 4pin Uriel,i wonder if mine was one of the first batches made

Uriel · 3 Feb 2010 at 20:33

You're sure? I thought all HD520s had either a 4 pin and an 8 pin EPS12v (like mine) or a 4+4 version that can combine to 8 pin. How many primary (non-modular) cables do you have coming out of your PSU?