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Help! Msi 580gtx lightning extreme

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18 Mar 2007
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161
Just bought the above card and it needs 2 x 8 pin power connectors. I currently have the enermax galaxy 1000w power supply from a few years ago and it doesn't have any 8 pin sockets. Do I need a new power supply?

The msi manual is less than useless, but it does come with 2 adaptors that convert 1 x 6 pin into an 8 pin but does not comment on them in the manual.

Does anyone know if 2 x 6 pin power connectors from this power supply would be sufficient for this card?

Many thanks guys

Nic
 
I think you have your answer in the 6 > 8 pin converters?

Use those, they will work. Manuals surely dont need to comment on cables.
 
It's just the manual says as a minimum requirement, 2 x 8 pin power connectors. Hope my galaxy can supply enough current as well. Just wanted to make sure from you knowledgeable people on here!

Thanks

Nic
 
6 pin deliver up to 75 w, 8 pin 150 w. Combining 2 6 pins is ideal and they are designed to carry that load.

Using Molex to pci-e 6/8 can cause more issues depending on the design of the PSU.
 
The adapters just convert 1 x 6 pin to 1 x 8 pin - are you saying these won't be sufficient? Why would they include them if that was the case? Thanks

Nic
 
It's just the manual says as a minimum requirement, 2 x 8 pin power connectors. Hope my galaxy can supply enough current as well. Just wanted to make sure from you knowledgeable people on here!
According to the review for the PSU here:
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/power_supply/enermax_galaxy_1000w_quadsli_atx_psu/2
your PSU will deliver a total of 492W (41A) for GPU and system drives. Cosidering two PCI-EX8 pins is (2x150W), plus the 75W on the PCI-E bus of the motherboard, the Msi 580gtx lightning extreme should consume no more than 375W of power. So 492W-375W still leave you around 117W left for the system drives.

So basically you will need two PCI-E 6pin to PCI-E 8pin cable/adapters.
 
Just to be clear, I need two 1 x 6 pin to 1 x 8 pin or do you mean I need two 2 x 6 pin to 1 x 8 pin adaptors?
You mentioned that the Msi 580gtx lightning extreme comes with 2 adaptors that convert 1 x 6 pin into an 8 pin, so what you have to do is just plug your two PCI-E 6pin into these two adaptors separately, so your two PCI-E 6pin becomes two PCI-E 8pin. Hope that clear things up for you.
 
Thanks that's great, although I have seen some people combine 4 x 6 pin into 2 x 8 pin which is why I ask. Some say 6 pin are limited to 75 watts others say that's not true and the extra pins are just grounding etc - not an expert just want to plug it in and unleash the power!
 
Thanks that's great, although I have seen some people combine 4 x 6 pin into 2 x 8 pin which is why I ask. Some say 6 pin are limited to 75 watts others say that's not true and the extra pins are just grounding etc - not an expert just want to plug it in and unleash the power!
I won't claim that I'm 100% clear on the subject of how the 8pin works, but since MSI only provide a pair of 6pin to 8pin adapters that each only require a single 6pin, that means it will works.
 
Thanks - will give it a bash.

How would I know if the card wasn't getting enough power - either amps or wattage being too low - is there a program that would monitor this - would it just exhibit as a slowing down when playing games or would it crash?

Not that I would know if the game was slow - going from an 8800 !

Thanks

Nic
 
How have you got on with this Nic? I'm in a similar position, I have the same PSU and a 6970 coming (only need one 8pin connector).

I'm a little confused by this?

I won't claim that I'm 100% clear on the subject of how the 8pin works, but since MSI only provide a pair of 6pin to 8pin adapters that each only require a single 6pin, that means it will works.

Wouldn't this mean the card will only be getting 150w? (2 x 75w connectors) When it really needs 300w (8pin x 2)

Cheers
 
You need to plug in the 8 pin connectors, the adaptors will work. They do that same thing as the 2 6 pin to 8 pin adaptors.

What I would advise is to use both modular 6 pin pci-e connections on your PSU one to each adaptor. Don't load a potential 25 A on one modular wire. :)
 
Thanks that's great, although I have seen some people combine 4 x 6 pin into 2 x 8 pin which is why I ask. Some say 6 pin are limited to 75 watts others say that's not true and the extra pins are just grounding etc - not an expert just want to plug it in and unleash the power!

Yes the extra pins are just grounding, but they need to be plugged in, in most cases. :)

The 6 pin connector means the card shouldn't draw more than 75 W from it based on PCI Express 1.1 Specifications. If the card uses an 8 pin connector it shouldn't draw more than 150 W from that connection based on PCI Express 2.0 specification.

It's got nothing to do with what the PSU can actually do. :)
 
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