[SOLVED] 4-pin PSU in a 8-pin motherboard of socket 1150? Is it safe for non-overclocked usage??

[AJNameS]

Hello, so I am soon going to finish with a little build of mine. I'll receive a motherboard Asrock B85M-Pro4 in the next days, and it is a 8-pin-mobo.
My PSU is kinda' simple - a cheap Makki Atx 70%-utility one, but has its 500 W and a 6-pin connector for GPUs on it and for the CPU it has just 4-pin connector. It's from my previous system.
I have a i5-4690 (non-k) and a stick of 8 gb1600MHz Hynix Cl11 ram, that I am soon planning to pair with another stick of same ram, for being dual channel (tested for work between each other and with mobo and I know it'll work).
I have a GPU GTX 1050, that is pretty much a non-overclocked one, than needs no 6-pin connection, but still it gets its up to 75 W.
Else...simple usbs and monitor...maybe a high-end wi-fi pci card, cuz I have some discounts here in my country, and both my usb-ones seem weak, overheating and useless.
And I am not thinking to overclock anything before I get a new PSU, nor do I plan to run benchmarks/stress tests.
I have talked to the seller to set Intel Turbo Boost to disabled. Bios version is 2.30, if it matters. I am planning to run everything on stock for now without any manual/dynamic OCs. I hope I wouldn't need to downclock something, but if it gets wrong, I can (maybe) take it...

It isn't really impossible for me to find a 4+4/8-pin PSU in the next weeks, but it could cripple my pocket for things, that are generally more important right now than turbo boost or any sort of OC'ing...well, turbo boost is actually a limited and low importance boost, and with this CPU maybe only z-series can bclk-overclock, that I don't really want to know about.

When I search info about it, I see a variety of opininions, but one appears to prevail: 'if everything at stock, no problems'
But also I see things such as ''it might melt'', "it may not power up at all''...damn, I know where to put the 4-pins - further from the USBs, on the other side, on the side where usually is the front side of the assembled PC. Do people reach bad results just cuz of OC'ing, improper placing of the connector and ultra-strong Cpu or hard gpu setups?

What makes me slightly kinda wonder is, while the Pro3 version of this board of Asrock is just a 4-pin-one, wouldn't this work just fine for now? I know the Pro3 is a sliiightly newer one, but technically Pro3 and Pro4 are almost the same.

So my question is: am I doing things kinda' fine, or the risk may be high enough to damage something in, let's say, the next 2 months?
How do you think? I hope someone with more experience, or knowledge would say something for me to get calm...or to maybe frighten me?
The best answer would be to say that if I really overload things, the system would just show it by turning off, or maybe not turning on, the worst...well, you say. Tx!

 

[bmockeg]

I wouldn’t use that PSU for any purpose, it’s a cheap unknown unit when new. If it’s older than three years then it’s a serious liability.

 

[jojesa]

...When I search info about it, I see a variety of opininions, but one appears to prevail: 'if everything at stock, no problems'......
But also I see things such as ''it might melt'', "it may not power up at all''...damn,
So my question is: am I doing things kinda' fine, or the risk may be high enough to damage something in, let's say, the next 2 months?
How do you think? I hope someone with more experience, or knowledge would say something for me to get calm...or to maybe frighten me?
The best answer would be to say that if I really overload things, the system would just show it by turning off, or maybe not turning on, the worst...well, you say. Tx!

You are getting those mixed answers because you have a 50-50 chance that will work or you will damage a component.
It is up to you to go cheap and take a chance or get a reliable PSU compatible with your motherboard and components and have peace of mind.

 

[AJNameS]

I have used it for 4-5 months and it still has more than half an year warranty. In a local shop they sold me it, saying that it is a 'standartized' normal PSU and I just shouldn't use it for strong videocards, that require more than 6 pins and systems with more than 500 W needed. As far as I understood then, the 70% utility and the Brand not being very common is supposed to be the reason of the low price. The told me no one has ever complained, aside of one wanting a stronger one for his 6-8 gb GPU.

Damn... is the Asrock's Pro3 version just made more power-efficient with its 4-pins requirement while being technically almost the same? The Asrock Z97M anniversary is also with a 4-pin connection and it is an OC'ing board. And all of these three are microATXes. I think there was a topic where one guy was using a similar PSU on z87 Pro4 with just no overclocking.

How can I really damage any other component if this PSU fails? Can I burn the motherboard, the CPU or something else?

 

[USAFRet]

How can I really damage any other component if this PSU fails? Can I burn the motherboard, the CPU or something else?

A junk CPU PSU can kill many things if/when it dies or is overstressed.

I wouldn't use that thing to power a desk lamp.

<typo edited>

 

[AJNameS]

Then what do you think for these options of mine? :

• Chieftec GPS-550A8, 550 W with 2x (6+2) for gpu
• Antec VP450P - 450W, 1x6 for GPU
• Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W (RS-500-PCAP-A3), 1x6 for gpu
• Raidmax RX-500 XT - 500 W, 1x6 for GPU

All have the 4+4 for CPU and seem to have good reviews in my country

 

[jojesa]

A junk CPU can kill many things if/when it dies or is overstressed.

I wouldn't use that thing to power a desk lamp.

A junk PSU

 

[USAFRet]

A junk PSU

Yes, typo...lol

 

[AJNameS]

Ye...maybe I 'll go for the Chieftec one, if it isn't very loud.

 

[jonnyguru]

I have used it for 4-5 months and it still has more than half an year warranty.

Yes. Even a garbage PSU works.... until it doesn't.

In a local shop they sold me it, saying that it is a 'standartized' normal PSU and I just shouldn't use it for strong videocards, that require more than 6 pins and systems with more than 500 W needed. As far as I understood then, the 70% utility and the Brand not being very common is supposed to be the reason of the low price. The told me no one has ever complained, aside of one wanting a stronger one for his 6-8 gb GPU.

Partly true. They're coloring it pretty. It's just not good for any long term use.

How can I really damage any other component if this PSU fails? Can I burn the motherboard, the CPU or something else?

Yes. Happens all the time.

Then what do you think for these options of mine? :

• Chieftec GPS-550A8, 550 W with 2x (6+2) for gpu
• Antec VP450P - 450W, 1x6 for GPU
• Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W (RS-500-PCAP-A3), 1x6 for gpu
• Raidmax RX-500 XT - 500 W, 1x6 for GPU

All have the 4+4 for CPU and seem to have good reviews in my country

None of those are really much better.

Ye...maybe I 'll go for the Chieftec one, if it isn't very loud.

No.

Does you local shop sell anything that isn't garbage?

The Cooler Master and Raidmax are ancient. Probably has been sitting in a warehouse for 10 years. Your Makki is actually BETTER than either of those. Never mind that the CM and Raidmax have PCIe cables. That doesn't make them better PSUs.

The Chieftech is garbage.

The Antec is their bottom of the line product.... but at least it's the "least offensive" of the five PSUs mentioned in this thread.

 

[AJNameS]

I do have other options. These were just some ones I found yesterday.
I see Deepcool ones being pretty damn common in my city and country, even in some of the "high-end" shops here - 500 to 600 W with some of the models being
DE500 v2, DE600V2 and DN550. These three all have a lot of opinions here with assessments 4,52-4,70 out of 5. The 600 W one may be my bet. They also give me two weeks testing period, and if I want, I can change the PSU with another one from them. They say DeepCool is not very noisy at all...at least not in idle/regular to moderately high load.
I see two ones from Zalman and Kolink (600W both), but I hardly see any reviews for them where I live. The Deepcool DN550 seems to beat when comparing all of these, but has its price being 30-40% bigger, too.

If you really are Johny Guru, haven't you given some good assessment to some of the DeepCool ones - maybe at least to some with higher wattage?
As for the Corsair PSUs here, I don't see many of them in my city, aside of some 700-1000 W ones around, that seem to be going beyond my pocket limits, and maybe beyond my longlife needs in the terms of wattage. Well, there was a 2nd-hand 430 W somewhere, but I don't think so.
Well I'll keep it searching and maybe the Deepcool DE600V2 would be the way, as it has a pretty big discount right now.

 

[AJNameS]

I'll write here about what happened. In the end I went for a Corsair CX 450 W (Gray, CWT) when I still could in my country, as the upgrades I'd do in the nearby furure would be minor and I don't feel any keen on overclocking. I don't see this version, at least in the local sites and shops very often right now, but nvm. I guess Corsair are planning upgrades of the version. I got this one cheap and it feels comfortable now.

In case someone is interested, I decided to try what 'd happen with my Makki as for the most of the remaining summer I was travelling and using my laptop instead. Overall I used the system with the Makki almost 2 weeks, 10-14 hours per day with the 4 pins. In the end I turned on Turbo Boost and it still seemed to be fine while running some benchmarks and used for 2-3 days for gaming and everyday things with the boost on. In the manual was written, that this way may be used, and my previous system actually was taking 15-20 watts more, so I decided to try temporarily. Somewhere I also saw a statement like ''in overclocks CPU is supposed to take >140/150 watts, and otherwise 4-pin is supposed to be enough''. I wouldn't try doing this if my PSU was used for years or guaranteed to be an old technology. It's interesting the Makki still has sells around here, but while most users feel ok with it, there are also some not-so-good statements about a specific sound when load is 360-380 W, that I actually maybe encountered a few times with the previous system. Temperatures in my sys are constantly being kept low in all parts, but still I had fear of fails, with scarce info about Makki's protections. And not everyone was sure about the 6-pin connector for gpu, and I 'll most likely need such one sometime.

It feels better with 8-pin for the CPU and something more reliable and efficient, so I took the current one and it 's performing, quiet and good with better cables and cable management, despite not modular. I feel happy I wrote here, cuz it kinda' made me open my eyes and otherwise I probably wouldn't check out the psu tier list from linus tech tips. It's worth and it deserves to be in every new PSU's box. If someone else reads, and needs it:

[EOL] PSU Tier List rev. 14.8

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (END OF LIFE) Last Update: 27-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue ...

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