[SOLVED] A guide for MOLEX to 8 pin adapter for GPU

[Mark Kram]

As I can see, there are many opinions and misconceptions in the computer tech community about MOLEX to 8 pin adapters for powering the GPU which I want to clarify. As I am a computer technician I think that I have enough technical expertise to talk about this subject.

MOLEX to 8 pin adapters are generally safe, but they are not the ideal solution for powering your GPU. I would always resort to good PSU, but I understand that people who are on a tight budget probably do not want to upgrade the PSU. And that is probably fine because older PSU's can be of high quality and have enough power to supply everything you need but not have 8 pin connectors because of the trends back in those days.

First of all, you should make sure that your PSU can power the new GPU. When buying the adapter, you should always buy a good quality one. The good quality ones usually have 18 AWG, UL 1007 insulated wires. You can recognize them by the markings on the wires itself. Avoid adapters with blank wires since they are very cheaply made with very thin wires that are not capable of transferring so much current and they can easily melt. Good quality adapters are rated for max 120 W and this rating should not be exceeded. You could probably go a little bit over but at your own risk. If the cables are getting hot (so hot that you can not hold the wires with your fingers and you start to smell burning plastic) during the full load you should replace your PSU. If the wires are getting warm only, that should be fine since insulation is rated for 80 degrees Celsius. Do not bundle adapter cables, instead try to spread them away from each other for improved cooling, and in case of melting and failure of one or more cables, they would not touch and cause a short circuit. Also MOLEX end of the adapter should be inserted correctly in the female end. MOLEX ends should slide easily, which means that all MOLEX pins are inserted into collars correctly. If they are not aligned correctly with collars, they can be pushed back from their mounts making bad contact. After connecting MOLEX always push in individual wires to make sure that they are inserted all the way in. And that should be it.

After that try to test system stability benchmarking all the components at once for at least 10-15 minutes. If everything passes OK and you do not experience any cable or connector overheating and computer crashes suggesting weak PSU, you should be good to go.

I apologize for my English since I am not a native speaker. Thank you for reading and if you think that I made some mistakes feel free to correct me.

 

[kanewolf]

As I can see, there are many opinions and misconceptions in the computer tech community about MOLEX to 8 pin adapters for powering the GPU which I want to clarify. As I am a computer technician I think that I have enough technical expertise to talk about this subject.

MOLEX to 8 pin adapters are generally safe, but they are not the ideal solution for powering your GPU. I would always resort to good PSU, but I understand that people who are on a tight budget probably do not want to upgrade the PSU. And that is probably fine because older PSU's can be of high quality and have enough power to supply everything you need but not have 8 pin connectors because of the trends back in those days.

First of all, you should make sure that your PSU can power the new GPU. When buying the adapter, you should always buy a good quality one. The good quality ones usually have 18 AWG, UL 1007 insulated wires. You can recognize them by the markings on the wires itself. Avoid adapters with blank wires since they are very cheaply made with very thin wires that are not capable of transferring so much current and they can easily melt. Good quality adapters are rated for max 120 W and this rating should not be exceeded. You could probably go a little bit over but at your own risk. If the cables are getting hot (so hot that you can not hold the wires with your fingers and you start to smell burning plastic) during the full load you should replace your PSU. If the wires are getting warm only, that should be fine since insulation is rated for 80 degrees Celsius. Do not bundle adapter cables, instead try to spread them away from each other for improved cooling, and in case of melting and failure of one or more cables, they would not touch and cause a short circuit. Also MOLEX end of the adapter should be inserted correctly in the female end. MOLEX ends should slide easily, which means that all MOLEX pins are inserted into collars correctly. If they are not aligned correctly with collars, they can be pushed back from their mounts making bad contact. After connecting MOLEX always push in individual wires to make sure that they are inserted all the way in. And that should be it.

After that try to test system stability benchmarking all the components at once for at least 10-15 minutes. If everything passes OK and you do not experience any cable or connector overheating and computer crashes suggesting weak PSU, you should be good to go.

I apologize for my English since I am not a native speaker. Thank you for reading and if you think that I made some mistakes feel free to correct me.

The consensus recommendation is DON'T. If your power supply does not have the proper PCIe power connectors, then it probably was not designed to handle the power requirements of a GPU. Buy a power supply that is designed to support the hardware you have. The power supply is the foundation of a stable build.

 

[Mark Kram]

The consensus recommendation is DON'T. If your power supply does not have the proper PCIe power connectors, then it probably was not designed to handle the power requirements of a GPU. Buy a power supply that is designed to support the hardware you have. The power supply is the foundation of a stable build.

As I said my recommendation is always to buy appropriate PSU since using adapters is risky. I just wanted to guide people who are willing to risk in order to minimize it.

 

[bignastyid]

If you can't afford the proper PSU when you buy a GPU, you can't afford the GPU. Adapters are a bad idea, and too many have had to learn this lesson the hard way.

 

[madmatt30]

Just NO!!

 

[kanewolf]

As I said my recommendation is always to buy appropriate PSU since using adapters is risky. I just wanted to guide people who are willing to risk in order to minimize it.

The basic problem with adapters is people. They don't follow the recommendations. They get the cheapest POSSIBLE adapter and "set it and forget it", until it melts down and kills their hardware or starts a fire.

 

[PC Tailor]

The other aspect is whilst the general premise is "if you do your research, it should be OK", people shouldn't be committing to buying a GPU that their PSU isn't capable of dealing with, and giving this advice tends to create the adverse affect that people will do this, and then face the bitter consequences of it the hard way.

That and I've seen plenty where they still have gotten good quality adapters, and it's still burnt their PSU or their GPU power connections. And you can bet Seasonic or Corsair aren't going to let you give it back under warranty there.

Not to mention I don't know of a single general consumer market PSU that is both "Good quality" AND DOESN'T have the correct connections.

 

[Mark Kram]

Please, I urge all the readers to carefully read the thread. I am not defending MOLEX to 8 pin adapters or recommending them over new high-quality PSU's, quite the opposite. I just wanted to help people who are willing to risk with adapters (and they do exist) to minimize the risk as much as possible using some good procedures. I have worked on many PCs with melted adapters from using low-quality components and bad installation so I know some tips.

 

[PC Tailor]

Please, I urge all the readers to carefully read the thread. I am not defending MOLEX to 8 pin adapters or recommending them over new high-quality PSU's, quite the opposite.

We know. What we're saying though is whilst your advice is well intended, it will end up being counter-intuitive.

I just wanted to help people who are willing to risk with adapters

And this is the thing, people SHOULDN'T be taking this risk in the first place.

When the person doing it (like yourself) is taking the helm and responsibility for it, it's fine, there is less risk, but it's on your head, the problem is the general population will use it incorrectly and cause more damage.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I am not defending MOLEX to 8 pin adapters or recommending them over new high-quality PSU's, quite the opposite. I just wanted to help people who are willing to risk with adapters (and they do exist) to minimize the risk as much as possible

People willing to take that risk are either stupid or uniformed, and should be DISCOURAGED from doing so, NOT encouraged. People who ARE willing to take that risk, are either too cheap to be bothered with appropriate and safe hardware, or don't realize there is a risk because they see so many like minded cheapsters and bone heads saying it's ok, and opinions like yours simply bolsters those recommendations.

The bottom line is, if your power supply does not have the required connection for what you are trying to do, you shouldn't be trying to do it. Power supply manufacturers don't leave off certain connectors because they are trying to cut costs or be cute, they do it because they KNOW that the unit is not safe when used in such a manner, so they leave them off to stop users from trying to use them in situations they shouldn't be used in. Period.

Anything contrary to that, whether in practice or opinion, is simply intentionally being obtuse.