Question ASUS X99-Aii Motherboard question regarding EATX 4 pin connector

[Starnet]

Need some info, trying to get a repurposed motherboard up and running. Can anyone confirm (FOR SURE) if the 4 pin EATX 12 power supply connection is really necessary. My Corsair CX650m powersupply only has a 8 pin connector. I first tried that plugged into the 8 pin port and the motherboard would not complete POST. I found a post on the ROG web site that said that you only need the 4 pin EATX only if your overclocking or running multiple Graphics.

I tried to split the 8 pin connector to 2-4 ping plugging one into the 8 pin connection and the other 4 pins into the 4 pin spot. With this configuration it would not even power up.

If you have one of these motherboards if someone could momentarly unplug the 4 pin EATX connect and let me know if it starts to post and stops and what code it presents.

I called Corsair and asked the for the 4 pin EATX cable for my modular power supply. They said they don't make one for my version and to buy a new supply, apparently the new version o this supply has the cable. How Nice. They can pound sand, this supply is not that old, what good is a modular supply if they don't make the cables you need. Sorry I'm ranting, id it ends up that I need a new supply I will be switching to the XPG brand. Anyhow, a little help here would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lutfij]

Can anyone confirm (FOR SURE) if the 4 pin EATX 12 power supply connection is really necessary.
To answer your question, no you don't need to hook up to the EATX12V_2 connector on the board, unless you're going to perform an overlock on the processor.

I tried to split the 8 pin connector to 2-4 ping plugging one into the 8 pin connection and the other 4 pins into the 4 pin spot. With this configuration it would not even power up.
Since you've also asked, if your PSU lacks the necessary connectors for your build you either have;
a| the wrong PSU for the job
or
b| the wrong components for the PSU

Using splitters/adapters on a PSU is a sure way to start a fire. Pretty much all problems have come from adapters or splitters.

this supply is not that old,
Now you've gained my attention, how old is your PSU and which CX650M do you have? This;
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/psu...ronze-certified-modular-atx-psu-cp-9020103-na
or this;
https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/psu...lus-bronze-semi-modular-atx-psu-cp-9020221-na
?

 

[Starnet]

Hi, I have the 9020103 version. any suggestions? I really don't understand why you can just take one of the tons of extra HDD cables with an adapter to a molex connector to grab the yellow leads 12v split it to 2 into 2 and attach the grounds then and attach it to the EATX 12? The only thing I could think of perhaps they use a special tap off the power supply that works with the other 8 pin EATX port.

 

[thestryker]

The manual explicitly says you need both hooked up:

DO NOT forget to connect BOTH of the 4-pin and 8-pin EATX12 V power plug.

I would very much recommend against trying to adapt anything to an EPS12V 4-pin connector. It is just two ground and two 12v connections, but they're rated for higher power than PCIe connectors are.

 

[Starnet]

thestryker, your correct about the manual showing a picture of both 4 pin and 8 pin connectors being used. I also understand one of the reasons ASUS did this. Many people cause high draw current conditions by adding multiple high draw graphics cards and or tons of other stuff on the PCI-e bus and/or overclocking , thus the need for this additional power connection point.

I have read where someone on the ROG forum stated they left the 4 pin connector open on the Strix model and everything worked fine, not that this is the safe or the recommended thing to do in the long run. It this 4 pin connector is wired in parallel to the 8 pin connector this comment would make sense, if its a totally seperate connector then the statement maybe false.

I guess since the MB is a repurpose before I drop nearly another $100 bucks for a power supply I need to make sure the use of this connector on the X99-A-ii is a necessity for it to successfully post otherwise this board has a bad memory controller. I just wish there was someone on this forum that has one of these boards that could just pop off the 4 pin connector and check it for me, this would save me a bunch of trouble and effort.

Another person on another forum suggested this

https://www.amazon.com/2-Pack-Molex...ocphy=9030393&hvtargid=pla-697704835409&psc=1

Again it might work though a 4 pin EATX connection is rated at 195w max and a HDD connector is limited to 45w. Major difference here. If I do find out the MB is good I might try the adapter then measure the current for my configuration, again base video card and nothing else and no overclocking . If the value is under 45watts then this might be a possible solution. Otherwise it looks like Corsair has won this battle of obsolescence and I will just have to pony up for a new PS.

 

[thestryker]

Honestly I'm confused that Asus went with that as a design at all on this tier of board let alone saying it's a requirement. I have two higher tier non-Asus X99 boards that only have an 8-pin connector so it must have been a carry over from one of their higher end boards.

This review claims you only need to use the 8-pin EPS12V connector: https://www.overclockers.com/asus-x99-ii-motherboard-review/

We see two CPU power connectors, one 8-pin and one 4-pin, of which only the 8-pin is required.

If it's stopping at memory for POST it's either bad memory controller on the CPU or slot(s) on the motherboard. I think it would be worth troubleshooting this as though everything else is fine before messing with the PSU to get the 4-pin EPS12V connector filled.

 

[Starnet]

Its funny, my real high end board an ASUS X99-WS/USB31 has dual 8 pin connectors on the motherboard which seems to be the de facto standard for major current draw applications.

As far as the X99-A-ii, I tried just about everything I can think of, different memory limited to one slot, different cpus, different base video cards every thing I try is a zero, board powers up, Post starts at 00 goes to 40, then 43 then 60, 61 and back to 00 starting over, goes thru the cycle again, stops at 61 and game over. 61 is a NVRAM initialization. Pressing the MEM OK justs starts the cycle again, selecting XML add a few seconds to the process but when its all said and done stops at 61 in the end.
I tried microscopic examination, light cleaning all the slots with pressurized air but nothing helps or changes the results. I even tried to download a current BIOS and tried to use the manual BIOS flash, it starts the procedure but then stops. I think it needs the memory controller on the MB to successfully complete this process so that was a zero too.

Grabbing at straws I thought perhaps the missing EATX 4 pin feed might be the issues. This really does not make much sense because the 8 pin connector 12 v leads and ground measure near zero ohms when measured across the 2 sockets. Personally I think the board has a bad memory controller. To send it back to ASUS they charge a $35 non-refundable assessment fee, then they well tell you what the repair fee will be plus return shipping. No flat fees, its kinda of Russian Roulette. Probably not worth the investment. Oh well.

 

[thestryker]

Just doing a search regarding code 61 it sounds like it's not even necessarily related to any single thing, but I did see USB devices being a common cause which seems weird. One of my X99 boards doesn't work with the NVMe slot populated so if you're using PCIe storage maybe try SATA if you've got it.

 

[Starnet]

Good suggestion, and even though I have nothing plugged into the NVME slot I did look it over for foreign matter. Nice and clean, Unfortunately I cant get through POST (and past 61 with absolutely nothing plugged into the motherboard other then the power supply, a single memory stick and that's it no key board nothing, not even a video card, still no joy. If I pull the single memory stick it starts at 00, cycles to 14, 60 and then drops to 53 and stops there.
This one's got me stumped!

 

[thestryker]

Well it stopping at 53 without any DRAM would indicate that it is getting past memory verification when it goes to 61 which makes the whole thing even more weird.

 

[Starnet]

No doubt this problem is a frustrating one, I did run it by ASUS and unfortunately you really can't get to an engineer or even a competent tech. They like most companies read out of the scripted book. Send it to us pay us a non refundable $35 and we will tell you what we will charge you to fix it and send it back, much like just handing them my credit card and say go nuts.
I did really want to try to put the X99 in service an try to get at least a couple of year out of it until, hopefully a better version of Windows is available and Intel knows for a fact they have a next gen processor won't blow up and get the motherboard manufactures working along side of them. Might just be wishful thinking.
Anyway, thanks to all that tried to help out, great suggestions. I haven't given up yet and will update this thread with my final findings!