ATX 6-pin AUX connector - P8 vs P11 types?

[brendanl79]

I am trying to replace the power supply on an ancient IBM Netfinity server. The motherboard needs one of those old-school 6-pin auxiliary power connections. The new power supply I bought doesn't have one, so I also bought an adapter.

The auxiliary connectors don't quite match, though. The original one is labeled P11 and the live pins have voltages +3.3, +3.3, +5. The new one is labeled P8 and all three live pins are +3.3V. Also there are some extra "nubs" in the plastic along one edge of the new one that are not present on the old one, so that it doesn't physically fit into the motherboard socket but could be made to do so with some cutting.

I haven't been able to find any AUX adapters for sale that differentiate between P8 and P11 types. Do I have to look harder? Would I destroy my server if I tried to use the P8 connector?

 

[brendanl79]

Thanks for writing. That connectors page shows the exact one from the old supply:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#aux

I bought the new adapter online and it looked superficially the same until I got it. See in that picture the plastic nub sticking out on the bottom edge? This adapter I bought has one nub under each of the six pins; three of the nubs are the same size as the one on the old connector, the other three are about half the size.

If I'm understanding you correctly there is a new 6-pin AUX standard in use today for which this adapter is intended?

I will try to fire her up now without the aux power and see what happens.

 

[doolittle]

If you have a server board you will probably need it - well it was mandatory for my Intel STL2 dual PIII mobo and after trying to get it running w/o it, I lucked out and found an old 300w Antec that had one, fired up w/o a hitch once plugged in.

If it does not work w/o the AUX, have you considered hacking it out of the old PSU and splicing it into your new one? Maybe you can return your non-working adaptor for a refund in that case...

 

[brendanl79]

doolittle:

I did not consider that; such a task is beyond my present capability.

Fortunately, the system powers right up without the AUX connection! And the new power supply is slightly stronger than the old (350 vs 330 watts) so I'm guessing we will be A-OK.

Thanks all for the insight!