Question Can I use any 8 pin connector to power my Motherboard?

[GilaStomper]

I'm transplanting my old Dell Optiplex 9020 from its old case to a new one. Along with this I have a bought a new power supply.

That being said I have noticed my Dell's motherboard only has an 8 pin power slot and 4 pin power slot instead of the 24/8 pin slots I've had on previous builds.

Can I use any of the 8/4 pin connectors to power the motherboard or do I HAVE to convert my PSU's 24 pin connector to make it work?

I do know my PSU comes with an 8 pin connector.

 

[kanewolf]

I'm transplanting my old Dell Optiplex 9020 from its old case to a new one. Along with this I have a bought a new power supply.

That being said I have noticed my Dell's motherboard only has an 8 pin power slot and 4 pin power slot instead of the 24/8 pin slots I've had on previous builds.

Can I use any of the 8/4 pin connectors to power the motherboard or do I HAVE to convert my PSU's 24 pin connector to make it work?

I do know my PSU comes with an 8 pin connector.

No. You need an adapter cable. Watch this video --

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXkRa6xM0oE

 

[Math Geek]

there are other power connections around the board it looks like mobo manual

you'll need someway to get power to all these

edit: looks like an adapter is needed as noted above

 

[GilaStomper]

there are other power connections around the board it looks like mobo manual

you'll need someway to get power to all these

edit: looks like an adapter is needed as noted above

Other connectors? I mean other than the 4 pin, 8 pin and sata stuff what else is there related to just the PSU?

 

[Math Geek]

the link has a picture of the various connections. looks like #11 is some type of power along with #1 and 7.

you can't assume this is the same 8-pin from the psu. it may well be, but until you can prove it, it is not a good idea to asume. this is part of the reason we don't like recommending pre-built systems. they do stuff like this making it impossible to upgrade in many ways. these connections are rarely standard ones we see on normal consumer psu's. since the psu is made for the specific system, they can change all the standard stuff and do whatever they feel like. so again. there is no guarantee those are standard connections from the psu. and i have no idea what that #11 connection is at all.

watch that video, looks like it has some answers in it. or kanewolf would not have posted it

he knows what he doing!!

 

[GilaStomper]

the link has a picture of the various connections. looks like #11 is some type of power along with #1 and 7.

you can't assume this is the same 8-pin from the psu. it may well be, but until you can prove it, it is not a good idea to asume. this is part of the reason we don't like recommending pre-built systems. they do stuff like this making it impossible to upgrade in many ways. these connections are rarely standard ones we see on normal consumer psu's. since the psu is made for the specific system, they can change all the standard stuff and do whatever they feel like. so again. there is no guarantee those are standard connections from the psu. and i have no idea what that #11 connection is at all.

watch that video, looks like it has some answers in it. or kanewolf would not have posted it

he knows what he doing!!

Okay confession time, this is my mates PC and I told him not to buy a Dell optiplex and turn it into a gaming PC. Well were here now and I kinda owe him one.

What is connection #11? That looks too small to be a power pin, yet i have never seen something like it on a build.

 

[Math Geek]

all it says is "HDD/ODD power connector "

not seen it before either so no clue.

you might be able to find a new mobo for that but as it's intel 4th gen, it may be expensive since they are long out of production

 

[GilaStomper]

all it says is "HDD/ODD power connector "

not seen it before either so no clue.

you might be able to find a new mobo for that but as it's intel 4th gen, it may be expensive since they are long out of production

I've asked my mate and it seems like I can just remove the currently cable in that slot and use it the same way in the new build. No need to buy special adapters for it

 

[Math Geek]

if it is just a cable adapter itself, it should work. but if it is part of the psu, then it won't work unless you rewire the new psu which is not gonna happen.

good luck

 

[NightHawkRMX]

All you need is the 8 pin and the 4 pin in order for the board to be powered. You will need a 24-8 pin adapter cable.

HOWEVER you cannot easily move that motherboard to another case. It is matx and will fit, however all of the front panel connections are proprietary, meaning you wont be able to plug in front panel audio or USB, and you will get an error on boot. You can fix this with a lot of soldering and custom adapter cables, but it just isn't worth it.

I did this exact same thing and ended up with a working PC using a matx case and standard EVGA psu in with the sff board, but it literally took me hours upon hours to make the front io work.

https://ibb.co/QkcX65H

 

[NightHawkRMX]

all it says is "HDD/ODD power connector "

essentially, the PSUs in these SFF dell computers often have no sata power connectors.

They use a cable that plugs into the motherboard and has a sata power plug on the other end in order to power the hard drives.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

The PSU in these computers is 12v only, which is why it uses all of the proprietary connectors. These adapter cables actually have a 5v to 12v converter in them since the dell board needs 12v standby power but normal ATX psus only provide 5v standby

 

[GilaStomper]

All you need is the 8 pin and the 4 pin in order for the board to be powered. You will need a 24-8 pin adapter cable.

HOWEVER you cannot easily move that motherboard to another case. It is matx and will fit, however all of the front panel connections are proprietary, meaning you wont be able to plug in front panel audio or USB, and you will get an error on boot. You can fix this with a lot of soldering and custom adapter cables, but it just isn't worth it.

I did this exact same thing and ended up with a working PC using a matx case and standard EVGA psu in with the sff board, but it literally took me hours upon hours to make the front io work.

https://ibb.co/QkcX65H

What do you mean it will not boot? I can understand the front USB stuff not fitting in but from what I've seen online whats stopping me from plugging in the power thing?

View: https://youtu.be/gEhBWZD9CDw?t=762

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I never said it would not boot.

It will however give you an error on boot. You just have to press F1 to dismiss it.

Do you have the MT, DT, or USFF version of the 9020?

 

[GilaStomper]

I never said it would not boot.

It will however give you an error on boot. You just have to press F1 to dismiss it.

Do you have the MT, DT, or USFF version of the 9020?

It's this one

NGL It's the cases power pins that have me worried ATM. I have no idea what goes where with the power pins after reading the manual for it all.

Edit: The board it uses is this one