GTX 285 Power Connectors

[0Artur0]

Hi!

I just bought Gainward GTX 285. It has 2 6-pin PCI-E power connectors but I just have one 6-pin PCI-E cable. I connected the card anyway and it all seems to work just fine. Is my GPU working at full power on just one power cable, is it working on half speed or something else? Is there any way to check that out?

 

[jsc]

If it is working, it's working on full power. If the PCI-e power cable does not get too warm, you should be OK.

Did the card come with a molex to PCI-e adapter?

 

[0Artur0]

Yes it came but I didn't get extra cables with my PSU (I'm going back to the store for that!) so I don't have any molex connector so this PCI-E to molex is useless at the moment. So there are 2 cabels just to split the heat? Some time ago I read on Nvidia site that if you're experiencing degraded performance you should check if both PCI-E cables are connected.. but this was for some other Nvidia GPU. So no effect on the performance of the GPU at all?

 

[masterjaw]

I think its molex to PCI-e, not PCI-e to molex.

If you don't have enough connectors then get a new PSU. The 2 cables are needed by the card to supply it with enough power as the power supplied by the PCI-e port is not enough to run the card.

 

[0Artur0]

You're right.. molex to PCI-E.

The thing is that everything seems to work just fine on one PCI-E ... Windows are working fine, I can play games, etc.. my question is not how to connect two or something like that but simply ... is the performance of GPU degraded in any way if I connect just one instead of two PCI-E?

 

[baddad]

You play a game like Crysis and your machine will shut down from over load, you need a bigger better PSU.

 

[0Artur0]

I played FSX and it didn't.

 

[galta]

What's your system configuration?
If your PSU has only one 6 pin PCI-E, chances are that it is old, with fewer watts - and perhaps less quality - than you need.
As a result, you could be working in a low efficency zone, and your whole system could be in danger.
If you have money for a GTX 285, you can affor a deccent Corsair 750W.

 

[masterjaw]

Just stick with the specs and plug both PCI-e connectors required by the card. If you don't have enough connectors for just a single card (which is odd) then your PSU might be old and needs to be replaced by newer ones for better performance.

 

[0Artur0]

Problem solved. In the shop they admitted they forgot to give me bag with extra cables so that's the reason I didn't have 2 6-pin PCI-E connectors. My PSU is good... LC8850 850W. Now I connected both and everything is ok. Thanks.