Question I have Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850w PSU and need to power something off of the molex cable ?

[msziegler83]

I have bought a Nollie 16 channel RGB controller that is powerd by 2 molex connectors. I am worried that the draw from a single daisy chained cable could pull to much power. Total power draw of my fans and led strips is around 25w. I might be adding longer and/or more LED strips in the future.
My current setup uses 2 controllers that are SATA powered off of one daisy chained cable.

 

[dwd999]

Using AI for something: "Molex connectors typically carry both 12V and 5V. Each voltage line is limited to 11A." So that would be 132 watts for the 12V fans and 55 watts for the argb strips. If you trust AI.

 

[--SID--]

Each molex pin is rated for 5A! When you pull 11A the connector will melt.

 

[dwd999]

Each molex pin is rated for 5A! When you pull 11A the connector will melt.

Even Wikipedia says 11 amps per pin.

 

[thestryker]

The Molex connector is capable of sustaining more amperage than most implementations can due to wiring. The wiring on them should be 18AWG which I definitely wouldn't try to run 11 amps through.

All that being said to answer the OP's question it will be fine. I'm assuming that controller doesn't convert any power inputs so fans should be 12V and RGB 5V. Even if we lowball it and say 5A maximum that's 60W per cable for 12V and 25W per cable for 5V and this controller uses two cables.

 

[Misgar]

I've checked a few tables and they give different figures for maximum current rating of 18AWG.

This table shows 16A for "chassis wiring" (which seems high to me):
https://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

This site gives 9.5A for single core and lower currents when wires are bunched close together (as in multicore cable):
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wire-gauges-d_419.html

This site also also quotes 16A for single core:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/wire-gauges-d_419.html

At work we used to derate cables to 50% of the manufacturers' specs, but we assumed an ambient room temperature up to +55°C if the ACU failed. Wire temperatures in confined spaces (trunking) can rise higher.

18AWG is only 0.8mm sq which is pretty close to 0.75mm sq 318-Y mains cable, rated at 6A (AC).

As per @thestryker I'd exercise caution with cheap Molex connecors and 5A per wire (12V and 5V) seems a reasonable figure. If you need more power, use another cable or buy a better PSU with more cables.

 

[msziegler83]

The Molex connector is capable of sustaining more amperage than most implementations can due to wiring. The wiring on them should be 18AWG which I definitely wouldn't try to run 11 amps through.

All that being said to answer the OP's question it will be fine. I'm assuming that controller doesn't convert any power inputs so fans should be 12V and RGB 5V. Even if we lowball it and say 5A maximum that's 60W per cable for 12V and 25W per cable for 5V and this controller uses two cables.

I might not have been clear in my post when I talked about my fans. The Nollie controller is only for RGB. So when I referenced my fans I was just talking about the power draw for the RGB lights so only 5v would be used. I don't think its a cheap PSU. Its rated A-tier on the PSU tier list. It only came with one molex cable. Most PSUs only come with one since its not a common use case.

 

[thestryker]

It only came with one molex cable.

It has 4 connectors on that cable though right?

If so it's fine as long as you connect two Molex 4-pin connectors to the adapter (or whatever it uses) for the controller.

 

[msziegler83]

It has 4 connectors on that cable though right?

If so it's fine as long as you connect two Molex 4-pin connectors to the adapter (or whatever it uses) for the controller.

Yes, there are 4 Molex 4 -pin connectors on the cable. I just didn't want to overload it since it's shared power across all 4 connectors. I have a few random PSUs I can check to see if the pinout is the same and run that. I have had a hard time trying to find extra cable for my PSU.