Molex to 6-pin to 8-pin?

[MK_Potato]

So, this is the thing, I've got a 600 watt Power Supply, not even 80 plus certified, and it has only one 6-pin power connector and some molex connectors I don't use and I don't plan to use, so that would mean that the best gpu's I would be able to get would be reference rx 480/gtx 1060, and some gtx 960's among others. That's not the point though, I'm not looking for an immediate upgrade. The point is, out of simple curiosity, I don't know if I would ever try this:

In a scale from "probably safe" to "fire hazard", how reasonable or dangerous would it be to use a "2 molex to 6-pin" adapter and then a "2 6-pin to 8-pin" adapter to power a gpu that only has one 8-pin connector (not necessarily a different one from the mentioned above) theoretically saying that the PSU has enough wattage to power everything on the PC.

Again, I don't plan on doing this, if I ever think of upgrading any component I would also get at least a bronze certified PSU with enough wattage, etc. etc. It's just that this idea came to my mind and didn't know if it was possible, I try searching it and I was not able to find an answer.

 

[basroil]

If your PSU doesn't have the right connectors to begin with, it should NOT BE USED AT ALL! Go buy yourself a real PSU before you end up having to buy a new computer (or even house)


Unless you are running the FX9590 overclocked, your system would do fine with a good 550W unit like the EVGA G2 550 or Corsair RM550x (or XFX TS Gold 550/Seasonic G 550)

 

[MK_Potato]

If your PSU doesn't have the right connectors to begin with, it should NOT BE USED AT ALL! Go buy yourself a real PSU before you end up having to buy a new computer (or even house)


Unless you are running the FX9590 overclocked, your system would do fine with a good 550W unit like the EVGA G2 550 or Corsair RM550x (or XFX TS Gold 550/Seasonic G 550)

That's not what I was talking about, I'm not asking which psu to buy, I'm not 'asking' anything, that's why I tagged this as a discussion rather than a question. I already now which psu's should I consider buying if I ever decided to upgrade (which is not the case) or doing a completely new ultra gaming build, I know about wattage and certifications. Thing is, some people have always been skeptical about using adapters while some other people have not. If it was 'dangerous' or not recommended to use adapters I don't think manufacturers would even include them inside the gpu box and they would only be sold by third party companies. My psu is not a crappy cheap poorly built psu, despite not having any certification. In fact, it was built by a reputable company that, in my country, is known for making good budget oriented pc components without sacrificing a lot on the quality of the final product.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Every time you add a converter cable it increases the wire resistance because the length increases and modular plugs (anything that plugs in and unplugs) causes more resistance. This can affect the voltage regulation on those wires but shouldn't be really harmful. Sometimes the cheap converter cables use too thin wiring so they can burn up. Sometimes they use poor contact material which can also wear out over time.

 

[madmatt30]

You're asking 2 different questions here.

Double linking to form an 8 pin would rate high on the scale of fire-hazard.
Use of adapters aren't highly condoned, there are certain psu's that only have molex that I would say are okay to use a single adapter to get a 6 pin from 2 molex.(not 2 adapters to get 2x 6 pins though)
A twin 6 pin to 8 pin on a PSU that already has 2 x6 pin connectors should also be fine.

Whether the above practices are acceptable depend on what your Psu's 12v rating is (it will be on the label on the side)

Your 600w for instance is likely to be not even close to a 600w unitin real world terms.

The absolute minimum I would to see on the 12v rail is 42amps to consider it close to it's label of 600w.
A good PSU will have 45a+ at least.

 

[madmatt30]

That's kind of the equivalent of what you're talking about.

 

[MK_Potato]

Every time you add a converter cable it increases the wire resistance because the length increases and modular plugs (anything that plugs in and unplugs) causes more resistance. This can affect the voltage regulation on those wires but shouldn't be really harmful. Sometimes the cheap converter cables use too thin wiring so they can burn up. Sometimes they use poor contact material which can also wear out over time.

That's kind of the equivalent of what you're talking about.

Yeah, that's kinda the picture that came to my mind when I thought about it.

 

[basroil]

That's not what I was talking about, I'm not asking which psu to buy, I'm not 'asking' anything, that's why I tagged this as a discussion rather than a question. I already now which psu's should I consider buying if I ever decided to upgrade (which is not the case) or doing a completely new ultra gaming build, I know about wattage and certifications. Thing is, some people have always been skeptical about using adapters while some other people have not. If it was 'dangerous' or not recommended to use adapters I don't think manufacturers would even include them inside the gpu box and they would only be sold by third party companies. My psu is not a crappy cheap poorly built psu, despite not having any certification. In fact, it was built by a reputable company that, in my country, is known for making good budget oriented pc components without sacrificing a lot on the quality of the final product.

1) My point is that at no time should you ever use molex adapters because it means the PSU is not capable of handling the load you want to put in it. The adapters themselves are irrelevant.
2) Your PSU is indeed 3rd tier at best, and should never be used with high transient cards like the 1060/960/480. Unless it's 80+ bronze at least you shouldn't consider such high end cards. Again, it goes back to putting loads on the PSU that it's not made for.
3) number 2 is not about wattage, that's not really an issue usually (except in fire-hazard tier supplies that lie about power output). It's about transient loadings, something older power supplies weren't really tested for

Basically, there's no real discussion to be had, since pretty much everyone will tell you the same thing: It's a dangerous proposal that you shouldn't try

 

[MK_Potato]

That's not what I was talking about, I'm not asking which psu to buy, I'm not 'asking' anything, that's why I tagged this as a discussion rather than a question. I already now which psu's should I consider buying if I ever decided to upgrade (which is not the case) or doing a completely new ultra gaming build, I know about wattage and certifications. Thing is, some people have always been skeptical about using adapters while some other people have not. If it was 'dangerous' or not recommended to use adapters I don't think manufacturers would even include them inside the gpu box and they would only be sold by third party companies. My psu is not a crappy cheap poorly built psu, despite not having any certification. In fact, it was built by a reputable company that, in my country, is known for making good budget oriented pc components without sacrificing a lot on the quality of the final product.

1) My point is that at no time should you ever use molex adapters because it means the PSU is not capable of handling the load you want to put in it. The adapters themselves are irrelevant.
2) Your PSU is indeed 3rd tier at best, and should never be used with high transient cards like the 1060/960/480. Unless it's 80+ bronze at least you shouldn't consider such high end cards. Again, it goes back to putting loads on the PSU that it's not made for.
3) number 2 is not about wattage, that's not really an issue usually (except in fire-hazard tier supplies that lie about power output). It's about transient loadings, something older power supplies weren't really tested for

Basically, there's no real discussion to be had, since pretty much everyone will tell you the same thing: It's a dangerous proposal that you shouldn't try

That's why I stated from the beginning that I would never even consider trying it, just wondered if hypothetically was possible, not if it was possible for me, which I already thought it wasn't going to be.

 

[MK_Potato]

Every time you add a converter cable it increases the wire resistance because the length increases and modular plugs (anything that plugs in and unplugs) causes more resistance. This can affect the voltage regulation on those wires but shouldn't be really harmful. Sometimes the cheap converter cables use too thin wiring so they can burn up. Sometimes they use poor contact material which can also wear out over time.

So, technically, if everything were to be good quality enough (which is not my case), theoretically, there would be no problem on using multi-adapters, though it would still not be recommended and it should not be tried.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Every time you add a converter cable it increases the wire resistance because the length increases and modular plugs (anything that plugs in and unplugs) causes more resistance. This can affect the voltage regulation on those wires but shouldn't be really harmful. Sometimes the cheap converter cables use too thin wiring so they can burn up. Sometimes they use poor contact material which can also wear out over time.

So, technically, if everything were to be good quality enough (which is not my case), theoretically, there would be no problem on using multi-adapters, though it would still not be recommended and it should not be tried.

I suppose in theory. It depends on how well everything makes contact with each other and the quality of the cables. Even having fully modular cables is a downside for power supplies. It negatively affects efficiency and increases resistance. The safest thing in the world would be if the wires from the power supply were soldered to the motherboard and other pins of GPUs, hard drives, etc.

 

[madmatt30]

Any PSU you see nowadays that don't have any pci-e connectors are going to be substandard units, or maybe decent quality but very old (6-7years) workstation geared psu's.

Any close to useable 500w+ psu will have a minimum of 2x6 or 1x6/1x8 connectors already on it & the 12v rail should equate to a minimum of 80% of the advertised power .
A mediocre corsair cx500 has 38a on the 12v (38x12) so 456w - that's an acceptable enough number to call it a real 500watter.

Then you get cheap generic 600w models like this one

That's got a 12v wattage of 336w - on its best day its a 400w model not a 600w & a crap quality one at that.
I've seen 600w branded ones with even less than that , 22a which makes them at best a 300w in the real world.

 

[MK_Potato]

I'm sorry to bother anyone who didn't stop following this thread, as it has been "solved" already (not really solved, since it was a discussion out of curiosity rather than an actual technical question). I would like to reply to it with a final conclusion to answer anyone who may pass by and didn't get a final answer to the question, by shearing this video with all of you where our beloved Linus (from LinusTechTips, probably a bunch of us know him) has done what I've proposed if it was possible to do in this thread: https://youtu.be/LC_sx6A5Wko (at time stamp 6:37) with 3 Titan X's (though knowing Linus, he was probably using a 1000w 80 plus titanium while doing this edit. probably not since what's stated at the end end.edit., though idk the specific psu he used for this). All in all, yes, it is possible and it can work practically and theoretically, if everything is well connected and is good quality enough (altough maybe not 3 Titan X's, since Linus's crashed by the end of the video but that was because Overcurrent Protection, no fire hazard though, that's a pro).