[SOLVED] PCIe power 6-pin to 8-pin converter

[safog]

Hey all,

I found some old threads discussing this, but wanted to create a new one because I thought my situation had some additional specifics that weren't covered there.

I just bought a RTX 3060 Ti (yay Microcenter!) and am in the process of installing it into a PC that has some older components (from 2013). Specifically, I have a Seasonic 620W power supply that has one 8-pin PCIe power cable and another 6-pin PCIe power cable. The max power draw for the GPU (from Nvidia) is 200W and they recommend atleast a 600W PSU to power it and it looks like I'm okay there.

I'm finding it kind of hard to find a new PCIe cable on Amazon or New Egg that's compatible with my PSU, so I'm planning to just get a 6-pin to 8-pin converter and using that to run power to the GPU. Is this okay? Are there good / bad quality connectors? I ordered the first one I found on Amazon - seems kinda expensive for running like 6 wires but hey who knows, rather not cheap out on these things.

Any thoughts on if this might be dangerous for the GPU?

 

[Math Geek]

you should get the same answer in this thread you found in the others.

THOSE ADAPTERS ARE NOT A GOOD IDEA IN ANY CASE AND SHOULD NEVER BE USED!!!!

the fact the psu does not have the connection tells you to get a new psu that does. while that psu is a quality unit, it is not set up to provide the power the card might ask for. get a new psu that has the right connections or risk not only damage to the psu but also to the rest of the system

 

[safog]

you should get the same answer in this thread you found in the others.

THOSE ADAPTERS ARE NOT A GOOD IDEA IN ANY CASE AND SHOULD NEVER BE USED!!!!

the fact the psu does not have the connection tells you to get a new psu that does. while that psu is a quality unit, it is not set up to provide the power the card might ask for. get a new psu that has the right connections or risk not only damage to the psu but also to the rest of the system

Hmm, I think the general consensus there was that they were reasonably safe. Something about the two additional pins just being grounds and all these pins do were wire these to ground.

 

[Math Geek]

then you found the wrong threads. they are not safe and are not recommended by anyone on this forum that knows what they are talking about.

it's has nothing to do with just adding a ground wire or 2. a 6-pin can pull 75w, while and 8-pin can pull 150w. the circuit behind those wires is not designed to provide 150w since it was only outfitted with a 75w connection. the manufacturer already knows it can't provide the power, so they did not put the connection there.

if it could output the power safely, then they would have put the 8-pin there to begin with. it's that simple. you can daisy chain connections all day and create as many 8-pins as you wish, but in the end, they do not create new power magically. they simply change the way the connection looks. it's what is inside that counts and what is inside is not likely to be the right circuit to provide the power that card can ask it for.

thus, it is not a good idea and you should get a new psu to power the card properly

 

[safog]

then you found the wrong threads. they are not safe and are not recommended by anyone on this forum that knows what they are talking about.

it's has nothing to do with just adding a ground wire or 2. a 6-pin can pull 75w, while and 8-pin can pull 150w. the circuit behind those wires is not designed to provide 150w since it was only outfitted with a 75w connection. the manufacturer already knows it can't provide the power, so they did not put the connection there.

if it could output the power safely, then they would have put the 8-pin there to begin with. it's that simple. you can daisy chain connections all day and create as many 8-pins as you wish, but in the end, they do not create new power magically. they simply change the way the connection looks. it's what is inside that counts and what is inside is not likely to be the right circuit to provide the power that card can ask it for.

thus, it is not a good idea and you should get a new psu to power the card properly

Thanks! I might just get another PSU then, it's almost time for an upgrade. Just to confirm, I have two different cables - one with 8-pin (that can carry 150W based on what you say) and another with 6-pin (that can carry 75W). I'm assuming when the GPU draws max power, it draws evenly from both lines which is what causes the problem?

The other question just out of curiosity is the 8-pin to split 8-pin cables. Are these not recommended either for the same reason? (i.e., wire can't handle >150W of power)

 

[Math Geek]

a single 8-pin to dual 8-pins would be trying to turn a 150w connection into 2 x 150w or 300w power draw. same theory though as circuit behind it is not designed for the power draw.

the only adapter we ever suggest is a dual 6-pin to 8-pin wince that is a straight 150w to 150w use.

the card itself can pull power from one connection more than the other, or try to split between it or any combination. keep in mind the pcie slot itself can provide up to 75w as well. most cards have been moving to minimize that power draw and relying on the psu connections but that is still another way to power the card. so not really knowing the specific card and how it manages the power draw, i can't really say how it is designed.

so in total 2 8-pins and the motherboard can combine for 375w of power draw!!! obviously the card won't do that but it is possible. we're seeing better overclocking from thee new cards but i have not really paid much attention to what kinds of oc power draw is possible. it is on my to do list but have not really read that much about it last few weeks.

 

[Archaic59]

Hey all,

I found some old threads discussing this, but wanted to create a new one because I thought my situation had some additional specifics that weren't covered there.

I just bought a RTX 3060 Ti (yay Microcenter!) and am in the process of installing it into a PC that has some older components (from 2013). Specifically, I have a Seasonic 620W power supply that has one 8-pin PCIe power cable and another 6-pin PCIe power cable. The max power draw for the GPU (from Nvidia) is 200W and they recommend atleast a 600W PSU to power it and it looks like I'm okay there.

I'm finding it kind of hard to find a new PCIe cable on Amazon or New Egg that's compatible with my PSU, so I'm planning to just get a 6-pin to 8-pin converter and using that to run power to the GPU. Is this okay? Are there good / bad quality connectors? I ordered the first one I found on Amazon - seems kinda expensive for running like 6 wires but hey who knows, rather not cheap out on these things.

Any thoughts on if this might be dangerous for the GPU?

An expensive new video card powered by an old power supply using adapters. Sounds to me like a disaster waiting to happen. When considering an upgrade to your system the first thing you check is the power supply. You should already know before you buy a new GPU if the power supply can do the job and if not you replace it first.

 

[safog]

An expensive new video card powered by an old power supply using adapters. Sounds to me like a disaster waiting to happen. When considering an upgrade to your system the first thing you check is the power supply. You should already know before you buy a new GPU if the power supply can do the job and if not you replace it first.

It's not really that old

650w, barely out of warranty and still running just fine. Just going by the specs, it's enough to power the GPU which is what I checked. I'm pretty sure I just lost the 8-pin cable that seasonic gave me, I looked through their spec sheet again and it's supposed to come with multiple pci 8 pin power cables and I just have one for some reason.

 

[Math Geek]

what is the EXACT model of the psu?

 

[Joseph_138]

I would never adapt a 6-pin to an 8-pin. 2x6-pin to 1x8-pin is doable, though.