Question Power supply cable guide

[Myles Nauschutz]

I’m completely stumped with my new power supply, it’s the be quiet dark power 12 850w titanium and I can’t figure out the power cables. I’m guessing the mother board is the 20+8 pin that goes to a 24 as that’s the same as old power supply. However I can’t figure out the cpu, on my old power supply cpu was labelled by pcie. This one appear the cpu should be in the p8 section as it’s got a 10 pin plug that goes into 2 4 pins labeled cpu, am I correct it plugs into p8? Also is 2x4pin cpu cables enough for my 11900k? My previous power supply accommodated for the extra 8+4 on the motherboard itself.

once I can figure that out do I plug two pcie into my 3080ti? Or do I use these double 12 pin into 2x8 vga split cables? Thank you for any help

sorry I can’t figure out how to upload photos

 

[siaan312]

You wrote a lot of jargon that doesn't really fit here so I'll try to correct you overall

You have 5 types of cable connectors in a modern PSU:
The 24 pin (20+4)
The ATX connector 8 pin (4+4)
The PCIE 8 pin (6+2)
MOLEX (old connector with 4 pins, not much use today.)
SATA (a long L shaped connector used for ssds and harddrives mostly)

You only have a single 24 pin on a motherboard and it provides general power to the board (Ram, chipset, pci-e slots, usb, stuff like that)
The ATX connector is only power for the CPU, and you usually have 1 of them, but some boards might have 2 of them, or 1.5 of them (meaning an ATX 4+4 then another 4.)
Then a PCIE 8 pin you might have 2 or even 3 on your graphics card.*
Most powersupplies have on the cable a side that says PSU or are just a different size, then the otherside is intended for your pc, whether it be CPU or PCIE.



also, what does 2x8 VGA split cables mean? I believe you mean the new 12 pin connector, which uses an adapter from 8 pin pcie.

* New graphics cards might have the new 12 pin connector, which will come with an adapter from 2 or 3 pcie to 1 12 pin, you will understand if you have this, if not, ignore this.

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

You wrote a lot of jargon that doesn't really fit here so I'll try to correct you overall

You have 5 types of cable connectors in a modern PSU:
The 24 pin (20+4)
The ATX connector 8 pin (4+4)
The PCIE 8 pin (6+2)
MOLEX (old connector with 4 pins, not much use today.)
SATA (a long L shaped connector used for ssds and harddrives mostly)

You only have a single 24 pin on a motherboard and it provides general power to the board (Ram, chipset, pci-e slots, usb, stuff like that)
The ATX connector is only power for the CPU, and you usually have 1 of them, but some boards might have 2 of them, or 1.5 of them (meaning an ATX 4+4 then another 4.)
Then a PCIE 8 pin you might have 2 or even 3 on your graphics card.*
Most powersupplies have on the cable a side that says PSU or are just a different size, then the otherside is intended for your pc, whether it be CPU or PCIE.



also, what does 2x8 VGA split cables mean? I believe you mean the new 12 pin connector, which uses an adapter from 8 pin pcie.

* New graphics cards might have the new 12 pin connector, which will come with an adapter from 2 or 3 pcie to 1 12 pin, you will understand if you have this, if not, ignore this.

my motherboard has the 8 pin and 4 extra pin for cpu but my power supply came with a connector that looks like it plugs into an atx 10 pin slot with the two middle being blanks labeled p8 that goes into 2x4 pin labels cpu. Would this 8 pin p8 atx cable be enough power for my 11900k?

my power supply came with vga split looking cable labeled pcie connectors but they have 12 pins on one side with a solid head running out to two 6+2 connectors, they look like they were designed for gpus using 2x8 pin connectors but I’ve heard one cable is usually not enough for the wattage required, thought I’d ask if these 12 pin to 2x6+2 pin cables are designed for this? Or should I still use two cables and only use 1 of each splitter

 

[siaan312]

my motherboard has the 8 pin and 4 extra pin for cpu but my power supply came with a connector that looks like it plugs into an atx 10 pin slot with the two middle being blanks labeled p8 that goes into 2x4 pin labels cpu. Would this 8 pin p8 atx cable be enough power for my 11900k?

my power supply came with vga split looking cable labeled pcie connectors but they have 12 pins on one side with a solid head running out to two 6+2 connectors, they look like they were designed for gpus using 2x8 pin connectors but I’ve heard one cable is usually not enough for the wattage required, thought I’d ask if these 12 pin to 2x6+2 pin cables are designed for this? Or should I still use two cables and only use 1 of each splitter

Okay, I found a diagram of all the cables in your PSU.
The P8 is an ATX power connector, it's just not split into 4+4 like usual. If your motherboard has 8+4, use P8 and half of P4.

As for your pcie, Your powersupply includes 3 cables of (6+2)x2.
I don't know if your gpu has a 12 pin connector or 3x(6+2) connectors, but either way, you can use 2 cables. The 2x(6+2), then use half of another one of those.
It's enough power.

Each 8 pin can provide up to 150watts, meaning 3 of them can do 450watts, and the pcie slot can also provide 75 watts, for a total of 525watts which is more than enough.
It was more "ideal" if your psu had 6+2 (not 2x) cables, and you used 3 independent cables, but it's not an issue by any stretch, and you can comfortably do as I mentioned above.

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

Okay, I found a diagram of all the cables in your PSU.
The P8 is an ATX power connector, it's just not split into 4+4 like usual. If your motherboard has 8+4, use P8 and half of P4.

As for your pcie, Your powersupply includes 3 cables of (6+2)x2.
I don't know if your gpu has a 12 pin connector or 3x(6+2) connectors, but either way, you can use 2 cables. The 2x(6+2), then use half of another one of those.
It's enough power.

Each 8 pin can provide up to 150watts, meaning 3 of them can do 450watts, and the pcie slot can also provide 75 watts, for a total of 525watts which is more than enough.
It was more "ideal" if your psu had 6+2 (not 2x) cables, and you used 3 independent cables, but it's not an issue by any stretch, and you can comfortably do as I mentioned above.

Ok thank you so it’s p8 to the 2x cpu connections, then a seperate p8 where I only use half? So that makes it 8 pins+4 on my motherboard

the gpu is a gtx 3080 ti which has 2x 8 pin plug ins, do I run two of those 12 pin to 2x 6+2 and use one 8 pin off each cable or do I run a single one? Thank you for your help

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

The ports on the psu are all 12 pin connectors for pcie and the cables I got with it are all 12 pin to 2x 6+2. Would I be correct in assuming this is a 300 watt cable then? Would it be recommend for the rails in my psu to just use two of these cables with one 8 pin on each and what do I do with these spare 8 pins in my case for safety reasons?

 

[SkyNetRising]

Ok thank you so it’s p8 to the 2x cpu connections, then a seperate p8 where I only use half? So that makes it 8 pins+4 on my motherboard
the gpu is a gtx 3080 ti which has 2x 8 pin plug ins, do I run two of those 12 pin to 2x 6+2 and use one 8 pin off each cable or do I run a single one? Thank you for your help

It's rather hard to follow your descriptions.
It would be better, if you could show photos of cables/connectors, you're having trouble with.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

Also please list model name of your motherboard and full model name of your 3080ti card.

BTW - did you read user manual of your PSU? I suspect, you didn't do it.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/2152

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

It's rather hard to follow your descriptions.
It would be better, if you could show photos of cables/connectors, you're having trouble with.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

Also please list model name of your motherboard and full model name of your 3080ti card.

BTW - did you read user manual of your PSU? I suspect, you didn't do it.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/2152

Hi there I did read the manual, it only had a couple safety warnings and mentions on common encountered problems but nothing on the power rating of each cable and configuration to use it for. I’ve figured out the cpu issue, all I need to figure out now is the 12pin connected head with two 6+2 pin connectors coming out of it, so I trust this as a 300w cable for the two 8 pins of my graphics card or do I treat it as a single cable capable of 150 and plug in two while only using half the heads of each. I apologise my tablet makes taking and post pictures a little difficult on anything

 

[SkyNetRising]

Hi there I did read the manual, it only had a couple safety warnings and mentions on common encountered problems but nothing on the power rating of each cable and configuration to use it for.

Look at the end of the manual - pages 42-46.

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

It's rather hard to follow your descriptions.
It would be better, if you could show photos of cables/connectors, you're having trouble with.
(upload to imgur.com and post link)

Also please list model name of your motherboard and full model name of your 3080ti card.

BTW - did you read user manual of your PSU? I suspect, you didn't do it.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/2152

Look at the end of the manual - pages 42-46.

That appears to tell me what amp each rail can handle but nothing what the cable can, I also don’t really have a fresh knowledge of electrical and not sure what 30a or 35a equals in wattage and if my cable can handle such

 

[SkyNetRising]

That appears to tell me what amp each rail can handle but nothing what the cable can

Page 46 - lists all the cable connections.

 

[DRagor]

You know it would be stupid move by beQuite to make PCIe output that provides 35A of power and then make PCIe cable that can't handle it, don't you think so?
Answering question directly - each PCIe port provides 35 A x 12 V = 420 W. Two 8-pin ports on GPU are not supposed to pull more then 300 W (although they do sometimes). So one cable should be enough, however for better stability it is always better to use two cables. This of course means one connector from each cable will be hanging free near the GPU which looks ugly, but that's better way.

 

[Myles Nauschutz]

You know it would be stupid move by beQuite to make PCIe output that provides 35A of power and then make PCIe cable that can't handle it, don't you think so?
Answering question directly - each PCIe port provides 35 A x 12 V = 420 W. Two 8-pin ports on GPU are not supposed to pull more then 300 W (although they do sometimes). So one cable should be enough, however for better stability it is always better to use two cables. This of course means one connector from each cable will be hanging free near the GPU which looks ugly, but that's better way.

Thank you very much for your help, luckily they split pretty close to the head that goes into the psu and have two long individual cables after that, I just tucked them away under my cases psu compartment that used to have a drive tray but I never needed. Do I need to do anything particular with those two unused connectors for safety reason?

 

[siaan312]

Thank you very much for your help, luckily they split pretty close to the head that goes into the psu and have two long individual cables after that, I just tucked them away under my cases psu compartment that used to have a drive tray but I never needed. Do I need to do anything particular with those two unused connectors for safety reason?

No, it's alright to leave them dangling.

Ok thank you so it’s p8 to the 2x cpu connections, then a seperate p8 where I only use half? So that makes it 8 pins+4 on my motherboard

the gpu is a gtx 3080 ti which has 2x 8 pin plug ins, do I run two of those 12 pin to 2x 6+2 and use one 8 pin off each cable or do I run a single one? Thank you for your help

Exactly on the CPU
and for the gpu, 2 cables would be more ideal, but 1 cable can easily handle it as well, If you preferred it for asthetic reasons.

 

[DRagor]

Do I need to do anything particular with those two unused connectors for safety reason?

Nope, the connectors are female so there is no risk of contact with something they should not contact while system is working. Tucking them under PSU compartment is fine.