Question about powering grahpics card - 3 to 4 pin molex connectors

[Troy23]

Okay so I recently built my new computer and I am having a few problems. My card is EVGA GeForce GTX760 SuperClocked 2GB GDDR5 256bit and this card has two plug ins for power, one 6 pin connector and another 8 pin. The cables that came with the card were a 8 pin to dual 6 pin connector and a 6 pin to dual 3 pin molex connector. First of all I tried plugging the 8 pin connector in to my pcie cables from my power supply and when I boot up the computer I get a message on my monitor that says please power down and connect the graphics card's power cables in to the pcie cables. Even when they are both plugged in. So this leads me to believe that it is required that I use both cables that came with the card. The only problem with this is there are no 3 pin female molex cables from my power supply. Would 3 pin fit into 4 pin? Or do I need to buy an adapter, if so could someone recommend one to buy? Thanks.

 

[Troy23]

Let me clarify, the graphics card has an 8 pin connector and a 6 pin. Then came with a 8 pin to dual 6 pin connector and a 6 pin to dual 3 pin molex connectors. At first I only had the 8 pin connected to the card and then the other side connected to the two 6 pin connectors from my power supply.

 

[bucknutty]

The PSU should have a 6+2pci-e power adapter and a 6 pin pci-e power adapter. You would need to plug both into the video card to make sure it gets enough electricity.

These 2 power connectors are very standard and found on most PSUs of proper size and quality to run a 760. If your PSU does not have both connectors you should check its specs to make sure it is capable of powering that system. The last thing you want is to damage a $300 gpu over a $50 PSU.

What is the exact make and model of the PSU.

To answer your question yes the molex connectors with only 3 wires in them do fit into the standard molex connectors that have 4 wires in them. The video card does not use the red wire (5volt) so that is missing.

As long as the PSU is rated for enough power the adapters will work fine.

 

[bryonhowley]

We really need to know what make/model PSU you have. If the PSU did not come with atleast two 6+2 PCI-E power leads your PSU may not have the power to run that GPU in the first place.

The one thing to remember is that the PSU is the heart of your rig and if it does not have adequate amp's watt's you could damage the whole system.

 

[Troy23]

Corsair Builder Series CX 600 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS (CX600) that is my power supply

 

[Troy23]

think this is fine?

 

[bucknutty]

According to the website that PSU has 2 pci-e power connectors that have 6+2 pins each. Just plug them both into the gpu with the 2 extra pins for the 6pin hinging loose.

Make sure to plug in the 8 pin or 4+4 pin EPS power connector into the board, next to the cpu. You should be good.

That PSU can put out 480 watts of 12volt power. If we assume the GPU can pull 200watts and the cpu pulls 100 and the board and stuff pulls 50 your only at around 350 watts, as a high max draw estimation.