20-pin to 24-pin power adapter necessary?

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 7:28 pm

My new motherboard is on the way, and I've discovered that not only do I not have any power supplies that have a 24-pin connector, but the motherboard is not coming with one either.

From what I understand, isn't the 24 pin connector just the regular 20-pin connector with the 4-pin ATX power connector tacked on the end?? If that's true, do I really need an ADAPTER? Or can I just connect the two seperate plugs into the 24-pin connector on the motherboard? I may have to shave some plastic off the connectors so they fit close, but is that all?

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 7:34 pm

Greetings,

I dunno, but a 20 to 24 pin adaptor only cost me like $7-8 at MicroCenter...it worked fine. Because, I think the 4 pin connector was also used on that particular motherboard, so you c/should not run without it?

Elixer · Post by **Elixer** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:17 pm

sundevil_1997 wrote:From what I understand, isn't the 24 pin connector just the regular 20-pin connector with the 4-pin ATX power connector tacked on the end?? If that's true, do I really need an ADAPTER? Or can I just connect the two seperate plugs into the 24-pin connector on the motherboard? I may have to shave some plastic off the connectors so they fit close, but is that all?

No, although the extra 4 wires on the 24 pin connector carry 12V lines, they aren't the same configuration as the 4 pin 12V connector. You won't be able to connect the two connectors to the 24 pin on the motherboard, and shouldn't even if you were able to.

As far as needing the converter, some people have had success with just plugging in the 20 pin into the 24 pin on the motherboard and leaving the 4 pins open. Some motherboards work fine, some are unstable, and some don't post. It's worth trying before you invest in an adapter, but the converter will almost certainly give you more stability and room to overclock.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Sun Jan 01, 2006 10:28 pm

sundevil_1997 wrote:From what I understand, isn't the 24 pin connector just the regular 20-pin connector with the 4-pin ATX power connector tacked on the end??

Nope, the four added pins are +12, +5, +3.3 and ground. They were added to support PCI Express, power supplies with the 24-pin ATX power cable still has a 4-pin +12V power cable but it has a separate current limit.

teknerd · Post by **teknerd** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 12:32 am

Tephras is exactly right.
You don't need a convertor unless you are using a high draw VGA card.
Do not under any circumstances try and fit the 12V ATX connector into the last four pins on the 24 Pin ATX connector slot.

dddibley · Post by **dddibley** » Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:01 am

Some Intel boards.. and others I would imagine.. have the 2x2-12v and a molex for older PSUs.

Intel Desktop Board D925XECV2

ddd

MiKeLezZ · Post by **MiKeLezZ** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:49 am

I'm using a 20 pin with a 7800GT
You don't need to use it

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:19 am

MiKeLezZ wrote:I'm using a 20 pin with a 7800GT
You don't need to use it

thanks for all the helpful replies! I finally got the board, and in the instructions, it actually says you can plug a regular 20-pin power connector into it.

You were all correct! Thanks again.

Smithore · Post by **Smithore** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:27 pm

So to piggy-back on this thread, I bought a Seasonic PSU to power my P4 2.4 machine with an ASUS P4S8X motherboard. It turns out my mobo only has 20 pins, while the PSU has 24. This is the opposite situation as the original poster. Do I need to purchase an adapter, or can I just plug the 24-pin PSU into the 20 pin slot on the mobo, letting the bottom 4 pins from the PSU hang free?

dddibley · Post by **dddibley** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:46 pm

They make adapters for just about anything.. although a lot of PSUs are 20+4 pin. The end (2x2) doesn't slide or snap off? If it actually fit on your board without interference, it should work. My unattached +4 is just hanging there.

What model Seasonic is that ?

ddd

Smithore · Post by **Smithore** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:50 pm

dddibley wrote:The end (2x2) doesn't slide or snap off?

What model Seasonic is that ?

Oh god, I'm such a newb!

Yes, the 4 pins slide off the end, and I assume that 2x2 plugs into the other ATX power slot on the mobo somewhere? Wow, I suck.

The Seasonic I bought is the S12-380.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 12:17 am

Nope, you should not plug in the 2x2 connector, let it hang.

sundevil_1997 · Post by **sundevil_1997** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:17 am

Smithore wrote:Oh god, I'm such a newb! Yes, the 4 pins slide off the end, and I assume that 2x2 plugs into the other ATX power slot on the mobo somewhere? Wow, I suck.

The 2 X 2 that disconnected from the other 20 pins is NOT the same as the 2 X 2 ATX12V power connector. Yet another brilliant stroke of confusion and ambiguity by PSU and motherboard manufacturers.....

dddibley · Post by **dddibley** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:19 am

Like Tephras states.. the 20+4 (2x2 main connector) is different than the 2x2-12v auxillary connector. That one should be on a long lead by itself. The connector is to the lower left of the CPU socket in the picture. There appears to be a molex connector too.

P4S8X 12v aux connectors

ddd

Smithore · Post by **Smithore** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:11 am

Ahhhh, right as usual guys. Thanks for clearing up the confusion, I get it now.

I think my last problem is going to be trying to route the power cable from the Seasonic around the giant Thermalright heatsink. I'm not sure there's enough cable, but we'll see what happens. Thanks again!

20-pin to 24-pin power adapter necessary?

20-pin to 24-pin power adapter necessary?

Re: 20-pin to 24-pin power adapter necessary?

Re: 20-pin to 24-pin power adapter necessary?