Additional 4-pin CPU power connector available for B550 motherboards
Additional 4-pin CPU power connector available for B550 motherboards
The additional 4-pin EPS power cable is only needed for heavy overclocking. You can skip it and use the 8-pin version. Short version: Not essential.
You really don’t have to link anything to it. It’s similar to a 100W chip with just one adjustment, and the 8-pin design supports more than 300W.
The most energy-hungry chip on socket AM4 uses about 160 watts without overclocking. As others mentioned, the standard 8-pin connector can handle at least 300 watts. If your power source includes a 4-pin CPU connector, you're welcome to use it too; however, a Ryzen 5600 can function perfectly fine with just the 4-pin setup—so the 8-pin is more than sufficient.
People are suggesting it's not necessary when I encounter an issue. I had to connect a 4-pin plug, I didn't overclock, swapped motherboards from a Gigabyte Vision D-P to an Adus Rog Strix B550-A Gaming with a Ryzen 9 5900X and an RTX 3070Ti. The motherboard needed repairs, don't ask if you're feeling silly. After turning everything on, the GPU activated briefly, then stopped completely. I searched for a 4+4 splitter—probably something like Corsair RM850X—and plugged it in. It worked. Maybe I'm an exception, but if someone has the same problem, try using the 4-pin connection first.
It seems you were trying to address a different issue. The 8-pin connector works with any stock desktop CPU at normal speeds, and the 13900k can handle it without problems. You can safely leave the 4-pin or spare 8-pin unused if you don’t have the connectors, though using them is fine if available.