Additional CPU slot with 4-pin connector on PCIe or VGA port.
Additional CPU slot with 4-pin connector on PCIe or VGA port.
Hi everyone, I observed that my new motherboard has an 8pin + 4pin CPU connector, while my PSU only offers a single 8pin power port. Despite this, it includes two 8-pin cables—one for CPU and another that fits into the 8-pin VGA slot (presumably PCIe). I wouldn’t connect it without confirming first. It seems there should be a way to use the second cable if provided. Do I have the correct connector type?
Four plus four cables are all EPS power cables located at the top left side of the motherboard. For a GPU, you'll need a 6+2 or simply a 6-pin cable.
Yes, that makes sense. The motherboard supports both an 8-pin and a 4-pin connector on the left side. My PSU has one 8-pin CPU port but only two cables that can be split into four pins. This suggests I should be able to use both cables together. The 8-pin cable works with the VGA/PCIe connectors, so they match physically. Here’s a photo of the back of my PSU (the same model but slightly different, 650W instead of 750W).
Only because it matches doesn’t guarantee it’s safe to connect. Unless you’re using a top-tier processor with an overclock, you might only need eight connections.
Refuse to connect the 8-pin CPU to the graphics card. Doing so will harm the GPU and power supply. It doesn’t make sense to insert it into a PCI-E connector since the labels differ. Mixing them up is extremely risky. I’m unsure how someone could fit an 8-pin CPU into a PCI-E socket because their connections are designed differently. Unless you deliberately inserted it and broke the alignment, that’s likely the cause.
You're referring to the 8-pin connector on the power supply unit and the 4-pin connector on the motherboard, excluding the GPU. It's about using the CPU cable with the CPU connector but in the PSU's VGA/PCIe socket. The images show these connectors grouped together under 'CPU/VGA/PCIe', suggesting they can be swapped.
It's common for a PSU to share the same ports for 8-pin EPS (CPU) and 8-pin PCIe power cables at the PSU side. If the cable comes with the PSU, it's safe to connect it to the VGA ports. Also, as shown in the picture, the CPU port and VGA ports have matching keying. Unless you're using a specific model like the 5950x on LN2, you likely don't need the extra 4-pin connection.
The cables were included with the power supply unit. I saw they were designed to match, which made me think it would work properly since PSU connectors usually have built-in keying that makes insertion tricky if not intended. However, Coolmaster mentioned that just because something fits doesn’t mean it’s the right choice. I’m planning to use a 5900X in this setup and thought about experimenting with overclocking for curiosity, but I won’t push too far. It’s something I assumed I could handle, but now I want to confirm before moving forward. This will give me useful details for future builds and sharing with friends and family, which I’ve started doing recently.
I’m in the exact same situation you described. Can you give an update on what happened?