PCI-E cable featuring pig tail PSU issue?
PCI-E cable featuring pig tail PSU issue?
Hello! You have three PCI-E cables for your 3070TI. One of them has an extra Y-pigtail. You're wondering if you can connect the pigtail end to the PSU and the non-pigtail end to the GPU, without using the actual pigtail in the PSU. Just want to hide the extra pigtail from your GPU for aesthetic reasons. A picture was included to clarify.
It seems this might not be feasible because they’re typically locked in place to prevent access. Still, if you’re okay with it, I wouldn’t mind it for style reasons. Using just two cables works too—especially if your power supply is recent and can safely handle 300W.
Absolutely, that makes sense. Using one cable without a pigtail and another with a pigtail, then connecting the pigtail to the 3rd connector should work.
Sure, a 3070ti consumes no more than 500W for practical purposes, even if it were higher. Each of the eight pins draws 150W, and the PCIe bus adds 75W, meaning a single cable could handle up to 300W without issues. If your power supply is still in good condition, it should support that load.
The quickest proof comes from Corsair's 600W 12VHPWR cable, which supports type3/4 connectors. It requires two 8-pin headers on the power supply to deliver 600W. 12VHPWR Cable | 600W PCIe 5.0 Power Adapter Cable (corsair.com). Determining exact ratings for ATX, EPS, and VGA aux connectors can be tricky, but industry standards from PCI SIG guide many aspects, such as the maximum current draw for VGA aux 8-pin. Each pin draws about 150W, and a long cable can handle up to 300W. Corsair's site mentions a PSU that supports 288W, showing they adjusted the rating by reducing amperage by one amp. PSU: Tips for preventing overloads and connector problems – Corsair graphics manufacturers generally avoid overestimating draw from single 8-pin connections. With a 3070ti around 300W, having 525W available is typical. The only chip I see that matches this is the RTX 4090, which can easily exceed 550W with 675W free. This explains why an RTX 4000 would need dual 12VHPWR on the KINGPIN version, similar to what they did for the 3090ti—since an XOC card really benefits from it. Another reference on 8-pin usage comes from Tech Talk at SilverStone (silverstonetek.com).