Yes, the sense pins on a GPU's PCIe power connector are used to monitor and provide power information to the GPU.
Yes, the sense pins on a GPU's PCIe power connector are used to monitor and provide power information to the GPU.
Hello. The questions in the title are worth considering. Are the sense pins in the PCIe power connector on the GPU intended for supplying power to the GPU? In other words, do these sense pins carry current to energize the GPU, similar to the regular ground pins, or are they merely indicators about the available power and type of PCIe power connector connected? I’m curious about this. According to the official spec, a 6-pin PCIe power connector only includes two +12 volts terminals, two ground pins, one unconnected pin, and one sense pin that connects to the power supply’s ground. So, these sense pins are positioned at the same electrical potential as the other two standard ground pins. Yet we understand that most power supplies with 6-pin PCIe connectors have three +12 volts and three ground connections, with one of those ground lines linked to the sense pin. My concern is: if a 6-pin PCIe power connector has three +12 volts and three ground connections, will the GPU receive current from all six lines via these pins? Or might only five lines be active, since the ground line connected to the sense pin won’t actually power the GPU? I’m not sure what would happen if an 8-pin PCIe connector had three +12 volts and five ground connections. Would the current flow through those eight lines, or would it be limited to just six lines, with the unused ground wire not contributing to the GPU’s power?
I tried to simplify this for clarity. The link below shows a comparison between the 6-pin and 8-pin PCIe power connectors. Please check it out.
https://www.mediafire.com/view/woddy2a3e...2.png/file
Individual 8-pin versus Pigtail Connectors for GPUs
Choosing between 8-pin and pigtail connectors for your GPU?
www.corsair.com
These are essential for providing additional power to the device.
The same logic applies to the 12VHPWR/12v2x6 connector;
12VHPWR Connector/Cable: Is the PSU's Wattage Important! - Hardware Busters
Hardware Busters - 12VHPWR Connector/Cable: Is the PSU's Wattage Important! - PSUs
hwbusters.com
What are the specifications of your PSU? What model and type of GPU do you have?
My PSU is a Delta Electronics DPS-700AB-1 A. I'm not entirely sure if you grasped my question correctly. I want to know if the sense pins are used for powering the GPU in the same way as regular ground pins, like a normal connection—such as connecting a 6-pin PCIe power plug with three voltage lines and three ground lines to the GPU's 6-pin connector. Will the current for the GPU flow through all six lines of this plug, or will it only pass through five lines, excluding the three ground wires connected to the sense pin? Because I'm unsure if the current can't be delivered by just those three ground lines connected to the sense pin.
Sense pins are not intended for power purposes. With a 6-pin configuration featuring two grounds and three 12V lines, the ground is shared between the PC and the supply, providing alternative return paths. The 'sense' pins function as signal pins and should not be connected to the GPU's ground pins. They are called sense pins because they detect that the connector is likely inserted due to the grounded signal lines. The complete connector details could have been clearer, but this is the situation we have.
This additional/optional +12 volts pin in the 6-pin PCIe power connector on the GPU is ineffective since we still only have two ground pins even though there are three instead of two. The current load will still be divided between just two ground pins, not three, because the third ground wire from the 6-pin plug won’t be used for power delivery to the GPU. Therefore, I still require an 8-pin PCIe power connector and an 8-pin PCIe power plug on the GPU that includes a dedicated ground pin for lower current loads and better power handling.
It assists in distributing the 12V load more evenly. When the 8-pin connector was introduced, it was planned that the 6-pin could be placed inside and would be acknowledged by the GPU with an adjusted power limit. However, instead of a straightforward setup, we now have a 6+2 configuration which adds just one additional ground wire for power handling. This effectively doubles the power capacity to 150W. The reason lies in the fact that a 6-pin connector allows the PSU to provide at least 75W, whereas an 8-pin connector supports a minimum of 150W. This difference isn't due to the quality of wires or contacts, which are generally capable of handling higher currents unless using very inexpensive connectors with thin wires and lower-grade contacts.
If most of the +12V pins are burning while not ground pins are involved, then this extra +12V pin in the 6-pin PCIe power plug connected to the 6-pin PCIe power connector on the GPU might still matter for current handling, even though only two ground pins are used for delivering current to power the GPU. However, the actual ground connections between the GPU and the power supply are not limited to just this 6-pin PCIe power plug; they also extend through many other directions and paths that aren’t obvious at a glance. Therefore, the numerous hidden ground connections from the 6-pin PCIe power plug to the GPU’s power ground could be handling significant current, meaning the +12V lines from the plug might not be as underloaded as thought.
What does YMMV mean? Is it a shortcut? Yes, it can be. It refers to the possibility of a direct connection. The metal PC case is linked directly to the power supply ground, so the case sits at the same electrical potential as the power supply. This means the case also handles current delivery and flow when connected to components like the GPU. Can we say the PC case acts like an electric wire—similar to how car grounds connect metal parts directly to a battery’s electrical potential? Yes, but it differs from a car ground because a car ground involves all metal components connected to a power pole, whereas here the connection is specifically to the transformer’s secondary winding.