Mixing PSU PCI-E Cables between OCZ ZT series and EVGA G3

[Dash25]

My friend is missing a PCIE cable for his new GPU that requires a 8 pin cable. I have an extra PCIE cable from an EVGA G3 650w that I said I could give to him, who has a OCZ ZT 650w. I know mixing cables is extremely dangerous for parts if you don't check layouts so I went ahead and found both pin layouts for PCIe on both GPUs. The uncolored is the OCZ and the colored is the EVGA. It seems like two of the 12v line up and I read on Gamers Nexus that the 12v lining up were good. Would it be safe for me to give him my PCIe cable then for him to use?

[Energycore]

Good news is, on the hardware side (GPU or Motherboard) pinouts are standard. So make 100% sure the cables have the same pinout on the PSU side (honestly, they should, and OEMs that change that are doing weird things since it's the simplest solution). If they are, go right ahead

[Spotty]

5 hours ago, Energycore said:

(honestly, they should, and OEMs that change that are doing weird things since it's the simplest solution).

???  The OCZ ZT and EVGA G3 are from different OEM's. Great Wall made the ZT (according to this from kitguru) and the EVGA G3 was made by Super Flower.

Even then different models made by the same OEM can have different pinouts.

 

5 hours ago, Dash25 said:

 

 

 

That appears to be the pinout for the cables on the component side - where they plug in to the motherboard/graphics card. The pinout on the component side is the same for all power supplies; it needs to be the same in order for components to work. The difference is the pinout on the power supply itself where the modular cables plug in to the power supply. Those can be different.

 

 

The best way to find the pin out for the OCZ ZT power supply is to use a multi meter to measure the voltage on each of the pins on the power supply unit socket. Measure the voltage on each of the pins (on the power supply itself not the cable) and map where the 12V and Ground pins are. See if they match up to the EVGA G3.

What graphics card did your friend upgrade to? Probably worthwhile just buying a new power supply. OCZ went out of business years ago.

[Dash25]

13 hours ago, Spotty said:

???  The OCZ ZT and EVGA G3 are from different OEM's. Great Wall made the ZT (according to this from kitguru) and the EVGA G3 was made by Super Flower.

Even then different models made by the same OEM can have different pinouts.

 

 

That appears to be the pinout for the cables on the component side - where they plug in to the motherboard/graphics card. The pinout on the component side is the same for all power supplies; it needs to be the same in order for components to work. The difference is the pinout on the power supply itself where the modular cables plug in to the power supply. Those can be different.

 

 

The best way to find the pin out for the OCZ ZT power supply is to use a multi meter to measure the voltage on each of the pins on the power supply unit socket. Measure the voltage on each of the pins (on the power supply itself not the cable) and map where the 12V and Ground pins are. See if they match up to the EVGA G3.

What graphics card did your friend upgrade to? Probably worthwhile just buying a new power supply. OCZ went out of business years ago.

He bought a used RX 580 8GB, but with Black Friday he will  probably just get a new PSU.

[Energycore]

On 11/29/2019 at 3:50 AM, Spotty said:

???  The OCZ ZT and EVGA G3 are from different OEM's. Great Wall made the ZT (according to this from kitguru) and the EVGA G3 was made by Super Flower.

Even then different models made by the same OEM can have different pinouts.

My opinion is, it's strange that PSU modular cables aren't the same on the PSU side for different models. I guess they make it so you have to buy their cables, instead of borrowing them from your last modular PSU.

[Spotty]

9 minutes ago, Energycore said:

My opinion is, it's strange that PSU modular cables aren't the same on the PSU side for different models.

 

10 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I guess they make it so you have to buy their cables, instead of borrowing them from your last modular PSU.

They include the necessary cables with the power supply when you buy it. There's no need to purchase cables separately. 

[Energycore]

37 minutes ago, Spotty said:

 

They include the necessary cables with the power supply when you buy it. There's no need to purchase cables separately. 

Well you know, spares for when you lose one / the cat finds it and turns it into kitty entertainment. But I get the whole standard bit

[OrionFOTL]

On 11/30/2019 at 3:28 PM, Energycore said:

My opinion is, it's strange that PSU modular cables aren't the same on the PSU side for different models. I guess they make it so you have to buy their cables, instead of borrowing them from your last modular PSU.

Thanks to the freedom of PSU-side cable connectors, manufacturers are free to add enhancements like extra vsense wires for tighter voltage regulation, interesting connector shapes like Super Flower's "cube connectors" or the 4-5pin DIN connectors like on PCPower&Cooling Silencer MKIII, LED lights like on EVGA G2L, or universal EPS/PEG/SATA/Perif connectors like on SilentiumPC's E-Plug system.

For those reasons I think it's a good thing the connectors aren't required to follow some downgraded standard with no room for manufacturer's improvements.

[Energycore]

Just now, OrionFOTL said:

Thanks to the freedom of PSU-side cable connectors, manufacturers are free to add enhancements like extra vsense wires for tighter voltage regulation, interesting connector shapes like Super Flower's "cube connectors" or the 4-5pin DIN connectors like on PCPower&Cooling Silencer MKIII, LED lights like on EVGA G2L, or universal EPS/PEG/SATA/Perif connectors like on SilentiumPC's E-Plug system.

For those reasons I think it's a good thing the connectors aren't required to follow some downgraded standard with no room for manufacturer's improvements.

That's fair, I'd forgotten about vsense wires.