Question about PSU cables and extensions

[vardonir]

I know that switching modular PSU cables between different brands is bad, never do it, etc, but extensions are fine. I assume that the usual use case of extensions that you attach it at the end of the cable that came out of the box. My question is, can you do it the other way around? 

 

Suppose we have a PSU, say, the Corsair SF600 (because that's the one I plan to buy). It's modular, everything on the PSU itself is a bunch of female ports, and it comes with a bunch of male-to-male cables. Once you attach the PSU cables, you get a bunch of males that can connect to the components on the board/hard drive/GPU, etc. What if I attach a male-to-female cable on the PSU, and then attach the male-to-male cables that came with the PSU's packaging? Will that be as problematic as switching modular PSU cables between different brands? 

 

If that wasn't clear, here's a doodle:

 

Usual modular PSU scenario:

+----------+                                        +-------------+
|          |                                        |             |
|   PSU    O <- +------------------------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |       (cable that came with PSU)       |             |
+----------+                                        +-------------+

 

Usual modular PSU scenario with extension, I assume:

+----------+                                                            +-------------+
|          |                                                            |             |
|   PSU    O <- +------------------------------+ -> O--------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |       (cable that came with PSU)         (extension)       |             |
+----------+                                                            +-------------+

 

What I want to do:

+----------+                                                            +-------------+
|          |                                                            |             |
|   PSU    O <- +--------------O <- +------------------------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |      (extension)         (cable that came with PSU)        |             |
+----------+                                                            +-------------+

The cables in question here are the 8pin PCIe cables and SATA.

 

I'm planning to get the extensions off AliExpress, btw. If there's a place to get better cables (ketchup and mustard cables are fine, nothing fancy) from a place that has international shipping, I'd love to hear about it.

[Dedayog]

3 minutes ago, vardonir said:

I know that switching modular PSU cables between different brands is bad, never do it, etc, but extensions are fine. I assume that the usual use case of extensions that you attach it at the end of the cable that came out of the box. My question is, can you do it the other way around? 

 

Suppose we have a PSU, say, the Corsair SF600 (because that's the one I plan to buy). It's modular, everything on the PSU itself is a bunch of female ports, and it comes with a bunch of male-to-male cables. Once you attach the PSU cables, you get a bunch of males that can connect to the components on the board/hard drive/GPU, etc. What if I attach a male-to-female cable on the PSU, and then attach the male-to-male cables that came with the PSU's packaging? Will that be as problematic as switching modular PSU cables between different brands? 

 

If that wasn't clear, here's a doodle:

 

Usual modular PSU scenario:

+----------+                                        +-------------+
|          |                                        |             |
|   PSU    O <- +------------------------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |       (cable that came with PSU)       |             |
+----------+                                        +-------------+

 

Usual modular PSU scenario with extension, I assume:

+----------+                                                            +-------------+
|          |                                                            |             |
|   PSU    O <- +------------------------------+ -> O--------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |       (cable that came with PSU)         (extension)       |             |
+----------+                                                            +-------------+

 

What I want to do:

+----------+                                                            +-------------+
|          |                                                            |             |
|   PSU    O <- +--------------O <- +------------------------------+ -> O  component  |
|          |      (extension)         (cable that came with PSU)        |             |
+----------+                                                            +-------------+

The cables in question here are the 8pin PCIe cables and SATA.

 

I'm planning to get the extensions off AliExpress, btw. If there's a place to get better cables (ketchup and mustard cables are fine, nothing fancy) from a place that has international shipping, I'd love to hear about it.

Extension cables are nothing more than elongating the connection that exists between the PSU, it's cable, and the Component.  Order does not matter at all.

 

Go ahead and do your "what I want to do" example, it'll work fine.

[BobVonBob]

Yes, both of those will provide an identical result. Although I believe many manufacturers use proprietary or uncommon connectors on the PSU side so you can't put other brand's cables in them and blow something up. You will need to be sure the extensions have those connectors.

[Spotty]

2 hours ago, vardonir said:

I know that switching modular PSU cables between different brands is bad, never do it, etc, but extensions are fine. I assume that the usual use case of extensions that you attach it at the end of the cable that came out of the box. My question is, can you do it the other way around?  

You kind of answered it in your first sentence. The reason you can use extension cables it on the component side is because the component connectors are all standardised. The connectors on the PSU side aren't standardised like the connectors on the component side are. The cables and how they connect on the PSU side are different and will vary depending on not only different brands, but also on different models. This means that unless you had extensions made specifically to go in to the PSU side of that unit, it wouldn't work - and could even set fire to your system if you plugged incompatible extension cables in. Even if, for whatever crazy reason, you did want to go to the effort of custom ordering/making extension cables for the PSU side, you'd just be better off ordering/making replacement cables that go the full length directly from the unit to the components rather than using extensions.
 

@jonnyGURU Isn't it a shame that the Corsair SF600 doesn't come with perfectly good cables out of the box and that you have to order extensions off AliExpress...

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Spotty said:

 

@jonnyGURU Isn't it a shame that the Corsair SF600 doesn't come with perfectly good cables out of the box and that you have to order extensions off AliExpress...

Are you being sarcastic?  The SF600 does come with cables.  They're just short because it's made for ITX/mATX systems.  Corsair can't help it if 20% of the customers are buying that PSU for ATX cases and the short cables don't reach.

 

Besides:  If you want DIFFERENT cables, like different colors, material, etc., there's the Corsair aftermarket cables and Cablemod and a plethora of small local cable makers that can provide a set.

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, jonnyGURU said:

Are you being sarcastic? 

Yes

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Yes

You forgot the "/s". 

 

[Quadriplegic]

17 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

Extension cables are nothing more than elongating the connection that exists between the PSU, it's cable, and the Component.  Order does not matter at all.

 

Go ahead and do your "what I want to do" example, it'll work fine.

 

Did you think before writing this comment?

[Stefan Payne]

17 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

Go ahead and do your "what I want to do" example, it'll work fine.

If that would be true, why are there WARNINGs on some power leads??

For example (GERMAN!)

https://www.elektro.net/64165/adapterstecker-mit-mehrfachsteckdosen-erlaubt-oder-verboten/

https://www.brennenstuhl.com/blog/de/how-not-to-steckdosenleisten-hintereinander-stecken/

 

I've thrown away the Warning of my lead sadly...

 

The US guys can possibly post their Warnings about that...

[Spotty]

18 hours ago, vardonir said:

Suppose we have a PSU, say, the Corsair SF600 (because that's the one I plan to buy)

@vardonir What case are you using? Are you using a mini-itx case or a ATX case?

[vardonir]

8 minutes ago, Spotty said:

@vardonir What case are you using? Are you using a mini-itx case or a ATX case?

Neither. That is a bit complicated to explain and I'd rather not to because it's irrelevant to the question.

 

The strangest thing is that I'm getting mixed answers for this one question...

[Quadriplegic]

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Hell no.

Regarding the cables... Where are you located?

[Spotty]

1 hour ago, vardonir said:

Neither. That is a bit complicated to explain and I'd rather not to because it's irrelevant to the question.

 

The strangest thing is that I'm getting mixed answers for this one question...

The connector on the PSU side isn't the same as on the component side. The pinout and keying could be completely different. The PCIe cables may look similar on either end (both 8 pins), but they're not the same! The socket on the PSU modular panel is not a PCIe type socket.
The only reason that those generic extension cables work on the component side is that the component side connectors (EPS12V, PCIe, SATA, Molex, 24pin motherboard) are all standardised. PSU side can be whatever the hell the manufacturer wants it to be.

It is possible to have an extension on the PSU side. What is stopping it is that the extension cables you buy aren't keyed/pinned correctly for the PSU side socket. You would need to make extension cables custom made for your PSU that will fit in to the PSU side and that are pinned out correctly that then go in to a female connector with the same socket and pin out that the PSU modular panel uses... But if you're at the point of making custom cables, why use extensions when you could just make the custom cables however long you want them to be and go directly to the component? 

I was asking what case you were using so I could work out what length cable you need and if there's an ATX or another SFX PSU that would have the correct cable length for what you need to reach the components, so that you don't need to use extensions at all. Another option is looking at buying replacement cables for the SF600 that are a different length. The ones that come with the SF600 in the box are a bit shorter than normal cables, due to being intended for Mini-ITX systems. You can also look at ordering custom made cables specifically designed for your PSU from sites like cablemod that allow you to customise the length of the cables. So if you're doing some boutique project like a desk PC and need a 75cm SATA power cable to reach where you're mounting your drives then you can do that.

[Dedayog]

4 hours ago, Spotty said:

The connector on the PSU side isn't the same as on the component side. The pinout and keying could be completely different. The PCIe cables may look similar on either end (both 8 pins), but they're not the same! The socket on the PSU modular panel is not a PCIe type socket.
The only reason that those generic extension cables work on the component side is that the component side connectors (EPS12V, PCIe, SATA, Molex, 24pin motherboard) are all standardised. PSU side can be whatever the hell the manufacturer wants it to be.

It is possible to have an extension on the PSU side. What is stopping it is that the extension cables you buy aren't keyed/pinned correctly for the PSU side socket. You would need to make extension cables custom made for your PSU that will fit in to the PSU side and that are pinned out correctly that then go in to a female connector with the same socket and pin out that the PSU modular panel uses... But if you're at the point of making custom cables, why use extensions when you could just make the custom cables however long you want them to be and go directly to the component? 

I was asking what case you were using so I could work out what length cable you need and if there's an ATX or another SFX PSU that would have the correct cable length for what you need to reach the components, so that you don't need to use extensions at all. Another option is looking at buying replacement cables for the SF600 that are a different length. The ones that come with the SF600 in the box are a bit shorter than normal cables, due to being intended for Mini-ITX systems. You can also look at ordering custom made cables specifically designed for your PSU from sites like cablemod that allow you to customise the length of the cables. So if you're doing some boutique project like a desk PC and need a 75cm SATA power cable to reach where you're mounting your drives then you can do that.

This,.  I was thinking of the wiring, not the keying.  On an 8pin, if the extension fits, it'll work fine as it's just elongating the run from the PSU to the PSU cable.  If it doesn't fit (keyed different), then obviously no.

 

I did not take into consideration that PSU's are keyed different for their cable sets possibly.  For that, I apologize.

[Corsair Nick]

On 2/18/2019 at 5:19 AM, vardonir said:

I know that switching modular PSU cables between different brands is bad, never do it, etc, but extensions are fine. I assume that the usual use case of extensions that you attach it at the end of the cable that came out of the box. My question is, can you do it the other way around? 

 

Suppose we have a PSU, say, the Corsair SF600 (because that's the one I plan to buy). It's modular, everything on the PSU itself is a bunch of female ports, and it comes with a bunch of male-to-male cables. Once you attach the PSU cables, you get a bunch of males that can connect to the components on the board/hard drive/GPU, etc. What if I attach a male-to-female cable on the PSU, and then attach the male-to-male cables that came with the PSU's packaging? Will that be as problematic as switching modular PSU cables between different brands? 

 

If that wasn't clear, here's a doodle:

 

Usual modular PSU scenario:

 

Usual modular PSU scenario with extension, I assume:

 

What I want to do:

The cables in question here are the 8pin PCIe cables and SATA.

 

I'm planning to get the extensions off AliExpress, btw. If there's a place to get better cables (ketchup and mustard cables are fine, nothing fancy) from a place that has international shipping, I'd love to hear about it.

We actually offer longer PCIe cables through our webstore that are compatible with the SF600.  Part number is

CP-8920143

These are the ones that come with our standard ATX form factor PSU's.  Much better solution than using an extension, and about the same price.