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Graphics card power adapters

David_1276
By David_1276
in Graphics Cards
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So I came across this listing on Aliexpress claiming that it could convert a single sata power connector to an 8 pin power connector, now I don't think that this'll work, but it got me thinking: how much power in terms of Watts can a SATA power connector push out? I have been told it's about 25 Watts but I don't think that's correct, also how much can a Molex connector push out as well? I've heard those can give much more power, but how much? As I need to run a HD 7870 for a short while on a 850w PSU with no 6/ 8 pin pcie power connectors so I want to know if its "Healthy" TDP can be handled using 3 surplus molex connectors and/ or a SATA power cable. I know since this PSU has no PCIE power it's obviously not meant to run with such a fat GPU, but with all that untapped power I have to give it a try.

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According to Wikipedia, the SATA power connector, each of the voltage pins, which there are three, should provide at least 1.5A. So in total for 12V power that's 54W, which isn't even enough to cover a 6-pin PCIe power cable.

 

If you use 4-pin molex, depending on the diameter of the pin, it can carry about 60-100W

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Reading the entire post, the "850w PSU with no 6/ 8 pin pcie power connectors" is probably the most worrying part :P

I doubt it will actually be able to push out 850W if it doesn't even have power connectors for the more power hungry parts of a PC; the GPU.

 

I truly cannot recommend things like those adapters.

"We're all in this together, might as well be friends" Tom, Toonami.

 

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10 minutes ago, David_1276 said:

So I came across this listing on Aliexpress claiming that it could convert a single sata power connector to an 8 pin power connector

Maybe the adapter can do that, but the cable and/or SATA connector of the PSU wont.

 

11 minutes ago, David_1276 said:

a 850w PSU with no 6/ 8 pin pcie power connectors so I want to know if its "Healthy" TDP

In that case the "healthy" TDP of such PSU is way below 850w. More like 300w if even that... Something like prebuilt machines not meant for any PCIe expansion cards.

CPU: i7-2600K 4751MHz 1.44V (software) --> 1.47V at the back of the socket Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme4 (BCLK: 103.3MHz) CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 RAM: Adata XPG 2x8GB DDR3 (XMP: 2133MHz 10-11-11-30 CR2, custom: 2203MHz 10-11-10-26 CR1 tRFC:230 tREFI:14000) GPU: Asus GTX 1070 Dual (Super Jetstream vbios, +70(2025-2088MHz)/+400(8.8Gbps)) SSD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB (main boot drive), Transcend SSD370 128GB PSU: Seasonic X-660 80+ Gold Case: Antec P110 Silent, 5 intakes 1 exhaust Monitor: AOC G2460PF 1080p 144Hz (150Hz max w/ DP, 121Hz max w/ HDMI) TN panel Keyboard: Logitech G610 Orion (Cherry MX Blue) with SteelSeries Apex M260 keycaps Mouse: BenQ Zowie FK1

 

Model: HP Omen 17 17-an110ca CPU: i7-8750H (0.125V core & cache, 50mV SA undervolt) GPU: GTX 1060 6GB Mobile (+80/+450, 1650MHz~1750MHz 0.78V~0.85V) RAM: 8+8GB DDR4-2400 18-17-17-39 2T Storage: HP EX920 1TB PCIe x4 M.2 SSD + Crucial MX500 1TB 2.5" SATA SSD, 128GB Toshiba PCIe x2 M.2 SSD (KBG30ZMV128G) gone cooking externally, 1TB Seagate 7200RPM 2.5" HDD (ST1000LM049-2GH172) left outside Monitor: 1080p 126Hz IPS G-sync

 

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59 minutes ago, Minibois said:

Reading the entire post, the "850w PSU with no 6/ 8 pin pcie power connectors" is probably the most worrying part :P

I doubt it will actually be able to push out 850W if it doesn't even have power connectors for the more power hungry parts of a PC; the GPU.

 

I truly cannot recommend things like those adapters.

I know it's just for a friend until I can get him a 80+ bronze or something like that that .can push out ~500w :P

Quote

"Good things might come to those who wait, but not to those who wait too late" Bill Withers, 1981

 

My PC:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700x Motherboard: MSI X470 Gaming M7 AC  RAM: 16GB TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB (2×8GB 3200MHz) GPU:AMD Radeon RX VEGA 64 MSI Air Boost OC Case: Lian Li Lancool 2 (With all accessories) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 510 512GB NVME M.2 SSD, 2× 5400RPM Seagate NAS 2TB HDDs PSU: GameMax RGB-850 850W Modular RGB 80+ Gold Display: Viotek GN32DB 32″ Curved Monitor – 144Hz 1440p WQHD VA with FreeSync Cooling: AMD Wraith Prism RGB Keyboard: Anne Pro 2 60% NKRO Bluetooth 4.0 Type-C RGB 61 Keys Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, Gateron Brown Switches Mouse: Logitech G402 Hyperion Fury Wired Gaming Mouse Sound: RAZER Kraken Gaming Headset Operating System: Windows 10 Pro Laptop: Clevo P641RE Gaming Laptop (14.1", i7-6700HQ, GTX 970M, 500GB NVME M.2, 16GB DDR4) Phone: Samsung Galaxy S9 128GB Coral Blue Earphones: Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2

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1 minute ago, Sat1600 said:

Please don't do this

As long as they're not trying to push the PSU or they're in an area where mains is incredibly dirty, I really don't see a problem with this as a stopgap.

I have a blog! And a list of guides I've posted

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2 minutes ago, Mira Yurizaki said:

As long as they're not trying to push the PSU or they're in an area where mains is dirty, I really don't see a problem with this as a stopgap.

A 7870 can pull 300 watts at full load. That's 75w from the pcie slot and 225 watts from the power connector. You want to do that from ghetto rigged connectors? I would be ok with a gtx 950 just to pull a little extra power, but a 7870?

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Just now, Sat1600 said:

A 7870 can pull 300 watts at full load. That's 75w from the pcie slot and 225 watts from the power connector. You want to do that from ghetto rigged connectors? I would be ok with a gtx 950 just to pull a little extra power, but a 7870?

If it were my system, I knew the limitations of the power delivery connectors are expected to have, and how many I have per cable from the PSU, I can make an educated guess and be fine with it. If you don't want to, that's fine.

I have a blog! And a list of guides I've posted

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Please stop advising people ‘it’ll be fine’ without actually knowing what the risks are.

 

pit too much current down too thin a wire and you will generate a lot of heat. Heat can turn to fire. 

 

Fire isnt fun

 

The reason the PCIe connector can take more power is it has many more pins, so the current is more spread out. 

 

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