6 Pin into 8 Pin GPU

[MrRolieJay]

Hey guys. I just wanted to know if you can use a 6 Pin connector on an 8 pin RX580. If you can, what should I be weary about?

[Haro]

No you can not 

You need a full 8pin to power the card 

[MrRolieJay]

3 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

No you can not 

You need a full 8pin to power the card 

Can I use a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter?

[Haro]

Just now, MrRolieJay said:

Can I use a 6 pin to 8 pin adapter?

Not advised

[HenrySalayne]

It might work but it is not recommended. The 6 pin connector is only specified for 75 Watt while the 8 pin can supply 150 Watt.

[Haro]

2 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

while the 8 pin can supply 150 Watt.

Edit nvm I mixed it up with another thing 

Edited June 10, 2020 by TofuHaroto

[MrRolieJay]

7 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Not advised

The thing is. i still don't have enough money to buy a new psu with an 8 pin

[Haro]

Just now, MrRolieJay said:

The thing is. i still don't have enough money to buy a new psu with an 8 pin

Why did you get a gpu that can't even be Powered by your PSU ?

 

[MrRolieJay]

2 minutes ago, TofuHaroto said:

Why did you get a gpu that can't even be Powered by your PSU ?

 

This was given to me by my cousin. I didn't know what kind of gpu he was giving me soo here I am now

[3rrant]

14 minutes ago, MrRolieJay said:

The thing is. i still don't have enough money to buy a new psu with an 8 pin

6 pin supports 75W, while 8 pin supports 150W. PCI-E will provide another 75W of power.

 

If you push your card for a long period at 225W and you have a 6-pin cable, you're effectively running a lot more current than it's supposed to on the cable and this will increase heat > risk of breaking. This will not happen immediately, it's more of a "over time" problem. If it does break or melt, it can be dangerous or it can break other things.

 

You could forcefully downclock your GPU temporarily and adjust it's power limit/voltages. This will reduce the power requested by the GPU but of course also the performance. Less power => less current => less heat => less risk of damage.

 

Edit: if you have 2 6-pin spare connectors, you can get a 2x6 to 8-pin adapter.

[schwellmo92]

You can use a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter just fine. The 75w limit is just a standard, they both have the same amount of 12v pins therefore will both carry the same amount of power. The limit however might beat your PSU, if it has multiple rails it may not be able to push 150w to that 6-pin connection on the PSU. I just wouldn't push your luck by doing any overclocking or power limit raising.

[3rrant]

5 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

You can use a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter just fine. The 75w limit is just a standard, they both have the same amount of 12v pins therefore will both carry the same amount of power. The limit however might beat your PSU, if it has multiple rails it may not be able to push 150w to that 6-pin connection on the PSU. I just wouldn't push your luck by doing any overclocking or power limit raising.

There's often a wire gauge difference between 6 to 8 pin connectors. 75W and 150W have different current since they have same voltage, which equals different heat produced. A 22AWG and a 18AWG wire have different ratings for durability at a given current. Exceeding it for prolonged time can be dangerous.

[5x5]

17 minutes ago, MrRolieJay said:

This was given to me by my cousin. I didn't know what kind of gpu he was giving me soo here I am now

If your goal is to start a fire - use the adapter.

If your goal is a working computer - don't use adapters.

[5x5]

6 minutes ago, schwellmo92 said:

You can use a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter just fine. The 75w limit is just a standard, they both have the same amount of 12v pins therefore will both carry the same amount of power.

This is categorically false. The wiring is VERY different and 8-pin connectors can sustain over double the power and current of a 6-pin. Please don't spread wrong information as it can lead to a house fire.

[schwellmo92]

10 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

This is categorically false. The wiring is VERY different and 8-pin connectors can sustain over double the power and current of a 6-pin. Please don't spread wrong information as it can lead to a house fire.

You are flat out wrong dude. The only difference is the two new pins are grounds. Something to keep in mind is that the RX580 stock is rated for 185w so in theory it should only draw 110w from the cable and the other 75w from the PCI-E slot.

 

If OP is really concerned about the misinformation you guys are spreading he has a few options:

- if you have 2x molex spare on the PSU you can use 2x molex to 8 pin

- you can plug your 6 pin in to the 8 pin on your graphics card (it'll only go one way) and your card should automatically run at a lower power envelope

 

Anyways I'll add some proof to backup my claim that a 6-pin to 8-pin is fine below, the only exception would be is if your 6-pin cable use very thin wiring which is not common except for on extremely low tier and old PSU's.

 

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#pciexpress8

"The PCI Express 2.0 specification released in January 2007 added an 8 pin PCI Express power cable. It's just an 8 pin version of the 6 Pin PCI Express power cable. Both are primarily used to provide supplemental power to video cards. The older 6 pin version officially provides a maximum of 75 watts (although unofficially it can usually provide much more) whereas the new 8 pin version provides a maximum of 150 watts."

 

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html#pciexpress

"Nonetheless, information leaks out from the specification and the 6 pin PCI Express power cable is actually rated at an extremely conservative 75 watts. I have no idea why the wattage is rated so low because the specifications from Molex clearly allow substantially more power."

 

"Nonetheless, the 6 pin PCI Express power cable officially provides only 75 watts. In all likelihood, however, real implementations of this power cable can provide far more than 75 watts."

 

https://graphicscardhub.com/graphics-card-pcie-power-connectors/

"If your graphics card requires an 8-pin connector but your power supply has only a 6-pin connector then you can use this 6-pin to 8-pin connector or adapter cable for powering your high-end graphics card."

 

https://www.gpuminingresources.com/p/psu-cables.html

^ these guys have a 2x circuit 6 pin at 216w max and 3x circuit 6 pin at 288w.

[HenrySalayne]

1 hour ago, schwellmo92 said:

Anyways I'll add some proof to backup my claim that a 6-pin to 8-pin is fine below, the only exception would be is if your 6-pin cable use very thin wiring

You are not wrong, but it's not the wiring gauge. Limiting factor is the PSUs 12V supply rail.
And @MrRolieJay should take a look at his PSU's datasheet to make sure there is enough.

[schwellmo92]

12 minutes ago, HenrySalayne said:

You are not wrong, but it's not the wiring gauge. Limiting factor is the PSUs 12V supply rail.
And @MrRolieJay should take a look at his PSU's datasheet to make sure there is enough.

Which I also mentioned in the post prior.