question about cpu / motherboard compatibility

[AyeItsAxi]

So i have an Antec BP550 Plus and it has a 20 pin atx power cable and then the additional 4 pins. It has a 4+4 pin cpu connector but doesnt fit with any cpu power connectors on motherboards. The additional 4 pins from the atx power go with 4 other pins from my cpu power. ill try to make an ms paint diagram to show what i mean. Excuse my terrible drawing, i hope this helps you understand what I mean.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

I don't know what you are trying to do, or what your question is.

[minibois]

19 minutes ago, AyeItsAxi said:

So i have an Antec BP550 Plus and it has a 20 pin atx power cable and then the additional 4 pins. It has a 4+4 pin cpu connector but doesnt fit with any cpu power connectors on motherboards. The additional 4 pins from the atx power go with 4 other pins from my cpu power. ill try to make an ms paint diagram to show what i mean. Excuse my terrible drawing, i hope this helps you understand what I mean.

The 4 pin of the 20+4 pin ATX connector does not go to the EPS 4+4 pin connector.

The 4+4 pin EPS cable of your PSU should fit into the 4+4 pin EPS connector on your motherboard. It only fits in one way.

The 20+4 pin ATX cable of your PSU should fit in the 20+4 pin ATX connector on your motherboard. This one also only fits in one way.

 

Do not try to plug the 4 pin part of the 20+4 pin cable into the EPS 4+4 pin connector.

 

What motherboard do you have?

[CWALD]

I think your diagram is a bit confusing. Are the cpu and motherboard connectors adjacent on your motherboard? maybe photos would help? I have included images of how a typical motherboard connects to the power supply. Make sure that you are not putting the plugs in backwards, there is a clip on the side of each of them.

 

 

[SupaKomputa]

what motherboard is it?

most consumer motherboard have the same 4+4 pin.

from the drawing i say it's the same.

[AyeItsAxi]

5 minutes ago, minibois said:

The 4 pin of the 20+4 pin ATX connector does not go to the EPS 4+4 pin connector.

The 4+4 pin EPS cable of your PSU should fit into the 4+4 pin EPS connector on your motherboard. It only fits in one way.

The 20+4 pin ATX cable of your PSU should fit in the 20+4 pin ATX connector on your motherboard. This one also only fits in one way.

 

Do not try to plug the 4 pin part of the 20+4 pin cable into the EPS 4+4 pin connector.

 

What motherboard do you have?

i dont have a motherboard to use it with, im just looking around for one and there isnt a single on that has the 4+4 pin cpu power i do. so ill do my cpu power like this. T=Triangle S= Square. so the first 4 are T S  (top row)  S T (Bottom row) and the other 4 are T T (top row) and T T (bottom row)

[AyeItsAxi]

7 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

what motherboard is it?

most consumer motherboard have the same 4+4 pin.

from the drawing i say it's the same.

the motherboard isnt the issue, its my psu. my true 4+4 pin cpu connector is weird, it has Triangle Square Triangle triangle (top row) and Square Triangle Triangle Triangle. But whats odd is that the +4 for my ATX power is compatible with the +4 cpu connecter on the motherboard as to where the true +4 cpu power i just full triangles, and its very hard to find a compatible motherboard.

[minibois]

1 minute ago, AyeItsAxi said:

i dont have a motherboard to use it with

Please define 'it' in this sentence. I am not understanding what you are saying here.

1 minute ago, AyeItsAxi said:

i dont have a motherboard to use it with, im just looking around for one and there isnt a single on that has the 4+4 pin cpu power i do. so ill do my cpu power like this. T=Triangle S= Square. so the first 4 are T S  (top row)  S T (Bottom row) and the other 4 are T T (top row) and T T (bottom row)

It's just very simple. 4+4 pin EPS connectors require 4+4 pin EPS cable and 20+4 pin ATX connectors require a 20+4 pin ATX cable.

If you have a standard motherboard and you have a standard PSU (which you have), you use them together and don't 'mix' the 4 pin from the ATX plug with the EPS plug of your motherboard.

[CWALD]

Just now, AyeItsAxi said:

i dont have a motherboard to use it with, im just looking around for one and there isnt a single on that has the 4+4 pin cpu power i do. so ill do my cpu power like this. T=Triangle S= Square. so the first 4 are T S  (top row)  S T (Bottom row) and the other 4 are T T (top row) and T T (bottom row)

your power supply has standard plugs. 99% of motherboards made in the last decade will work with it. You can probably take your PSU to a used electronics store or recycler and have an employee show you.

[AyeItsAxi]

11 minutes ago, CWALD said:

I think your diagram is a bit confusing. Are the cpu and motherboard connectors adjacent on your motherboard? maybe photos would help? I have included images of how a typical motherboard connects to the power supply. Make sure that you are not putting the plugs in backwards, there is a clip on the side of each of them.

 

 

The plugs are't backwards, one of my +4 connectors is just straight up triangles, no squares at all.

[minibois]

Just now, AyeItsAxi said:

the motherboard isnt the issue, its my psu. my true 4+4 pin cpu connector is weird, it has Triangle Square Triangle triangle (top row) and Square Triangle Triangle Triangle. But whats odd is that the +4 for my ATX power is compatible with the +4 cpu connecter on the motherboard as to where the true +4 cpu power i just full triangles, and its very hard to find a compatible motherboard.

So your are saying, the left half of your 4+4 pin EPS does not mirror the right half?

That's something that most standard PSU's will have nowadays.

 

I forgot the reason for it, but by default, the left and right half of he 4+4 pin EPS do not mirror each other on the cable side, while they do mirror each other on the motherboard side.

[mariushm]

The 4 pin connector in the 20+4 pair, contains wires that give the motherboard 3.3v , 5v and 12v. 

The 4 pin connector that goes to cpu contains 2 pairs of wires that give 12v to the circuit which powers the processor. 

 

If you somehow plug that 4 pin from 20+4 into the CPU connector, you're going to cause a short circuit between 3.3v, 5v and 12v wires in the 4 pin connector.

If you're lucky the power supply will detect the short circuit and shut down to protect itself.  Most likely you're gonna have some insulation melted off the cable going into the 4 pin connector, because the power supply won't shut down fast enough and the wires will overheat. 

If you're unluckly, components inside the power supply will be damaged, because 12v from power supply will go the wrong way INTO the power supply in the 3.3v and 5v circuits and damage them. 

 

DO NOT DO THIS. The connectors are not compatible and have different purpose, they can't be mixed.

 

[SupaKomputa]

usually ATX power have the +4 bundled and clipable with the main one.

 

[AyeItsAxi]

1 minute ago, mariushm said:

The 4 pin connector in the 20+4 pair, contains wires that give the motherboard 3.3v , 5v and 12v. 

The 4 pin connector that goes to cpu contains 2 pairs of wires that give 12v to the circuit which powers the processor. 

 

If you somehow plug that 4 pin from 20+4 into the CPU connector, you're going to cause a short circuit between 3.3v, 5v and 12v wires in the 4 pin connector.

If you're lucky the power supply will detect the short circuit and shut down to protect itself.  Most likely you're gonna have some insulation melted off the cable going into the 4 pin connector, because the power supply won't shut down fast enough and the wires will overheat. 

If you're unluckly, components inside the power supply will be damaged, because 12v from power supply will go the wrong way INTO the power supply in the 3.3v and 5v circuits and damage them. 

 

DO NOT DO THIS. The connectors are not compatible and have different purpose, they can't be mixed.

 

Ok, thank you.

[AyeItsAxi]

2 minutes ago, minibois said:

So your are saying, the left half of your 4+4 pin EPS does not mirror the right half?

That's something that most standard PSU's will have nowadays.

 

I forgot the reason for it, but by default, the left and right half of he 4+4 pin EPS do not mirror each other on the cable side, while they do mirror each other on the motherboard side.

Yeah, its just nothing but 4 triangles, not a single square.

[AyeItsAxi]

I would link a picture, but my phone is dead, i dont have a charger, and my webcam just sucks.

[AyeItsAxi]

2 minutes ago, SupaKomputa said:

usually ATX power have the +4 bundled and clipable with the main one.

 

They are bundled, but the other +4 just doesnt fit any motherboard i can find.

[CWALD]

1 minute ago, AyeItsAxi said:

They are bundled, but the other +4 just doesnt fit any motherboard i can find.

can you send an example of a motherboard you are looking at?

 

[minibois]

1 minute ago, AyeItsAxi said:

Yeah, its just nothing but 4 triangles, not a single square.

This:

Will work with any standard motherboard's EPS connector.

Yes, it is a different form than the connector on the motherboard side, but it will work with any standard motherboard.

Again, I forgot why they have these shapes, rather than what the default EPS 4+4 pin standard provides:

 

But again, your PSU's 4+4 pin EPS will work with a standard motherboard. Do not use the 4 pin of the 20+4 pin cable from your PSU.

[AyeItsAxi]

3 minutes ago, CWALD said:

can you send an example of a motherboard you are looking at?

 

Heres one of the motherboards that has the same type of connectors

[AyeItsAxi]

2 minutes ago, minibois said:

This:

Will work with any standard motherboard's EPS connector.

Yes, it is a different form than the connector on the motherboard side, but it will work with any standard motherboard.

Again, I forgot why they have these shapes, rather than what the default EPS 4+4 pin standard provides:

 

But again, your PSU's 4+4 pin EPS will work with a standard motherboard. Do not use the 4 pin of the 20+4 pin cable from your PSU.

So your saying that even though they are different shapes, they all do the same things?

[CWALD]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

This:

Will work with any standard motherboard's EPS connector.

Yes, it is a different form than the connector on the motherboard side, but it will work with any standard motherboard.

Again, I forgot why they have these shapes, rather than what the default EPS 4+4 pin standard provides:

 

But again, your PSU's 4+4 pin EPS will work with a standard motherboard. Do not use the 4 pin of the 20+4 pin cable from your PSU.

 

9 minutes ago, minibois said:

So your are saying, the left half of your 4+4 pin EPS does not mirror the right half?

That's something that most standard PSU's will have nowadays.

 

I forgot the reason for it, but by default, the left and right half of he 4+4 pin EPS do not mirror each other on the cable side, while they do mirror each other on the motherboard side.

I think @minibois answered your question here. a D plug (triangle) will fit in a square

[AyeItsAxi]

Just now, CWALD said:

 

I think @minibois answered your question here. a D plug (triangle) will fit in a square

Ok, thank you guys so much, you are the best!

[minibois]

3 minutes ago, AyeItsAxi said:

So your saying that even though they are different shapes, they all do the same things?

Yes.

at least when talking about the context of the 4+4 pin EPS cable being different than the 4+4 pin connector on your board.

The picture of the cable I pictured above is from Corsair, it's they 4+4 pin EPS cable they ship with some of their PSU's. That is the default cable pattern used.

 

The idea is: the square plug can't go into the weird shaped hole, while the weird shape can plug into the square hole.

[mariushm]

Those are called KEYS, it's a KEYED connector, to stop you from plugging it into a wrong header. 

 

The D ones can go into a square pin, because the square has bigger area. 

 

If you're not overclocking, or if you have a lower end processor (quad or six core, even some eight cores), the 4 pin connector is enough to power the processor. That connector is good for up to around 200 watts of power.  For comparison, a Ryzen 3600 consumes up to 100-120 watts, and a 3700x-3800x will maybe get to 120-140 watts. 

 

It's perfectly fine to use 4 pin up to around 125 watts, for a processor that consumes more it's recommended to add the second 4 pin connector, which raises the maximum power to more than 300 watts.