PSA: Do not mix PSU cables

[Gnator]

Hi all,

 

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but I feel like it isn't mentioned enough but don't mix PSU cables. As a casual PC builder, I will admit I don't usually read manuals when I build PCs however  after shorting multiple hdds and ssds and not knowing what went wrong. Today I discovered, after shorting my SSD, that EVGA PSU sometimes (depending on the PSU because EVGA doesn't make their own) wires their SATA power differently and it is routed in a way that if you used a cable from another PSU it would short everything powered by that cable. This shorted my LEDs + SSD, thanks EVGA. So here I am with tons of lost data which I would have loved to have kept but it is far too costly to recover and dead LEDs hoping you won't make the same mistake as me.

 

Thanks

[da na]

Yup, even PSU cables from the same manufacturer can sometimes have different wiring. 

[jaslion]

13 minutes ago, Gnator said:

 I don't usually read manuals when I build PCs however

People keep saying I should stop wasting my time reading manuals and sure most of the time it never comes in handy. But those once in a blue moon moments feel amazing when you know exactly what to do :p.

 

I hope you learn from this that reading the warning in a manual can save you a ton of time and things.

[Gnator]

7 minutes ago, jaslion said:

People keep saying I should stop wasting my time reading manuals and sure most of the time it never comes in handy. But those once in a blue moon moments feel amazing when you know exactly what to do :p.

 

I hope you learn from this that reading the warning in a manual can save you a ton of time and things.

As much as I think there is value in reading the manual I think it's BS companies are allowing this kinda of incompatibility, where you can destroy your components. It's a terrible design. Can you imagine if your power outlet plays Russian roulette on which one is the power VS ground? The same interface should be backward compatible.

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, Gnator said:

As much as I think there is value in reading the manual I think it's BS companies are allowing this kinda of incompatibility, where you can destroy your components. It's a terrible design. Can you imagine if your power outlet plays Russian roulette on which one is the power VS ground? The same interface should be backward compatible.

I mean it's the same situation as lets say you need an adapter for some old desktop speakers. You notice it's a barrel plug and you end up finding a random adapter that fits the plug. Then pop the speakers break and you see the adapter is 12v but the speakers wanted a 9v. Can also be the less harmful way around and nothing happens because the speakers wanted 12v but you gave them a 9V adapter.

 

This is totally normal in the electrical world and making everything inter compatible is just not always doable or done on purpose so you don't end up using wrong cables/cables that can't handle the load. Evga has a fair few series that have a lot of inter compatible cables with their own series.

 

Also patents, copyrights,... prevent this and all that legal stuff.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Gnator said:

This shorted my LEDs + SSD, thanks EVGA.

Nah... Not EVGA's fault.  Your fault.  

 

1 hour ago, Gnator said:

I think it's BS companies are allowing this kinda of incompatibility, where you can destroy your components. It's a terrible design. 

The reason some of the older modular PSUs, Corsair, Seasonic, Thermaltake, Antec, have different pinouts are because they came out at the same time and there was no "consortium" to dictate what pinout should be the correct one.  And to change later would cause MORE problems than not changing at all because you would end up with cables from the same brand PSU working on some models and not others.

 

Companies that are newer to the PSU market, like EVGA for example, really have no excuse. They should have adopted an existing pinout.  But maybe they didn't due to PCB layout (grouping similar voltages together on the PCB so there are fewer traces and the PCB can have fewer layers).

 

But some newcomers to the PSU market are adopting existing cable pinouts.  For example, many companies that use Seasonic also use Seasonic's pinout.  And XPG, BitFenix and some of the newer Thermaltakes are using Corsair's Type 4 because they're using CWT as an OEM/ODM and the PCBs already exist.

[Gnator]

3 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

Nah... Not EVGA's fault.  Your fault. 

Obviously I am pissed and yes its my fault but seems like pretty dangerous but I guess manufacturers could care less. Tbh no one who casually build a pc should need to know the history of psu or read the manual to know doing X will break your components. No YouTube video on building PC ever mention this nor tell you to check the manual, no warning, just mention of static. /rant

Sorry just annoyed.

[Guest]

23 minutes ago, Gnator said:

Obviously I am pissed and yes its my fault but seems like pretty dangerous but I guess manufacturers could care less. Tbh no one who casually build a pc should need to know the history of psu or read the manual to know doing X will break your components. No YouTube video on building PC ever mention this nor tell you to check the manual, no warning, just mention of static. /rant

Yeah. Someone who is building their own PC should know better.  Sorry.  On you.

 

[LogicalDrm]

1 hour ago, Gnator said:

read the manual to know doing X will break your components. No YouTube video on building PC ever mention this nor tell you to check the manual, no warning, just mention of static

This is false. At least, if you watch any other build guides than LTT. Reading manual is step 0 on anything where you are dealing with hardware new to you. Even in professional environment.

 

Also, give me a build guide which would use ANY other cables than what come with that PSU or are specifically made for that model.

[maremp]

14 hours ago, Gnator said:

Tbh no one who casually build a pc should need to know the history of psu or read the manual to know doing X will break your components. No YouTube video on building PC ever mention this nor tell you to check the manual, no warning, just mention of static. /rant

I was just shopping for PSUs and multiple reviews mentioned not to use cables from other PSUs, even if same manufacturer, and if using custom cables, make sure it's approved by the manufacturer.

 

I agree that this could be handled better, e.g. if they create a different pinout, also change the plug so it does not fit. It's straightforward for the manufacturer, but it's cheaper to keep existing system that works. And the latter keeps the cost down, which is also beneficial for the customer.

 

But blaming the manufacturer or LTT or any other reviewer will not get you back the money. Take it as an expensive lesson in computer building.

[Sleepycat3]

I'm pretty sure the PSU manual says to use the cables supplied with the PSU and not to mix them. My Seasonic does mention it on page 4 in the warnings page, at least.

 

Edit: EVGA PSUs also say the same thing on page 2 of the manual under safety information and the text is highlighted in red.