CPU power connectors

[Trixie Lulamoon]

I'm putting together a new build. The power supply I have came with two CPU wires that both have two four-pin connectors. I also have an extra PCI-E wire with an 8-pin.

 

The motherboard, for the CPU power, has both an 8-pin connector and a 4-pin connector. 

 

My question is, should I use both of the CPU wires to power it or one PCI-E wire and one CPU wire? The manual also implies I might only need to connect the one 8-pin female connector, but is that optimal or will it leave my CPU with less power then it needs?

 

Intel 12th gen i5, 850w PSU, and Asus Prime Z690-P D4

[RONOTHAN##]

15 minutes ago, Trixie Lulamoon said:

should I use both of the CPU wires

Yes, do this. Using PCIe connectors in the CPU 8 pin will fry something (it's one of the biggest complaints about the ATX standard, especially since you can force the PCIe cable in there).

 

17 minutes ago, Trixie Lulamoon said:

The manual also implies I might only need to connect the one 8-pin female connector, but is that optimal or will it leave my CPU with less power then it needs?

If you have them both, you might as well, but it's not necessary. The 8 pin CPU power connector can easily handle ~400w, and pretty much anything above 300w on the LGA 1700 socket will be basically uncoolable without going ambient. If you're taking the system on LN2, you need them both, but you aren't going to take a board like that on LN2. If you have a hard time reaching the 4 pin in your case (smaller cases can be tricky) I wouldn't bother plugging it in.

[Trixie Lulamoon]

20 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Yes, do this. Using PCIe connectors in the CPU 8 pin will fry something (it's one of the biggest complaints about the ATX standard, especially since you can force the PCIe cable in there).

 

If you have them both, you might as well, but it's not necessary. The 8 pin CPU power connector can easily handle ~400w, and pretty much anything above 300w on the LGA 1700 socket will be basically uncoolable without going ambient. If you're taking the system on LN2, you need them both, but you aren't going to take a board like that on LN2. If you have a hard time reaching the 4 pin in your case (smaller cases can be tricky) I wouldn't bother plugging it in.

Thank you very much. Very informative.