Are 1x Sata to 8 pin PCIe adapters safe?

[FishStar]

I have an HP Z230 and I'm trying to get a GTX 760 to work with it, I don't have an 8 pin PCIe cable on the PSU however. This is my first time really touching PCs at all so I'm curious about the various adaptors I've seen online and I already bought one that wasn't quite right for my GPU (Molex to 6 pin instead of 8). So I'm now looking at it and am thinking maybe a Sata to 8 pin is a good alternative, but I can't find any conclusive info on whether it's safe while I save for a new PSU.

[Crunchy Dragon]

it'll probably run as long as SATA provides enough power for the GPU, but I personally wouldn't trust it with anything crucial.

 

Make sure whatever PSU you buy in the future will work in your PC. Companies like HP and Dell are pretty notorious for having weird proprietary things that make their systems difficult to upgrade.

[FishStar]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

it'll probably run as long as SATA provides enough power for the GPU, but I personally wouldn't trust it with anything crucial.

 

Make sure whatever PSU you buy in the future will work in your PC. Companies like HP and Dell are pretty notorious for having weird proprietary things that make their systems difficult to upgrade.

Would it be likely to kill anything if it doesn't provide enough power properly or will it just shush itself to sleep? lol

 

Also yeah, the PC I have has an 18 pin motherboard slot as opposed to something actually normal! I'll be looking out for a decent PSU that works with that when I have some money together for it.

[Blue4130]

Just now, FishStar said:

Would it be likely to kill anything if it doesn't provide enough power properly or will it just shush itself to sleep? lol

 

Also yeah, the PC I have has an 18 pin motherboard slot as opposed to something actually normal! I'll be looking out for a decent PSU that works with that when I have some money together for it.

It will potentially melt the cable and that could cause stuff to short. SATA is rated for much less power than an 8 pin.

[FishStar]

5 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

It will potentially melt the cable and that could cause stuff to short. SATA is rated for much less power than an 8 pin.

Do you know if undervolting would be a good way to negate some of the risk?

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, FishStar said:

Do you know if undervolting would be a good way to negate some of the risk?

In my opinion, I would not even risk it. SATA is rated much lower than PCIe 8-pin. 54 watts vs 150. I would not risk it.

[FishStar]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

In my opinion, I would not even risk it. SATA is rated much lower than PCIe 8-pin. 54 watts vs 150. I would not risk it.

Is using a 2 Sata to a single 8 pin a better idea? I have enough free Sata cables in my PC.

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, FishStar said:

Is using a 2 Sata to a single 8 pin a better idea? I have enough free Sata cables in my PC.

I would switch over to an adapter with two molex connectors, as long as the wire gage is sufficient. 

[FishStar]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

I would switch over to an adapter with two molex connectors, as long as the wire gage is sufficient. 

Sadly I only have one Molex cable free, just a side-note, do you know if there is such a thing as an adapter for the last two pins as I have a single Molex to 6 pin to hand? (I have no clue if this is how it works)

[Godlygamer23]

8 minutes ago, FishStar said:

Sadly I only have one Molex cable free, just a side-note, do you know if there is such a thing as an adapter for the last two pins as I have a single Molex to 6 pin to hand? (I have no clue if this is how it works)

You can get a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter. The extra two pins are for ground. 

[FishStar]

3 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

You can get a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter. The extra two pins are for ground. 

Just to be totally sure, are two adapters linked up like that safer than a double Sata to 8 pin PCIe?

[Godlygamer23]

7 minutes ago, FishStar said:

Just to be totally sure, are two adapters linked up like that safer than a double Sata to 8 pin PCIe?

I'm assuming your molex adapter is just a single molex connector to 6-pin. Am I correct?

[FishStar]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

I'm assuming your molex adapter is just a single molex connector to 6-pin. Am I correct?

Yep, that's right!

[Godlygamer23]

1 minute ago, FishStar said:

Yep, that's right!

You can try it, but I would hold back on voltage and clock speeds. Using a single molex to 6-pin to 8-pin adapter is going to allow the card to draw 150W, which exceeds what molex is technically capable of. 

 

What GTX 760 did you get?

[FishStar]

2 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

You can try it, but I would hold back on voltage and clock speeds. Using a single molex to 6-pin to 8-pin adapter is going to allow the card to draw 150W, which exceeds what molex is technically capable of. 

 

What GTX 760 did you get?

ASUS DirectCU II OC 

[Blue4130]

1 minute ago, Godlygamer23 said:

You can try it, but I would hold back on voltage and clock speeds. Using a single molex to 6-pin to 8-pin adapter is going to allow the card to draw 150W, which exceeds what molex is technically capable of. 

 

What GTX 760 did you get?

The card is a 170w total card from what I can see, it should be able to get 75w of that from the pcie slot, but it is still a risk using an adapter. Not something that I would be comfortable doing.

[Godlygamer23]

2 minutes ago, Blue4130 said:

The card is a 170w total card from what I can see, it should be able to get 75w of that from the pcie slot, but it is still a risk using an adapter. Not something that I would be comfortable doing.

It is a risk, but if the voltage is reduced, it might be okay. Certainly not ideal though. Not something I would do either - the risk might best be left alone. I'm also not sure if it's pulling 75W through the slot, or if most of it is through the PCIe 8-pin.

[Godlygamer23]

11 minutes ago, Caroline said:

This is not. Real world power draw of the card exceeds what the connectors can handle, EVEN if the wires are fine there's a good chance the connectors will short, the odds for SATA are all against it so I wouldn't even consider it for something like this. Each pin of a legitimate MOLEX type connector allows 5 amps to go through it, doesn't matters what voltage, it's 5 amps, that's it, run more through them and things will get... hot. This is a real MOLEX, the adapters are counterfeit so the quality of materials is below subpar.

What we define as "molex" is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molex_connector#/media/File:Molex_female_connector.jpg

Which can handle 11 amps per pin, and since we're using 12V, that would be 132W, again assuming proper wire gage. If you're buying a cheap adapter, yes you're going to have issues. This goes for literally anything, even a "proper" cable. However, the limit is 11 amps per pin. The main concern, especially on the cheap adapters, is arcing. 

 

Regardless, yes it's a terrible idea to use these adapters, and you're better off buying a better power supply, and in this case, would require a new system.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Godlygamer23

[FishStar]

15 minutes ago, Godlygamer23 said:

What we define as "molex" is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molex_connector#/media/File:Molex_female_connector.jpg

Which can handle 11 amps per pin, and since we're using 12V, that would be 132W, again assuming proper wire gage. If you're buying a cheap adapter, yes you're going to have issues. This goes for literally anything, even a "proper" cable. However, the limit is 11 amps per pin. The main concern, especially on the cheap adapters, is arcing. 

 

Regardless, yes it's a terrible idea to use these adapters, and you're better off buying a better power supply, and in this case, would require a new system.

In that case, any idea if the countless adapters available for the motherboard are a good idea if I get a new PSU lol

[FishStar]

I've sat on it for a while and I think I want to get a new PSU and an adapter for my motherboard (thanks HP...) any idea how to find a fairly cheap PSU that isn't a stupid plan in an inconspicuous shell?

[--SID--]

5 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

Which can handle 11 amps per pin, and since we're using 12V, that would be 132W,

This really depends on the wire. Most molex connectors are wired with 20AWG which can handle 5A/60w @12v. 18AWG is rated for 7A/84w.

[Godlygamer23]

1 hour ago, --SID-- said:

This really depends on the wire. Most molex connectors are wired with 20AWG which can handle 5A/60w @12v. 18AWG is rated for 7A/84w.

Quote

again assuming proper wire gage.

It was already acknowledged. However, it was in a generic way, without mentioning specifics. 

 

@FishStar

What is the gage of the wire on the power supply's molex connector? Should be marked on the wires in multiple locations. I'm assuming they're ketchup and mustard wires. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Godlygamer23

[Applefreak]

9 hours ago, FishStar said:

I have an HP Z230 and I'm trying to get a GTX 760 to work with it, I don't have an 8 pin PCIe cable on the PSU however. This is my first time really touching PCs at all so I'm curious about the various adaptors I've seen online and I already bought one that wasn't quite right for my GPU (Molex to 6 pin instead of 8). So I'm now looking at it and am thinking maybe a Sata to 8 pin is a good alternative, but I can't find any conclusive info on whether it's safe while I save for a new PSU.

It won't work, at best that connector is rated for 54W of total power. While the power supply probably would deliver the wattage, being dumb enough to not shut down (depends on the unit), cables will melt or even burn. Worst case, your entire home burns down because electrical fires are very hard to put out, especially in larger buildings. The idea of the Molex 4-Pin to PSU 6-Pin adapter was to allow for a little more power in case the GPU needed it or to provide a more stable direct ground to the PSU. In many cases a single 6 or 8-Pin connector will do just fine but it hast to come from the PSU. If I'm not mistake, your PC uses a TFX PSU. Those can be swapped to one with an appropriate connector. Another way would be to either transfer over to a different case and use a regular PSU or use another PSU with said connector and connect the startup pins on the ATX connector with a paper clip and turn the unit on every time you start your pc. A bit messy but it works. 

[FishStar]

Mustard and ketchup with 18AWG wires

[Godlygamer23]

38 minutes ago, FishStar said:

Mustard and ketchup with 18AWG wires

Then I wouldn't even bother with the adapters. The wires are too small.