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Powering my GPU with 1 Split cable or 2 separate cables?

Foxssil
By Foxssil
in Graphics Cards
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I have an evga 850bq psu and an Asus Rog strix 1080 gpu.

 

Right now I have it powered by 1 PCIe 6pin + 8(6+2) pin cable. Should I add a second just to take the load of the one cable?

 

I came across an article saying you shouldn't use just the Y split cable that came with the psu.

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two separate cables, NVIDIA power limits start to do funny stuff with daisychains sometimes so for performance reasons id say two cables

I spent $2500 on building my PC and all i do with it is play no games atm & watch anime at 1080p(finally) watch YT and write essays...  nothing, it just sits there collecting dust...

Builds:

The Toaster Project! Northern Bee!

 

The original LAN PC build log! (Old, dead and replaced by The Toaster Project & 5.0)

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"Here is some advice that might have gotten lost somewhere along the way in your life. 

 

#1. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

#2. It's best to keep your mouth shut; and appear to be stupid, rather than open it and remove all doubt.

#3. There is nothing "wrong" with being wrong. Learning from a mistake can be more valuable than not making one in the first place.

 

Follow these simple rules in life, and I promise you, things magically get easier. " - MageTank 31-10-2016

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Foxssil said:

I have an evga 850bq psu and an Asus Rog strix 1080 gpu.

 

Right now I have it powered by 1 PCIe 6pin + 8(6+2) pin cable. Should I add a second just to take the load of the one cable?

 

I came across an article saying you shouldn't use just the Y split cable that came with the psu.

Unless you're super heavily overclocking your gpu, it really shouldn't make a difference. From the PSU side of things, the power is all being generated on one rail anyway (as long as it's a relatively modern psu, atx 2.3+), so you won't gain any efficiency benefits. The Y split means you'll be pulling more current over one set of cables, but so long as they aren't super thin 20 gauge cables they will still be able to supply up to ~280W without any noticeable heat. 18AWG is the standard on most modern supplies, with 16AWG being used for super heavy duty applications.

 

Just looked up your psu. It uses 18AWG for the pcie cables, so your 1080 is going to be comfortably well below the stressing factor of the cable, even with all current over one set. They won't even get warm. If your card uses a 6 pin and an 8 pin, then the max it's ever going to look to draw from pcie power is 225W, and that is way above what a 1080 will ever draw without heavy overclocking.

 

Obviously the best situation would be to use two separate set of cables to split the current draw and make heat a complete non-issue even if you had shitty 20AWG cabling, but then you have to think about whether routing another set of cables will have any impact on airflow. That'll have more impact on performance than having current over two sets of pcie cables.

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