tends to increase as they are plugged and unplugged so after

enough uses they can overheat and even melt when passing a large
current. So a lot of changes in connectors over time has to do with
adding more wires and connectors to make sure that none of these
problems occur.

Some of the tables below provide the maximum wattage supported

by a power cable and its associated power connector. Some
specifications clearly spell out the maximum allowed wattage.
Floppy drive power
Original PC main power 4 pin peripheral power Other specifications just provide the suggested connector and wire
cable cable
cables gauge and never specify a maximum wattage. And there's never
really an absolute value to the maximum wattage anyway. If you
draw a little more wattage then the maximum, the hardware doesn't
immediately burst into flames. The voltage drop and power
dissipation increase as you increase the current so there isn't a clear
maximum wattage at which it stops working. Most of the
specifications which spell out the maximum wattage provide a
wide safety margin by defining a value which is far below the
maximums supported by the connector and wire. If the table below
provides an "Official cable/connector maximum wattage" then that
6 pin auxiliary power cable SATA power cable specification has spelled out the maximum wattage. In most cases
that wattage will be significantly below what can actually be
handled by the suggested connector and wire. If the table provides
an "Unofficial cable/connector maximum wattage" then that
specification doesn't provide the maximum and the value in the
table is a practical maximum wattage defined by the maximums for
the connector and the suggested wire. An unofficial wattage
doesn't have a wide safety margin built in because people differ on
how much margin to provide. Some people happily use connector
20 pin ATX main 20+4 pin ATX main and wire maximums and other people like to have a wide safety
24 pin ATX main margin.
power cable power cable
power cable

Original PC main power cables

4 pin ATX +12 8 pin EPS +12 volt 4+4 pin +12 volt power
volt power cable power cable cable

The original PC debuted in 1981 and used two cables to connect

the PSU (power supply) to the motherboard. The two cables plug
side by side into the motherboard connectors. Sometimes they are
keyed so they only plug in one way and sometimes they aren't.
Even if they're keyed you can insert them the wrong way if you put
6 pin PCI Express 8 pin PCI Express a little effort into it. You always have to remember to plug them in
6+2 pin PCI Express power
power cable power cable so the black wires are next to each other. It's either "black to black"
cable
or smoke and a shower of sparks.

General info
In old PCs, almost all of the chips ran directly off of the 5 volt rail.
As a result the PSU delivers most of its wattage at 5 volts. There
If you'd like more technical data about ATX power connectors then are three or four lines dedicated to the 5 volt rail. The other main
you can find the current specifications and more at formfactors.org rail is 12 volts. That was used primarily to run disk drives, motors,
and fans. The two negative rails are "bias" supplies which only
have to provide small amounts of current. Just for interest's sake,
Wires and connectors are not perfect conductors. They have
here's the specification for the PSU which came with the original
resistance. When current passes through wires and connectors there
IBM PC. It provides a maximum of 63.5 watts. Boy, those were
is a voltage drop and that energy is lost as heat. As long as you
the days.
don't overload them the voltage drop and extra heat don't matter.
But the losses get worse as the current rises. That's why you see
some power cables with more that one wire for the same voltage. 4 pin peripheral power cable
Having multiple wires reduces the losses. If you seriously overload
a line, the wire can get fairly warm. The resistance of connectors
 that the voltage changes depending on the desired fan speed. The
connector will only provide 12 volts when the fan is going full
speed and the voltage decreases to slow the fan down. Definitely
don't plug that one into anything but a fan! Normally this kind of
peripheral connector has "fan" printed on it to warn you. As long
as a peripheral connector has four wires: one yellow, two black,
and one red and it doesn't have some kind of printed warning
attached then it's a standard peripheral cable and you can plug it
into anything.

Floppy drive power cable

The four pin peripheral power cable dates back to the original PC.
It was used for floppy drives and hard disks. It's still around and is
now also used for all kinds of things including add-on fans, extra
video card power, supplemental motherboard power, and case
lighting. It's as old as the hills but is still very widely used. The
connector is shaped so that it only fits in one way. You don't have
to worry about inserting it the wrong way. People often use the
term "4 pin Molex power cable" or "4 pin Molex" to refer to a four
pin peripheral power cable. It's not a technically useful term
because the 4 pin 12 volt cable is also a 4 pin Molex cable (Molex
makes lots of connectors) but "4 pin Molex" is commonly used to
refer to peripheral cables anyway.

I don't know of any official definition of the maximum current The four pin floppy drive cable showed up when PCs started
allowed in a peripheral cable. The connector can handle 13 amps including 3.5 inch floppy drives. This kind of cable is also
according to the manufacturer. But you normally find 18 awg wire sometimes used as an auxiliary power cable for AGP video cards
in the peripheral cables. If you have an 18 inch cable (about a half which use more power than can be drawn from the motherboard
a meter) and are running 13 amps through 18 gauge wire then you slot. The connector is shaped so that it only fits in one way so you
get a voltage drop of about 0.25 volts counting both the power wire don't have to worry about inserting it the wrong way. Floppy
and the ground (it's got to go both ways) and the dissipation is cables are built with small connectors and 20 awg wire so they are
about 3.3 watts. That's not good. I've just played it safe and listed limited to relatively low current uses.
the maximum current as 5 amps.
6 pin auxiliary power cable
Current power supplies usually have at least two separate
peripheral power cables, each of which has two or more peripheral
connectors. When you're plugging in multiple high powered
devices it's a good idea to spread the load between all of your
cables. Don't just plug all your devices into one cable unless they're
relatively low load devices. Spreading the current between the
cables reduces the voltage drops and power loss. If they're
relatively low current devices like fans or it's just a disk drive or
two then it doesn't really matter. But if you're putting lots of hard
disks into a computer (some can draw almost 3 amps at 12 volts
when doing some operations) or connecting a video card's auxiliary
power, then spread the loads between the peripheral power cables.
It's also helpful if you use a connector as close to the PSU as
possible rather than sticking things at the end of the cable. Extra
wire just means more voltage drop. And if you're using
The aux power cable was added to provide extra wattage to
a peripheral connector to PCI Express adapter then be sure to plug
motherboards for 3.3 and 5 volts. This connector is rarely used
each of the adapter's peripheral connectors into a separate PSU
anymore. It's most commonly found on older dual CPU AMD
cable. They gave you two peripheral connectors for a reason.
motherboards. You're more likely to sight Bigfoot than a
Plugging them both into the same PSU cable forces your video
motherboard which uses this connector. It plugs into the 6 pin
card to draw its 12 volt power through one 18 gauge wire. That
version of the motherboard connector used by the original PC main
increases your voltage drop and power dissipation in the cable.
power cables.
Some current high-end video cards can suck up more than 10 amps
at 12 volts with most of it coming through the PCI Express
connector so it pays to be careful. It will probably work if you SATA power cable
don't spread the load but there's no excuse for not doing it properly.
They gave you multiple cables. You might as well use them. Plus
there's just something creepy about having warm wires even if
they're not melting.

You will occasionally run into peripheral connectors which don't

have all four wires. They are usually 12 volt only cables intended
for fans. Never plug one of those into a disk drive. Drives expect
both 5 and 12 volts to be provided. Some of the two-wire
peripheral connectors are for speed-controlled fans. That means
SATA was introduced to upgrade the ATA interface (also called Dell used to ship many computers which used motherboards and
IDE) to a more advanced design. SATA includes both a data cable power supplies which looked like plain old ATX but were not
and a power cable. The power cable replaces the old 4 pin really ATX at all. If you plugged a real ATX power supply into the
peripheral cable and adds support for 3.3 volts (if fully motherboard then things went kaboom (or frzzzzzap or ...). Sadly,
implemented). The connector is shaped so it can only be plugged some large computer vendors like to lock customers into buying
in the correct way. upgrades from them rather from a third party. That's nasty enough
but Dell built their non-standard computers and motherboards with
what looked like standard ATX components. You only found out
otherwise once sparks started flying. The Dell PCs which were
carrying this ticking time-bomb were made between 1996 and
2000. If you're replacing a Dell power supply from this era then
you should call Dell and make sure it's not a proprietary design.
And if they say yes then be sure to voice your displeasure. This is
an evil business practice which should stop.

You have to be careful about SATA power cables. Some of them

are missing the 3.3 volt wire. People with older power supplies
often use adapters which convert from 4 pin peripheral cables to
SATA power cables. But since 4 pin peripheral connectors only
supply 5 and 12 volts, the SATA connector is missing 3.3 volts
(there's no orange wire). There are also a few older power supplies
which inexplicably have SATA power cables which are missing
the 3.3 volt wire. Currently, SATA drives rarely use 3.3 volts. That
may be because there are too many people using adapters so the
drive makers don't want the headaches which come with using 3.3
volts. But in the future, 3.3 volt drives may become common so
You can plug a 20 pin ATX power cable into a motherboard with
you need to be careful when using SATA power cables which don't
a 24 pin ATX connector. The image above shows the 20 pin power
implement 3.3 volts.
cable plugged into a 24 pin motherboard. A 20 pin power cable
only fits into one end of a 24 pin motherboard connector so you
ATX 20 pin main power cable can't insert it incorrectly. The 24 pin motherboard connector is
actually just the 20 pin connector with 4 extra pins added on the
end. The original 20 pins were unchanged. The extra 4 pins are not
separate rails. They're just extra lines to provide more current to
the same rails. On every 24 pin motherboard I've seen, the extra
lines for ground, 3.3, 5, and 12 are just connected to the other lines
on the same rail from the 20 pin connector. I've never heard of
exceptions and it doesn't make sense for motherboard makers to
create any. As a result, you can plug a 20 pin cable into a 24 pin
motherboard and it will work just fine. At least, it will for a while.
They added those extra 4 pins for a reason. When you plug a 20
pin cable into a 24 pin connector you're not providing the extra
current carrying capacity which may be needed by the
motherboard. If your motherboard's current requirements are low
enough then it will work properly with only a 20 pin power cabled
In 1996 PC makers started switching to the ATX standard which
plugged in. But if the motherboard draws enough current, then you
defined a new 20 pin motherboard power connector. It includes a
can overheat the 20 pins you're using on the 24 pin connector. I've
3.3 volt rail which is used to power newer chips which require a
seen enough pictures of burned ATX main connectors to assure
lower voltage than 5 volts. It also has a standby 5 volt rail which is
you that this happens. In adding the extra four pins, 3.3 volts went
always on even when the power supply is turned off to provide
from 3 to 4 lines. 5 volts when from 4 to 5 lines. 12 volts went
standby power to the motherboard when the machine is sleeping.
from 1 to 2 lines so its capacity doubled. Connectors really do get
The new connector also allows the motherboard to turn the power
hot if you overload them so the safest thing to do is use a real 24
supply on and off rather than depend on the user to flip a power
pin power supply on a motherboard with a 24 pin connector. Note
switch. This connector is polarized so it can only be plugged in
that your 24 pin machine may work fine with a 20 pin power
pointing in the correct direction.
supply until you add a PCI Express card later on down the road.
PCI Express cards can draw up to 75 watts through the
Some of the voltage lines on the connector may have smaller sense motherboard connector so adding an expansion card can
wires which allow the power supply to sense what voltage is substantially increase power draw through the main power cable.
actually seen by the motherboard. These are pretty common on the Many PCI Express video cards which have the 6 pin or 8 pin PCI
3.3 volt line in pin 11 but are sometimes used for other voltages Express power cable still draw a substantial portion of their 12 volt
too. The -5 volt line on pin 18 was made optional in ATX12V 1.3 load through the PCI Express slot. The extra 4 pins doubled the
(introduced in 2003) because -5 had been rarely used for years. current capacity of the 12 volt rail so that one is easy to overload
Newer motherboards virtually never require -5 volts but many when only using a 20 pin main power cable.
older motherboards do. Most newer power supplies don't provide
-5 volts in which case the white wire is missing.
 Newer motherboards virtually never require -5 volts but many
older motherboards do. Most newer power supplies don't provide
-5 volts in which case the white wire is missing.

The picture above shows an adapter which allows you to plug a 20

pin power supply into a 24 pin motherboard. These do not solve
the problems mentioned above. In fact, they usually make things
worse. You still have only the same old 20 wires and pin&socket
connectors that you would have if you plugged it directly into the If you have an ATX power supply with a 24 pin main cable, it's
motherboard. But with the adapter you also have longer wires and okay to plug it into a motherboard with a 20 pin connector. It was
another set of pins&sockets so you have a higher voltage drop and designed to work that way. You can see an example in the picture
more things which can go wrong. All the adapter does is remove above. The extra 4 pins on the cable just hang over the end of the
the problem from the 24 pin motherboard connector and move it to motherboard connector. The 24 pin cable only fits into a 20 pin
the 20 pin connector on the adapter. About the only good thing it socket at one end so you can't plug it in incorrectly. The extra 4
does is to make sure the 20 pin connector on the adapter melts pins were added to the 24 pin version of the cable to provide one
rather than the 24 pin connector on the motherboard. You shouldn't extra wire for ground, 3.3, 5, and 12 volts. But it's okay to leave
underestimate the potential problems which come from adding those 4 pins disconnected because a motherboard with a 20 pin
another connector between the power supply and the motherboard. connector doesn't need them. The only problem you can bump into
The resistance of connectors can increase due to being plugged and (literally) is if there is something blocking the spot where the 24
unplugged. Increasing the resistance makes the connector drop pin cable hangs over the end. Or sometimes the end of the 20 pin
more voltage and dissipate more heat. Any number of physical motherboard connector is too thick to fit between the pins of the 24
changes can also cause higher connector resistance which causes pin cable. You can solve that problem by carefully shaving down
more problems. You shouldn't put an extra connector in a high one end of the 20 pin motherboard connector. It's just plastic. You
current path unless you've got a good reason. That's a good rule for won't miss it. If you can't get them to fit together then you can get
power cables in general but it goes doubly for the high current an adapter cable which will make it work. The 24 pin cable plugs
draws you sometimes find through motherboard main power into one end of the adapter and then the adapter plugs into the 20
cables. The best practice is to avoid these 20 to 24 pin adapters and pin motherboard. But you should avoid using that kind of adapter
get a real 24 pin power supply. if you can because the extra wire and connector are just more
things which can go wrong. Adapters also slightly increase the
ATX 24 pin main power cable voltage drop which is something worth avoiding. It's better to first
see if you can get a 24 pin cable to fit into a 20 pin motherboard
before resorting to an adapter.

ATX 20+4 pin main power cable

The 24 pin main power connector was added in ATX12V 2.0 to

provide extra power needed by PCI Express slots. The older 20 pin
main power cable only has one 12 volt line. The new 24 pin
connector added one line apiece for ground, 3.3, 5, and 12 volts.
The extra pins made the auxiliary power cable unnecessary so most Motherboards can come with either a 20 pin main power
ATX12V 2.x power supplies don't have them. The 24 pin connector or a 24 pin main power connector. Many power supplies
connector is polarized so it can only be plugged in pointing in the come with a 20+4 cable which is compatible with both 20 and 24
correct direction. pin motherboards. A 20+4 power cable has two pieces: a 20 pin
piece, and a 4 pin piece. If you leave the two pieces separate then
Some of the voltage lines on the connector may have smaller sense you can plug the 20 pin piece into a 20 pin motherboard and leave
wires which allow the power supply to sense what voltage is the 4 pin piece unplugged. Be sure to leave the 4 pin piece
actually seen by the motherboard. These are pretty common on the unplugged even if it fits into another connector. The 4 pin piece is
3.3 volt line in pin 13 but are sometimes used for other voltages not compatible with any other connectors. If you plug the two
too. The -5 volt line on pin 20 was made optional in ATX12V 1.3 pieces of a 20+4 power cable together then you have a 24 pin
(introduced in 2003) because -5 had been rarely used for years. power cable which can be plugged into a 24 pin motherboard.
4 pin ATX +12 volt power cable If your power supply doesn't have a 4 pin 12 V cable then you can
provide one with the adapter shown above. It converts a 4 pin
peripheral cable into a 4 pin 12 V cable.

Older computers put most of their load on 3.3 and 5 volts. As time
passed, computers drew more and more of their load from 12 volts You can plug a 4 pin 12 volt power cable into an 8 pin EPS
(see here). Before this power cable was introduced there was just motherboard connector but there's no guarantee that it will work. If
one 12 volt line provided to the motherboard. This cable added two the motherboard expects only one 12 volt rail then a 4 pin 12 volt
more 12 volt lines so more of the load could be shifted to 12 volts. cable may work. If the motherboard expects two 12 volt rails
The power coming from this connector is usually used to power the (many dual CPU motherboards require one 12 volt rail per CPU)
CPU but some motherboards use it for other things as well. The then it won't work. Even if the motherboard works with a 4 pin 12
presense of this connector on a motherboard means it's an volt cable, you are still only providing half of the current carrying
ATX12V motherboard. For dual 12 volt rail power supplies, this capacity which would be provided by an 8 pin EPS cable. That can
connector provides the voltage refered to as 12V2. The power overheat both the motherboard connector and 4 pin cable.
cable which plugs into the 4 pin connector has two black wires and Scorched or melted connectors can be a result. A motherboard
two yellow wires. This cable is sometimes called an "ATX12V" which has the 8 pin EPS connector expects a lot of current and you
cable or "P4" cable although neither of those are technically are taking a serious risk by plugging in a 4 pin cable. The 4 pin
accurate descriptions. cable only fits at one end of the 8 pin EPS motherboard connector
so you can't plug it in improperly. That is, it only fits into one end
If you have one of these connectors on a motherboard then you of the motherboard connector unless you force it. If the cable
must plug a power cable into it or your CPU won't get any power. doesn't go into the socket easily then you're probably trying to plug
The one exception is that when this connector was new, some it into the wrong end. But then again, it's not a good idea to try to
motherboards shipped with a socket into which you could plug a 4 run with a 4 pin cable in an 8 pin motherboard anyway.
pin peripheral power cable as an alternative. That helped people
who had older power supplies which didn't have the 4 pin 12 volt 8 pin EPS +12 volt power cable
cable.

The 4 pin 12 volt cable is polarized so it can only be plugged into

the 4 pin motherboard connector correctly. If you look carefully at
the picture above you can see that two of the pins are square and
the other two have rounded corners. The motherboard connectors
also have the same square and rounded arrangement so the power
cable only fits in one way. At least that's true unless you try really
hard to force it into the connector. With enough force you can
sometimes get a cable with a small number of pins into a connector
which doesn't match. If you look carefully you can also see that the
square and rounded pattern matches various positions on other
motherboard connectors like the 20 pin main power
connector and 24 pin main power connector. Do yourself a favor
and only plug the 4 pin 12 volt cable into the motherboard This cable was originally created for workstations to provide 12
connector where it belongs (unless you enjoy smoke and fried volts to power multiple CPUs. But as time has passed many CPUs
components). require more 12 volt power and the 8 pin 12 volt cable is often
used instead of a 4 pin 12 volt cable. Depending on the power
supply, the connector may contain one 12 volt rail in all 8 pins or
two 12 volt rails taking up 4 pins apiece. It is often refered to as an
"EPS12V" cable.

The 8 pin 12 volt cable is polarized so it can only be plugged into

the 8 pin motherboard connector correctly. If you look carefully at
the picture above you can see that four of the pins are square and
the other four have rounded corners. The motherboard connectors
also have the same square and rounded arrangement so the power
cable only fits in one way. At least that's true unless you try really
hard to force it into the connector. With enough force you can
sometimes get a cable with a small number of pins into a connector
which doesn't match. The 8 pin cable has enough pins that it's
pretty hard to insert it in the wrong direction but determined people
might be able to do it. If you look carefully you can also see that
the square and rounded pattern matches various positions on other
motherboard connectors like the 20 pin main power
connector and 24 pin main power connector. You should only plug
the 8 pin 12 volt cable into the motherboard connector where it
belongs unless you enjoy the smell of fried electronics.

You can also plug an 8 pin 12 volt cable into a 4 pin 12 volt
motherboard connector. I don't have a picture of this one but it
looks similar to this. Four of the pins on the 8 pin cable fit into the
motherboard connector and the other four pins hang off the end.
The 8 pin cable only fits into one end of the 4 pin motherboard
connector unless you try hard to force it into the wrong position. Motherboards can come with either a 4 pin 12 volt connector or
The 8 pin cable is electrically compatible but it may not fit into a 4 an 8 pin 12 volt connector. Many power supplies come with a 4+4
pin motherboard. There is often a component which blocks the area pin 12 volt cable which is compatible with both 4 and 8 pin
where the 4 pins would hang off the end. And sometimes the motherboards. A 4+4 power cable has two separate 4 pin pieces. If
plastic end of the 4 pin connector is too thick to fit between the you plug the two pieces of a 4+4 power cable together then you
pins of the 8 pin cable. have a 8 pin power cable which can be plugged into an 8 pin 12
volt connector. If you leave the two pieces separate then you can
plug one of the 4 pin pieces into a 4 pin 12 volt connector and
Make sure that you don't try to plug an 8 pin 12 volt cable into leave the other 4 pin piece unplugged.
the 8 Pin PCI Express power connector on a video card. The two
cables look very similar so it's easy to get the two confused. 8 Pin
PCI Express power cables are usually labeled to distinguish them If you look carefully at the image above then you can see the
from 8 pin 12 volt cables. The PCI Express cable usually has "PCI- polarization of the pins which prevents you from plugging the
E" printed on the connector. If there are no labels then you can cable in improperly. Some of the pins are square and some of them
usually use wire colors to tell the two kinds of cables apart. An 8 have rounded off corners. The motherboard connectors have
pin 12 volt cable has yellow wires on the same side as the matching square and rounded off corners to prevent the cable from
connector clip. An 8 Pin PCI Express cable has black wires on the being plugged in the wrong way. But if you look really carefully at
clip side. The two power cables are also keyed differently so you the right half of this particular cable and then look at the 8 pin 12
can't plug one kind of power cable into the other kind of connector. volt cable pictured above you'll notice that they don't match. A
But as with this kind of connector, you can sometimes force the regular 8 pin cable has four square pins and four rounded ones but
wrong kind of cable into a connector if you push hard enough. the 4+4 cable shown above has two square pins and 6 rounded
Make sure you have the right kind of cable before plugging it in. ones. The left half of the 4+4 matches the left half of an 8 pin cable
The two are definitely not compatible with each other. but the right half is different. Hmmmm... And this isn't some
bizarre cable either. I've seen plenty of 4+4s which look like this
one. And then there are other 4+4 cables which look just like an 8
pin cable split in two (which makes sense). Since rounded pins fit
into square holes in motherboard connectors, this particular cable
will fit just fine into an 8 pin 12 volt motherboard connector. But
both halves of this 4+4 will fit into a 4 pin 12 volt motherboard
connector. You're supposed to use the left half of the cable shown
above when plugging it into a 4 pin motherboard connector but the
right half will also fit. As it happens, either half will work fine in a
4 pin motherboard because both halves of the 4+4 just provide 12
volts. The pinouts are the same for both halves so either one will
work. I'm not sure why they make cables like this one because
you'd figure a 4+4 cable would just be an 8 pin cable which splits
in two. And you only need one half of a 4+4 cable to plug into a 4
pin motherboard. The other half is unused. But the kind of 4+4
If you don't have an 8 pin 12 volt cable then you can use the cable shown above is pretty common so don't let it throw you.
adapter shown above. It converts a couple of 4 pin peripheral
power cables into an 8 pin 12 volt cable. If you use one of these 6 pin PCI Express power cable
adapters then be sure to plug the 4 pin peripheral connectors into
separate cables coming from the power supply. If you plug them
both into the same power supply cable then you are drawing all the
power of the 8 pin 12 volt connector through a single 18 gauge
wire. You can often get away with that but there's no reason to do
it.

4+4 pin +12 volt power cable

This cable is used to provide extra 12 volt power to PCI Express

expansion cards. PCI Express motherboard slots can provide a
maximum of 75 watts. Many video cards draw significantly more Some video cards come with the 8 pin PCI Express power
than 75 watts so the 6 pin PCI Express power cable was created. connector to support higher wattage than the 6 pin PCI Express
These high-power cards draw most of their power from the 12 volt connectors. It's okay to plug a 6 pin PCI Express power cable into
rail so this cable provides only 12 volts. These are sometimes an 8 pin PCI Express connector. It's designed to work that way but
called "PCI Express cables". They are also occasionally called will be limited to the lower wattage provided by the 6 pin version
"PEG cables" where "PEG" stands for PCI Express Graphics. If of the cable. The 6 pin cable only fits into one end of the 8 pin
your power supply doesn't have a 6 pin PCI Express cable then you connector so you can't insert it incorrectly but you can sometimes
can use the adapter shown above on the right to convert two 4 pin force the 6 pin cable in the wrong way if you try hard enough.
peripheral cables into a PCI Express cable. If you use an adapter Video cards can sense whether you have plugged a 6 pin or 8 pin
then be sure to plug the 4 pin peripheral connectors into separate cable into an 8 pin connector so the video card can impose some
cables coming from the power supply. If you plug them both into kind of restriction when running with only a 6 pin power cable.
the same power supply cable then you are drawing all the power of Some cards will refuse to run with only a 6 pin cable in an 8 pin
the PCI Express connector through a single 18 gauge wire. You socket. Others will work with a 6 pin cable at normal speeds but
can usually get away with that but there's no reason to do it. The will not allow overclocking. Check the video card documentation
PCI Express 6 pin connector is polarized so it can only be plugged to get the rules. But if you don't have any other information then
in pointing in the correct direction. But as with connectors of this just assume that if your video card has an 8 pin connector then you
type, you can sometimes force them into the wrong kind of socket must plug in an 8 pin cable.
if you try hard enough. If it doesn't slide in easily then you're
probably plugging it into the wrong place.

The PCI Express specification is, unfortunately, not a free, public

specification. So most people have never seen it. Including me.
ATX specification: freely available to all. PCI Express
specification: expensive so hardly anyone has seen it. ATX: good.
PCI Express: bad. It's a shame when a widely used standard isn't
freely available to the public. Nonetheless, information leaks out
from the specification and the 6 pin PCI Express power cable is
actually rated at an extremely conservative 75 watts. I have no idea
why the wattage is rated so low because the specifications from
Molex clearly allow substantially more power. Part of the reason
may be that pin 2 (listed above as a 12 volt line) may be listed as
not connected in the specification. I've never seen a 6 pin PCI
Express power cable with pin 2 not connected. They've all had a 12
volt line connected to pin 2. I've also seen claims that there may be The PCI Express 2.0 specification released in January 2007 added
unimplemented sense lines in the specification. Welcome to the an 8 pin PCI Express power cable. It's just an 8 pin version of the 6
uncertainty which happens when you don't have freely available Pin PCI Express power cable. Both are primarily used to provide
specifications. Even with only two 12 volt lines the standard supplemental power to video cards. The older 6 pin version
implementation of PCI Express power cables use large enough officially provides a maximum of 75 watts (although unofficially it
gauge wire and a good enough connector to provide much more can usually provide much more) whereas the new 8 pin version
than the three amps per wire required to provide 75 watts. provides a maximum of 150 watts. It is very easy to confuse the 8
Nonetheless, the 6 pin PCI Express power cable officially provides pin version with the very similar-looking EPS 8 pin 12 volt cable.
only 75 watts. In all likelihood, however, real implementations of
this power cable can provide far more than 75 watts. The 8 pin PCI Express and the EPS 8 pin 12 volt connectors are
polarized differently so you won't be able to plug one kind of cable
8 pin PCI Express power cable into the other kind of connector. That is, you won't be able to plug
the wrong kind of cable in unless you try really hard.
Unfortunately, the Molex Mini-fit Jr. connectors used by both
kinds of power cables can sometimes be forced into a differently

-polarized connector if they only have a few pins and you push connector. On the 8 pin PCI Express cable, the wires on the clip
hard enough. If the cable won't slide in easily then you're probably side are all black (grounds). That's the same as it is with the 6 Pin
trying to insert the wrong kind of cable. The 8 pin PCI Express PCI Express power cable. Of course, none of this helps you if your
connector does have a small plastic bridge which prevents it from cable uses the trendy all-the-same-color-wires design which is
being plugged into an EPS 8 pin 12 volt motherboard connector. popular with high-fashion power supplies. In that case you'll just
You can see the bridge in the image above between the rightmost have to be very careful or hope the connectors are labeled.
two pins in the top row of the connector. But there's no such
protection to prevent EPS 8 pin 12 volt cables from being plugged
6+2 pin PCI Express power cable
into an 8 pin PCI Express connector on a video card. That
combination may fit if you shove hard enough. And if you plug in
the wrong kind of cable then expect fireworks. Some of the
grounds and 12 volts wires for an EPS 8 pin 12 volt are reversed
compared to an 8 pin PCI Express. Fortunately, most 8 pin PCI
Express connectors are labeled "PCI-E" so people won't confuse
them with EPS 8 pin 12 volt cables. If the connectors aren't labeled
then you can tell an 8 pin PCI Express power cable from an EPS 8
pin 12 volt cable by checking the color of the wires which plug
into the clip side of the connector. On the EPS 8 pin cable, the
yellow wires (the 12 volt wires) go into the clip side of the
Some video cards have 6 Pin PCI Express power connectors and
others have 8 Pin PCI Express power connectors. Many power
supplies come with a 6+2 PCI Express power cable which is
compatible with both kinds of video cards. The 6+2 PCI Express
power cable is made up of two pieces: a 6 pin piece, and a 2 pin
piece. If you put the two pieces together then you have a full 8 pin
PCI Express power cable. But if you split the connector into two
parts then you can plug the 6 pin part into the older 6 pin PCI
Express connector and leave the 2 pin part unplugged. That way,
your power supply only needs to have one 6+2 cable to be
compatible with both 6 pin and 8 pin PCI Express connectors.