# Can I convert a 6 pin PCI-E to 8 pin and have enough power?



## KKSlider1337 (Apr 11, 2014)

Hi there, 

I searched around for this and couldn't find a straight answer. I am just trying to upgrade my PC with a new graphics card, a 7970. It needs a 6 pin connector and an 8 pin. My PSU doesn't have an 8 pin available from what I can see. It has several 6 pins and several 4 pins. 

The GPU comes with two adapters, however. It has a 6 pin to 8 pin, and 2x4 pin to 6 pin. If I convert a 6 pin to an 8 pin, would that give enough power to run the card? Or how about converting 2x4 pins to a 6 pin, then converting that to an 8 pin with the other adapter - would that even work, and if so would that give more power? 

Would really appreciate help with this, thanks.


----------



## RCoon (Apr 11, 2014)

If by 4 pin you mean Molex. An actual 4+4pin is the processor power cable.
As for converting a 6pin to an 8pin, that's perfectly viable. You can draw a tonne more from a 6pin than is advertised, provided you're using a good quality PSU.

If your ATRIX is the PSU you intend to do it on. I'll warn you now. Don't. Buy a decent PSU.

"_If you are in the market for a power supply in the 650W range, I certainly could not recommend this one for a high performance system. Like its name suggests (Atrix 500T), 500W is probably a more realistic maximum than the stated 650W. The efficiency and power factor are very poor and the failure of the unit to maintain the 3V3 and 5V0 lines at heavy loads, just reinforces my case. I should also bring to your attention a really irritating noise coming from the unit at high load - a sure sign of a stressed out low-end power supply. I am convinced this unit would fail within a short period of time if constantly loaded above 500W. The casing of the power supply got far warmer than the temperature of the air leaving the enclosure suggested, but with such a poor efficiency of 57.7%, this is not surprising._"


----------



## KKSlider1337 (Apr 11, 2014)

RCoon said:


> If by 4 pin you mean Molex. An actual 4+4pin is the processor power cable.
> As for converting a 6pin to an 8pin, that's perfectly viable. You can draw a tonne more from a 6pin than is advertised, provided you're using a good quality PSU.
> 
> If youre ATRIX is the PSU you intend to do it on. I'll warn you now. Don't. Buy a decent PSU.
> ...



Thanks RCoon  those specs were outdated, I literally just updated them. I have a 500W Corsair now. And yes sorry, I meant molex.


----------



## RCoon (Apr 11, 2014)

KKSlider1337 said:


> Thanks RCoon  those specs were outdated, I literally just updated them. I have a 500W Corsair now. And yes sorry, I meant molex.



Ah great! What model? Lemme check that 12v rail ampage so I can see what it can produce.
If it's a good strong 12v rail, you can draw a butt-load of power from your 6pins, pretty much twice the amount they're rated at, so an adapter won't cause you too much trouble.


----------



## KKSlider1337 (Apr 11, 2014)

RCoon said:


> Ah great! What model? Lemme check that 12v rail ampage so I can see what it can produce.



Really appreciate your help today. I must admit I don't know a lot about PSUs, so that'd be great. It's the CX500. I imagine that even if it is okay to power this GPU, it'll be in the upper limits. But this would only be a temporary solution, and to start with I just want to test this GPU I got from my mate to make sure it works okay.


----------



## RCoon (Apr 11, 2014)

KKSlider1337 said:


> Really appreciate your help today. I must admit I don't know a lot about PSUs, so that'd be great. It's the CX500. I imagine that even if it is okay to power this GPU, it'll be in the upper limits. But this would only be a temporary solution, and to start with I just want to test this GPU I got from my mate to make sure it works okay.



CX500 is a great PSU, I don't see you running into any problems.


----------



## adulaamin (Apr 11, 2014)

If it's a CX500 then you wouldn't need to use a 6-pin to 8-pin adapter, just use the 6+2-pin on your PSU.


----------



## KKSlider1337 (Apr 11, 2014)

adulaamin said:


> If it's a CX500 then it should have 2 x 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors.



Oh my, what an idiot...  I didn't even see those extra 2's hanging off the side. On a side note, it's running beautifully on the converted 6pin regardless. But thank you, next time I power down I'll swap those over.


----------



## adulaamin (Apr 11, 2014)

KKSlider1337 said:


> Oh my, what an idiot...  I didn't even see those extra 2's hanging off the side. On a side note, it's running beautifully on the converted 6pin regardless. But thank you, next time I power down I'll swap those over.



There's always a first time for everything. I couldn't even plug an IDE cable the first time I tried to assemble a PC. I had to carry it to a shop and have someone plug it for me and check if I put plugged the other cables on the proper sockets. Sometimes it's how we learn.


----------



## KKSlider1337 (Apr 11, 2014)

adulaamin said:


> There's always a first time for everything. I couldn't even plug an IDE cable the first time I tried to assemble a PC. I had to carry it to a shop and have someone plug it for me and check if I put plugged the other cables on the proper sockets. Sometimes it's how we learn.



Haha, the very first upgrade I did myself was swapping a graphics card on my first (prebuilt) gaming PC. I can't remember now if it was that I put it in upside down or something, but I put it in completely wrong and it couldn't be secured properly, so it freely wobbled about. I kept it like that for 6 months


----------

