27 replies to this topic

[SethAbercromby]

Okay, here's my problem. I just invested most of my cash into a new Board (ASRock Z77 Pro 4) + CPU (i5 3470) + Case (Aerocool XPredator X3). The problem is that I upgraded from a fairly old mATX PC and though I was lucky enough to grab a board that only requires a P24 connector from the PSU (though that probably means I'll have to upgrade the mainboard again if I want to go any bigger on the CPU ), it turns out my old PSU only delivers a P20 connector and a P4 connector.

I could technically fit the 2 next to each other into the P24 slot if I grind down the plastic on the P4 a little, but I'm not sure whether that would mess up the intended pin layout. So before I do anything knee jerk and bust my board, I'd like to hear the more tech savvy folks here whether that's work and what alternative options would be (aside from buying a new PSU of course).

[ninjitsu]

SethAbercromby, on 17 July 2014 - 10:47 AM, said:

Okay, here's my problem. I just invested most of my cash into a new Board (ASRock Z77 Pro 4) + CPU (i5 3470) + Case (Aerocool XPredator X3). The problem is that I upgraded from a fairly old mATX PC and though I was lucky enough to grab a board that only requires a P24 connector from the PSU (though that probably means I'll have to upgrade the mainboard again if I want to go any bigger on the CPU ), it turns out my old PSU only delivers a P20 connector and a P4 connector.

I could technically fit the 2 next to each other into the P24 slot if I grind down the plastic on the P4 a little, but I'm not sure whether that would mess up the intended pin layout. So before I do anything knee jerk and bust my board, I'd like to hear the more tech savvy folks here whether that's work and what alternative options would be (aside from buying a new PSU of course).

The extra 4 pin is intended for it's own 4/8 pin slot on the motherboard. I'd suggest buying a new PSU! It's not worth killing your equipment over not wanting to spend a little bit of money on a power supply.

[Egomane]

ninjitsu, on 17 July 2014 - 10:54 AM, said:

The extra 4 pin is intended for it's own 4/8 pin slot on the motherboard. I'd suggest buying a new PSU! It's not worth killing your equipment over not wanting to spend a little bit of money on a power supply.

I need to agree with this. Buy a new PSU. You should be able to get a Thermaltake Munich or Hamburg for a good price, if you don't have much to spend.

Edited by Egomane, 17 July 2014 - 01:32 PM.

[SethAbercromby]

Egomane, on 17 July 2014 - 01:32 PM, said:

I need to agree with this. Buy a new PSU. You should be able to get a Thermaltake Munich or Hamburg for a good price, if you don't have much to spend.

Yeah I've seen an Thermaltake that would fill my needs while remaining < 50€. Looks like I'm gonna have to borrow some money...

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

P20+P4=P30

GHOST POWER!

[9erRed]

Greetings all,

All suggestions correct, you will need a different PSU.

The 20 pin outs for the ATX PSU can not be 'adapted' to the 24 pins layout, and the actual 12v rails may not be enough for the new board.

Here's a layout of the 20 and 24 pins, as well as the other plugs that are standard. (reference only)



Always a good idea to check out the max required power of all your components and look for a PSU that will not be 'running at it's limit', as it will last longer. (and be slightly future proof for add in's.)
- Look for a PSU with enough dedicated rails for the Video card/s.
- Try to get a 'certified' bronze, silver, or gold unit as they deliver what they are rated for and consume less power.


And good thing you didn't just wire in the other 4 pin plug as it's none of the required pins that were required.
- You would only have been missing a +12v, +3.3v, and a Com line. The 4 pin doesn't even have that 3.3v line.

9erRed

Edited by 9erRed, 18 July 2014 - 01:38 PM.

[cSand]

Gorantir, on 18 July 2014 - 08:45 AM, said:

P20+P4=P30

GHOST POWER!

Lol, love this. +10

[Napoleon_Blownapart]

i dont know how well they work, and a new psu isnt really expensive but i found they make conversion cables.
http://www.microcent...+20+power+cable

[Catamount]

Oh god please no 20->24 pin adapters.

The fact that this question is even coming up means the OP's power supply must be really old, really low-end, or both. Even though there are ways to physically make it work, it's far from advisable to try to power that system with that PSU.

Edited by Catamount, 25 July 2014 - 05:17 AM.

[Monkey Lover]

Not all boards require the 24 pin. I ran lots of them with only 20 plugged in. As you can see above these power lines are repetitive. Just make sure you have the amp you need to run the system. The 12volt line is going to be your biggest problem with older psu.

Check you manual or look at the board. If the planted is crossed over from the two 12v lines and two 5volt lines. Im going to guess the 3 volt would be the same.

Edited by Monkey Lover, 25 July 2014 - 07:05 AM.

[Catamount]

Technically you can run a modern system with only 20 pins, sure. In fact the 20->24 pin adapter is redundant as I understand it.

Should you? No. Any PSU that isn't ridiculously old or ridiculously low-end has the 24 pins. My last 20-pin ATX PSU that wasn't a slightly overpriced paperweight was one I got very well used... in 2005.

Get a new PSU, OP. The one you have is literally a danger to your rig.

Edited by Catamount, 25 July 2014 - 07:28 AM.

[Monkey Lover]

Catamount, on 25 July 2014 - 07:27 AM, said:

Technically you can run a modern system with only 20 pins, sure. In fact the 20->24 pin adapter is redundant as I understand it.

Should you? No. Any PSU that isn't ridiculously old or ridiculously low-end has the 24 pins. My last 20-pin ATX PSU that wasn't a slightly overpriced paperweight was one I got very well used... in 2005.

Get a new PSU, OP. The one you have is literally a danger to your rig.

Just because something is old doesn’t make it bad. I have had new power supplies go out in days and months. The biggest deal is making sure its rated for what he will be running. You are most likely correct as it might be too small. If it’s an older server psu on the other hand it might be fine. I have power supplies from the 80's still working.

Side note looks like the op started the topic a week ago im guessing he already did something and doesn’t matter what we said haha

[SethAbercromby]

Power wasn't exactly my problem. 350W owas still okay with my hardware, even in case of a little too much on the 3 and 5 V rails, but I got a new one for proper pins. Besides, There was a stealth 8 pin (black on black is kinda hard to see when you're looking for things to plug other things into).

Anyways, the problem has now shifted to my graphics card (because why should it ever be simple?). I can't really tell whether it's supposed to be some kind of hardware or software problem. First off, it's the same GT330 I had in my old rig, but it's been acting odd with the new board. As long as I'm running save mode on my PC, everything works perfectly fine. However, when I boot up windows normally, I get an odd black screen on user login and when I move my mouse, it's actually visible on screen. I've never even heard of such a thing.

So that's my current problem. I've been trying to isolate the source, but I can't really figure it out. I suppose I've got a 3 pin cable for fan control currently into the Power Fan Connector, but I don't think that it's be the source of my problem.

Edited by SethAbercromby, 25 July 2014 - 08:26 AM.

[ninjitsu]

Black screen at login usually has more to do with viruses than with hardware. I've encountered several times and various machines. I'd suggest doing a system restore to an earlier point and see if that helps. From there, I'd run anti virus and anti malware scans. Eset has a pretty good online virus scan http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/ I'd also run malwarebytes and TDSSkiller

Have you tried updating video drivers from safemode?

[SethAbercromby]

ninjitsu, on 25 July 2014 - 10:03 AM, said:

Have you tried updating video drivers from safemode?

Yup. Did a clean installation. I also did a proper installation of the drivers for the onboard intel HD 5000, because i had the train of thought it might be conflicting drivers. I did try to disable it in the device manager as well to see if that works, but to no avail.

Anyhow, I don't really know when I could have gotten a virus between a messed up bios upgrade and installing the card on a new board, but I could try. Not expecting too much, though.

[Monkey Lover]

Are you sure its the video card? Can you startup on the onboard video? If not seeing its at startup it could be anything. Bad network driver, bad sound driver, bad sata driver, overclocking program, monitor program ,and even a bad main board.

If it is you video. I would boot with your onboard. I would try a older version of the drivers or use the windows version. If you are using the windows version use NVidia.

Check and see if you have any pci settings in your bios you can play with. Maybe turn the speed down on the port.

Edited by Monkey Lover, 25 July 2014 - 03:33 PM.

[Monkey Lover]

Side note your built in intel 5000 video card is faster than your gt330 kind of shows how old it is.
It might not be supported by your board anymore

Edited by Monkey Lover, 25 July 2014 - 03:52 PM.

[One of Little Harmony]

My Asrock z87 Extreme 6 Manual says you can run a 20 or a 4pin PSU, but you have to make sure to use the correct pins. I imagine you've found this out already. I'd really recommend buying a new PSU for cheap.

Usually there's a corsair PSU on sale on newegg for 25-35 bucks after a 20 dollar rebate, if not check back every day for a week until there is. Corsair is really the only PSU you should be buying for under 50 dollars unless you enjoy troubleshooting and other fun. ( like PSU go boom)

Today's best bargain is the Corsair CX 500M, which is semi modular: http://www.newegg.co...ID=3938566&SID= You can go 5 dollars cheaper for non-modular if you don't mind lots of cables lying around somewhere/will actually use them all.

In generally, semi-modular is what you want to go with, as the primary advantage to going modular is you can change out the mobo and cpu cable with one that is custom made in a certain color. If you're keeping a GT 330 and your old PSU, I'm just guessing you aren't too into those sort of things.


Since you'll want to upgrade your video card at some point, the best buy for the bargain PC builder who wants to play MWO is the 750 and 750ti. You can also do the 650, 650 ti, 650 ti boost if you see them for cheapo.

750ti and 650 ti boost are about the same speed.
The 750 is about 12% slower than the 750ti
The 650 ti is 25% slower.
And the 650 is about 50% slower than 750ti.

You'll be hard pressed to find the 650ti or the 650 ti boost new in the store for a price worth talking about, but you might be able to find one on craigslist.

So the important graphics card prices are the 650, 750 and the 750ti.

When they're on a proper sale, you'll find the 650 for around 70 dollars, the 750 for around 100 dollars and the 750 ti for 120. So price for performance-wise you'll probably want to grab the 750 or the 750ti. In my opinion, the extra 10-20 dollars is worth it to get the 750ti. A 750ti with proper cooling should be able to run MWO on very high settings with POST AA turned on at 1080p around 50fps.

[SethAbercromby]

Monkey Lover, on 25 July 2014 - 03:37 PM, said:

Side note your built in intel 5000 video card is faster than your gt330 kind of shows how old it is.
It might not be supported by your board anymore

You know what an important (probably one of the most) value is, that never gets mentioned with intel GPUs? Memory Interface Width.Old or low performance cards cards often get choked by values such as 128-bit. My 330 might not be the younget horse in the stable, but with 256-bit it's been running very solid. I openly doubt the performance of a GPU where most specs are intentionally hidden away from me. Don't be fooled by clock numbers alone. After all, from a clock perspective, those Pilediver 6 cores would be awesome as well...

[Monkey Lover]

So withr the 256bit its closer to a gt340 or about 5% faster rhan your built in card. . You might need to upgrade. It looks like this card pulls all the power from the pci socket. This might be your problem as this might not be supported.