All Power Supply Cable Types EXPLAINED

if you're wearing up your first power  supply you might be a bit intimidated by uh   well all of this and i get it installing the  psu was one of the most confusing aspects of   my first pc build as well there are connectors  that look virtually the same there are some that   are split in two so in this video we'll quickly  and precisely run through what each cable does   and where each should be connected stay with me  activating windows is as simple as hopping on over   to scdkey's vip site where you can purchase an oem  pro key for a little over 10 us dollars use the   secure payment method like paypal receive your key  in a matter of seconds and activate your os here   to remove that annoying watermark click the link  below to get started and use my offer code gsl   for a sweet discount so i understand this video  will come across as a bit elementary but basic for   those who have built pcs before but i've been  putting more of these videos together lately   because the pc gaming industry is growing at a  very rapid rate especially now and when given   the choice uh one should almost always diy save  money and perhaps learn a thing or two and that's   where these videos come in especially for those  beginners now the power supply we'll be using   for this demonstration today is a relatively  cheap one is an evga 550 watt it's called a 550   in one pretty basic name it doesn't actually  even have an 80 plus efficiency oddly enough   you have to really dig deep to find the minimum  efficiency of this unit which in the box actually   it only says it on the box nowhere else not on  the website anywhere uh it says it's above 75   so all right nonetheless many have been using  power supplies like these without issue and   it's probably one that you'll at least consider in  your first 500 or so pc build unless you're going   all out your first pc build costs like three grand  okay probably don't want this you'll also notice   that this unit has all of its cables hardwired  to the brick itself thus classifying it as a   non-modular power supply in the case of modular  units you'll be able to pick and choose what   you'd like connected which could spare you from a  bit of clutter when building your pc and another   thing you don't need to connect every available  cable here right if you don't need you know four   or five molex connections or sata connections  you can leave these unplugged so just a rule of   thumb going into this so you can either shove  them into an empty spot of your case or leave   them entirely disconnected from your unit if you  have a modular supply this also by the way applies   to pcie connectors and any other redundant cable  but let's focus on each cable type what each does   and where each connects to your system starting  first with the largest connector more than likely   the 20 pin or you've probably heard it called  the 24 pin there's an extra four pins tacked   on here what does this do well this cable  is in charge of delivering power to your   motherboard and its peripherals the extra four  pins you may see dangling next to the 20 pin   head are there to provide additional power to  your pcie slots which are these things here   this cable is vital in modern conventional  computers and needs to be connected the   header will look something like this and is often  found on the right side of most atx motherboards   itx and smaller boards may have this positioned  elsewhere due to space limitations they may even   come with adapters but both 20 and 24 pins are  keyed and clipped so they can only be secured   one way just align the clip side with the notch on  the connector next we have the p4 cpu 4 pin or 8   pin eps this connector is specifically in charge  of providing power to your cp or the socket which   will not function without it and depending on  your motherboard specification it'll either accept   a single four pin a single eight pin an eight  pin and a four pin or dual eight pins this is   gonna be a bit of a confusing point here it's  easy to understand why so most modern boards   will accept at least a single eight pin right but  some higher end boards have an additional four pin   tack beside it or an additional eight pin so you  could have an a plus four or an eight plus eight   for cpu power however unless you're into some  like heavy duty overclocking connecting just the   eight pin will suffice basically this cable will  supply up to 155 watts and this cable will supply   up to 235. you can actually connect just a four  pin to an eight pin connector by the way though   you shouldn't you should always try to connect  the full eight if your power supply provides it   most affordable cpus won't pull any more than  around 150 watts on their own but you wouldn't   want to overload the single cable or risk system  instability this evga 550n1 splits the 8 pin eps   into two 4-pin counterparts which can be connected  together in a motherboard cpu8 pin header it's   also notched and keyed only one way so mind the  orientation next up we have pcie connectors see   most decently powerful graphics cards will consume  at least 100 watts of power or more under load and   the power sent to the card through the pci slot  via the 24 pin caps out at around 75 watts so to   account for this delta power supply vendors added  supplemental pci power cables that look something   like this often you'll see a cluster of 6 pins and  a daisy chain a 2 pin off to the side the pin out   is relatively straightforward here as well with  the additional two pins merely providing grounds   for the array of 12 volt leads and accounting  for this additional headroom makes sense because   graphics cards with single 8 pins typically pull  more power than those with single 6 pins in some   cases even you'll find that a single six plus two  pin header is actually daisy chained to another   six plus two pin header meaning that all  supplemental graphics card power is being   fed down an often lower gauge of wire to handle  the increased power draw the power supply is   designed efficiently there's really no downside to  this design so if your graphics card requires two   supplemental eight pins to function you'll want  to be sure that your power supply comes equipped   with them if the card only requires a single six  or eight pin you can leave any additional pcie   cables unplugged without issue also try to avoid  adapters and splitters if possible especially with   some of those higher end cards out there and just  some friendly advice eight pin pci power cables   look awfully similar to cpu 8 pin eps cables so be  sure to identify which is which before attempting   to shove something where it doesn't belong cpu 8  pin cables will often have a split in the middle   to accommodate for systems that accept only p4 but  another way to reference it would be via the shape   of each pin some are notched and some aren't and  you really shouldn't be able to force these into   their opposing headers anyway but i'd still like  to point it out in case you're having difficulty   getting things to slide in next are sata or serial  ata power connectors these are 15 pin cables   that are intended to power various storage drives  including modern hard disk and solid state drives   outside of m.2 these connectors are also used  by various fan hubs controllers and rgb strips   they're keyed on one side and thus can only be  connected one way and much like the other cables   we've already discussed again leaving any number  of these unplugged is perfectly fine and lastly   we have molex power connectors these chunky things  right here these are a bit older more simplified   than sadis consisting of just like literally four  pins two grounds and single 12 volt and five volt   leads molex has taken a back seat in recent days  thankfully the connector is far more primitive   and a bit more difficult to manage at that still  though you'll find a few peripherals relying on   molex for discretionary power including d5 pumps  which need the lower gauge wire for more reliable   power delivery some older rgb strips and old fans  in some cases may have molex connectors as well   non-modular power supplies will often include  these just to be safe because you don't want to   need a molex connector and not actually have one  and most people don't have adapters laying around   but in any case they can often be omitted in  modular units for most pc builds that would reduce   clutter and again molex is shaped in such a way  that cables will only connect one way so you don't   really need to worry about wiring these backwards  and sending five volts where 12 volts should be   sent and that should take care of just about  every connection associated with a conventional   and modern power supply more information on  determining what wattage power supply you'll   need for your build which is another perfectly  viable question a lot of people ask check out   this video here it's also linked in the video  description you can find reliable power supplies   and various wattages by the way showcased in this  video down below thank you all for watching if   you have any additional questions be sure to  leave those in the comment section consider   liking this one subscribing and i'll catch you in  the next one my name is greg thanks for learning

Channel: Greg Salazar

Views: 869,354

Keywords: finance, credit, college, MBA graduate, Engineering Degree, apple, power supply, psu, power supply cables, power supply cable installation, power supply cables where to connect, power supply cables to motherboard, power supply cables guide, power supply cables explained, power supply cables interchangeable, power supply cables pc, psu cable, psu cables and where they go, psu cables explained, psu cable extensions, psu cable extensions install, power supply for gaming pc, gaming pc

Id: bZNbfgr0Y8w

Length: 8min 24sec (504 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 08 2021