no 8 pin plug for gtx280

takumi

hi every one. i just ordered the gtx 280. then i found out my psu has only 2 6 pin plugs. what can i do besides getting new psu? can 2 4pin adaptors help?

Anti

Is there no adapter or anything with the card ? I believe all of them apart from EVGA supply one because of the following which i pulled from their forums:

Also a 6-pin is capable of delivering around 75W, while the 8-pin under PCIe 2.0 spec can deliver upto 150W. The reason for the fire hazard potential comes from the VGA card trying to draw more from a wire which could heat up with too many amps going through. However for this danger to occur you'd have to OC it so high that you'd need all the power that can be supplied

From checking around most people are saying its okay to run with a 6pin, but the above statement is from one of the EVGA tech guys.

You cna pick up an adaptor from here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6088/cab-97/6_Pin_PCI-E_to_8_Pin_PCI-E2_Adapter_Cable.html?id=jCKIJTPp&mv_pc=201

takumi

thanks for the info. since i just ordered the card am not quiet sure if they have any adaptors ,it should arrive end of the week, if they do have am guessing that it wont start a fire atleast i hope so .

Cuddlesworth

I'm pretty sure you can plug in two 6 pin plugs into the 8 pin ports. I use a 2900xt which draws more power and I use it with two 6 pins.

takumi

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

I'm pretty sure you can plug in two 6 pin plugs into the 8 pin ports. I use a 2900xt which draws more power and I use it with two 6 pins.

are u sure about that? what about if i get 2 4 pin connectors? combine them. would that give the same voltage or would it be flames in the air?

Cuddlesworth

takumi wrote: »

are u sure about that? what about if i get 2 4 pin connectors? combine them. would that give the same voltage or would it be flames in the air?

Seems the 280gtx can pull just over 300watts on load. Two 6 pin plugs can provide 140(75+75) watts, the pci-express port itself can provide 75watts. That gives you 225 watts of power.

Thing is the 6 pin connector can realistically supply close to 115watts of power per connecter. The two extra pins on a 8 pin plug are grounding pins allowing the safer use of higher current being supplied giving it a safety rating of 145 but would be closer to 180.

Tbh I would try it with the two 6 pins. On the off chance it didn't work I would buy a 6 pin to 8 pin pci-express adapter.

Just curious whats the current power rating of your power supply?

takumi

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Seems the 280gtx can pull just over 300watts on load. Two 6 pin plugs can provide 140(75+75) watts, the pci-express port itself can provide 75watts. That gives you 225 watts of power.

Thing is the 6 pin connector can realistically supply close to 115watts of power per connecter. The two extra pins on a 8 pin plug are grounding pins allowing the safer use of higher current being supplied giving it a safety rating of 145 but would be closer to 180.

Tbh I would try it with the two 6 pins. On the off chance it didn't work I would buy a 6 pin to 8 pin pci-express adapter.

Just curious whats the current power rating of your power supply?

its 580w hiper typeR

Cuddlesworth

takumi wrote: »

its 580w hiper typeR

Hmm, and the rest of your system? What processor, how much ram, how many hard-drives etc?

It's just that the Hiper power supply's although favoured when they came out(because they looked cool) tend to be a bit on the weak side when they are pushed to the limit. I should know, I have killed two in my time.

Anti

I had my 580w hiper running tri sli with 8800gtx's and 6hdds. Id imagine that psu would be fine, although i wouldn't be happy with the reports online about using a 6pin and evga's warning of it being a firehazrd if the 2 extra ground wires arnt being used.

Cuddlesworth

Really? I had nothing but problems with the two I used, they really seemed to struggle at the 500watt mark(wall point was drawing around 600 watts).

Anti

Cuddlesworth wrote: »

Really? I had nothing but problems with the two I used, they really seemed to struggle at the 500watt mark(wall point was drawing around 600 watts).

Thats what, about 75% effeciency ? Not bad tbh for a psu of its age. Yeah my hiper is still running grand now all these years after i bought it, still silent, no drops on any rails. Maybe i just got lucky ?