8 pin pci-express for CPU power?

[dpk33]

i was just curious if this would work. i've never actually tried it, but one time i accidentally plugged the 8 pin pci express into the cpu power plug, but then i realized that before i powered the computer on. but my question is, would it work, and if it does, is it safe for long term use? and vice versa (cpu power plug for 8 pin pci express on a graphics card).

 

[Maximilian]

My guess would be hell no.

I remember people warning against using the 4 pin cpu power connector to "fill in" their 24 pin motherboard power plug since they only had a 20 pin cable. Bad idea.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The pinout is DIFFERENT between 8-pin CPU power, and 8-pin GPU power. DONT MIX THEM UP.

 

[cubby1223]

I thought the gpu power plugs were 6-pin

 

[Rifter]

I thought the gpu power plugs were 6-pin

there are 6 and 8 pin PCI-e connectors to supply 75w and 150w of power.

 

[DesiPower]

I guess the question would be, are they on different rails? different voltage? otherwise it doesn't really matter. Another point is the compatibility, if it was really harmful, it would never fit IMHO, If it fits it cannot be harmful. These days computer hardware are pretty idiot proof.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

They are physically the same? This surprises me.

 

[DominionSeraph]

They are physically the same? This surprises me.

They're keyed differently, but it doesn't take much to make one fit where it doesn't belong.

 

[nardz84]

There is sometimes an 8 pin instead of a 4 pin on the PSU for the motherboard CPU power, they are keyed the same for those first 4 slots and should be compatible from everything I have seen in the past. If it was an 8 pin for a PCIe it should be labeled as such and not fit into that connector.

 

[deimos3428]

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

"Make sure that you don't try to plug an 8 pin 12 volt cable into 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 from 8 pin 12 volt cables. The PCI Express cable usually has "PCI-E" printed on the connector. If there are no labels then you can usually use wire colors to tell the two kinds of cables apart. An 8 pin 12 volt cable has yellow wires on the same side as the connector clip. An 8 Pin PCI Express cable has black wires on the clip side. The two power cables are also keyed differently so you can't plug one kind of power cable into the other kind of connector. But as with this kind of connector, you can sometimes force the wrong kind of cable into a connector if you push hard enough. Make sure you have the right kind of cable before plugging it in. The two are definitely not compatible with each other."