New motherboard (again), PSU compatibility

[aelfwyne]

I have an Antec True430 PSU that I paid a pretty penny for, and honestly am not wanting to give up.

After RMA'ing my ASrock, I ordered a new DFI LanParty NF4 Ultra-D... I am NOT planning to do SLI (in fact, it won't do SLI). The board specifies a total of at least 25amps on +12v.

My Antec has 26amps +12v, so I thought I was good to go. Then I see DFI has changed to say they don't support 20-pin PSUs at all, despite earlier reports saying they would work.

I know for a fact my PSU's output is within their requirements, but I see that DFI's reps will never give a straight answer other than "We require you use a 24-pin PSU"...

I have seen other users reporting that the Antec True430 is sufficient for the LanParty boards when not running high-power SLI systems. However, what I don't see, is any difinitive answer on whether or not a 20-24pin adapter is absolutely necessary. I see some sources claiming you can just plug the 20-pin PSU in and go, while others claim you must use the 24-pin adapter?

Which is true? I don't want to have to be running around town when my board comes in looking for an adapter! And I'm really not ready to replace my Antec with a $75-$100 PSU that would in all reality be of no better quality.

 

[lopri]

There is no definitive answer in that it'll depend your choice of components and most importantly quality of your PSU. Generally on DFI LanParty NF4, 20-pin main PSU connector works fine and 20-pin to 24-pin adapter should be avoided because it can introduce additional resistance. You will have to test it out for yourself but if your 20-pin PSU worked well for your previous board, chances are it will work fine with the DFI board. I myself used a 20-pin PSU for SLI-D for a year and didn't encounter any stability issue despite heavy overclocking.

 

[aelfwyne]

I have read that one of the problems with the 20-pin is resistance between the connector and the mb... If it will work without the adapter, for this reason, I'd rather avoid the adapter. The Antec True430 has gold-plated connectors (or so Antec claims), so that has to be better than running through an adapter.