Molex powered GPUs - 12v only?

Posted by Lostdotfish@reddit | retrobattlestations | View on Reddit | 3 comments

I've been working on an XP machine and it uses a 6800 GT GPU. The card takes 2 x 4 pin molex power cables.

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if the card is only using the 12v lines?

I use a SFX modular PSU and it only has 2 accessory connectors for SATA / 4 pin molex cables. I'd rather not power the GPU off either of those and I'm wondering if I could make a custom 12v cable that connects to the PCIE power connector on the PSU (these carry 4 x 12v + GND on each header).

[-]

Tyr_Kukulkan@reddit

These cards were designed to be powered from a Molex connector. That is what you should do.

M_a_l_t_e_s_e_r@reddit

Converting any connector rated for a higher power draw than molex to molex wont have any negative consequences and can be done safely, doing it the other way around ie trying to hack together a molex to 6 pin pcie connector is where bad things happen. even so, my EVGA G2 has 4 molex connectors and i got it second hand for quite cheap so investing in a dedicated power supply is probably worth all of the time and effort saved compared to rigging up a diy solution

Plenty_Article11@reddit

It probably is using only the 12v, look at the circuit board and see if the 5v is connected to anything.