What is a pci-e supplemental power connector?

[yoda313]

Hi,

I'm looking to buy a nvidia 8x series graphics card on ebay for my vista pc for directx 10 games. i have a 7300 now but it uses shared memory so its not very powerful. I see great 8x cards for under 100.00 on ebay and only require 300watt powersupplies which is what I have (hp desktop).

There is a geforce 8400 model I'm looking to buy but there is a feature I'm not sure how to research.

System Requirements:
Window XP ,2000, Vista Ready
A PCI Express compliant motherboard with full-height free slot
A PCI Express supplementary power connector Installation software requires CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive
VGA or DVI compatible monitor
A minimum recommended 300W system power supply (with 12V current rating of 20A).

What is a pcie supplemantary power connector? How do you determine if you have one? Is it simply an extra avaiable power connection on your computer? Does my 7300pcie card already have it? Note my computer was preinstalled and I haven't opened the case yet - I've had it for maybe 5 months now - April I think.

I have cpu-z installed - is there a setting in there to check your graphics card information?

Any help is appreciated. I will open the computer and take a picture of the motherboard if I need to.

Here is the info on the motherboard from cpuz for my amd hp desktop:

asustek computer inc

nyssa 1.01

chipset nvidia id03ea
southbridge nvidia id03e0
sensor fintek 581

bios - phoenix technologies
5.04
12/18/06

pci-e
link width x16
max supported x16


Can I run a nvidia 8x series card on this configuation? I don't want to spend 70.00 and find out I don't have the power connection for it. Thanks for any help.

[redwudz]

It's an extra six pin connector on your power supply. If you have a fairly new PS, it may have one. Don't confuse it with the four pin plugs for the CPU and similar.



There's probably a adapter out there, also. Some earlier cards used a four pin molex plug like your drives use.

[yoda313]

Thanks Redwudz Mine was new this year so there is a good chance it has one hopefully. I'll try to dig up more info on my hp model to see if its standard.

I'm sure there is an adapter available somewhere if I don't. However it might be harder to get now that I don't have a compusa nearby - mine closed

[redwudz]

The only reason I knew about them is because I was wondering what that extra connector on my new PS was for. We don't have any computer parts store within 100 miles where I'm at. But we have UPS.

Those connectors and the newer 24 pin ATX PS connector came about because of higher powered cards, mainly the PCI-E video cards, were melting down the 20 pin ATX connector. I imagine they also put out a fair amount of heat if they need that much power.

[yoda313]

Yep.

Ok I did some searching at newegg and found this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812189120



Unfortunately three user reviews weren't too positive. Apparently nvidia cards are slightly different than this particular adapter.

Hopefully my powersupply is new enough and has the adapter already on it. I would imagine it is since it is designed for pci-e and has a pci-e card already in it.

But at least I know somebody has a converter I can get - this was only 3.00! The shipping probably costs more than the part Probably tigerdirect has a similar product as well.

I think I'm going to go ahead and buy a nvidia 8x card then. I'll worry about the power connector later. I'm not going to open the case until I eventually get the video card.

Thanks for the info redwudz

EDIT - Ok I went ahead and bought a card:

pny nvidia geforce 8400 gs 256mb pci-e

It was 55 with buy it now and free shipping Its new opened but not used. It didn't specify if it needed the power connector or not. BUT now that I know what it is I'm not too worried. I figure I can spend 5.00 on an adapter if I need it and wait the extra few days for shipping on that.

Thanks again redwudz. That just really threw me for a loop there. I had no idea what the power connector was. Now if I do need it I'll be able to get it.

[yoda313]

BUMP!

I am slightly considering upgrading to a nvidia 8600 over my 8400 after I get my dual core amd installed. I did some more digging as to whether or not my stock hp power supply has a pci-e power adapter. It looks as if it does:

http://www.power-on.com/atx12v250bt.html

ATX12V-HP250BT (Bestec ATX-250-12ZD)

Connector notes:
1MOLEX 39-01-2200 or equivalent. Pins 11 and 20 also contains +3.3V, +5V Sense, respectively.
2MOLEX 39-39-9042 or equivalent.
3AMP 1-480424-0 or equivalent. 4AMP 171822-4 or equivalent.
Specifications


This is the equivalent listing for my preconfigured hp desktop model a1520e.

Now my only concern would be if 300watts is enough for the particular nvidia card I end up with.

Note this is not an immediate upgrade decision. I want to get my new dual core chip first and see how it handles BIOSHOCK. Then I can look into an 8600. I think 8800's are a bit excessive for me at this point.

EDIT - I intend to double check for that type of connection when I install my new chip this week.

[redwudz]

That 250W PS may be marginal if you were to upgrade your video card to one that draws a bit more power. I would consider replacing it with a ~400W to be on the safe side if you do go for a 8600 or 8800 video card.

I usually do a rough check of a PS by taking a sniff at the air coming out of it. Any hot plastic or burned smell or a whole lot of heat, like a hair blow dryer, is not good and will shorten it's lifetime considerably. And if it goes, no telling what parts of the computer it might take with it

If you do get to the point of considering a replacement, make sure your case can use a standard sized PS. I think you're fine for now as that new CPU may draw the same or a little less power than your old one. But still I would monitor the PS.

[ScorpioDragon]

BUMP!

I am slightly considering upgrading to a nvidia 8600 over my 8400 after I get my dual core amd installed. I did some more digging as to whether or not my stock hp power supply has a pci-e power adapter. It looks as if it does:

http://www.power-on.com/atx12v250bt.html

ATX12V-HP250BT (Bestec ATX-250-12ZD)

Connector notes:
1MOLEX 39-01-2200 or equivalent. Pins 11 and 20 also contains +3.3V, +5V Sense, respectively.
2MOLEX 39-39-9042 or equivalent.
3AMP 1-480424-0 or equivalent. 4AMP 171822-4 or equivalent.
Specifications


This is the equivalent listing for my preconfigured hp desktop model a1520e.

Now my only concern would be if 300watts is enough for the particular nvidia card I end up with.

Note this is not an immediate upgrade decision. I want to get my new dual core chip first and see how it handles BIOSHOCK. Then I can look into an 8600. I think 8800's are a bit excessive for me at this point.

EDIT - I intend to double check for that type of connection when I install my new chip this week.

Upgrade to the 8600 series (rather than the 8400) if you can afford it. I recently purchased XFX's edition of the 8600GT [XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX Edition 256MB PCIe DDR3] for $139.99 from MicroCenter, and am not disappointed. (As a bonus, it came with the full verison of the Company of Heroes PC game.) A minimum 350-watt power supply is recommended for this type of card, but you'd be better off with at least 400 - but prefereably more depending on your hardware demands (number of hard drives, CD/DVD burners, fans, etc.). You may be interested in knowing that this particular card does not require a PCIe connector (although it does have the option).

Also, for detailed information about your graphics card, try GPU-Z.

[johns0]

Better yet is get a 8800gt,i had a 8600 gts and it wasnt good enough to play the newer games(the witcher,overlord)unless i chose low settings,once i put in my 8800gt i set the games to high settings and it made a big difference.

You will have to pay another $100 for at least the 256mb 8800 gt but it sure worth it for the newer games.

[guns1inger]

So far no-one has actually produced a DX10 game that is worth the effort, or that uses DX10 well enough to justify upgrading further. And you have to go to Vista to get DX10 anyway, which I'm not yet prepared to do at home. Frankly, I think DX10 is a bit of joke at the moment.

[yoda313]

I don't know if I'm ready for a 200.00 8800 yet.

I am going to wait for my dual core to come this week. When I see how it handles BIOSHOCK in conjunction with my 8400 than I'll decide on my upgrade path for a video card.

And by the way my rig has a 300 watt power supply. It probably would be a good idea to get a new one. This is a series of firsts for me, my first chip installation and possibly a new power supply.

[johns0]

You dont want to play Bioshock with a 8400,it will run like crap,just be warned.I got an antec 650w psu just to be safe for my new rig,a good quality 500w psu is the least you should get in case you upgrade to better video cards.

If you are serious about playing the newest games coming out you will need a card like the 8800gt at least,if you just play the casual game in the lowest settings then the 8600gt will be good enough.

[yoda313]

Thanks johns0.

Yeah I'm debating with myself. I think this weekend I will pickup a new powersupply and a 8800.....

EDIT - by the way do the ever make those double thick cards with the thick part on the "back" side of the pci-e card? I have all my slots full so if I were to pop in a particlarly beefy one I might have to sacrifice a card and I don't really want to do that.

[johns0]

The 8800 gt is a single slot card,best to have one slot open beside it or a fan blowing on it if you put another card beside it.

[guns1inger]

Reports I have been reading on the 8800GT say the single slot fan is very noisy and the card still runs very hot.

[Squash]

@yoda313,

I know you stated in your original post that you were looking for an Nvidia card, but if you're open to the possibility of looking at AMD/ATI then a pretty good compromise between an 8600gt and an 8800gt would be an ATI HD 3850, which falls roughly half-way between the two in gaming performance, is one-slot wide (as are most 8800GTs), and uses less power than an 8800gt (Load/Idle: 8800=223/120; 3850=195/96; 8600=155/100, according to legitreviews cited below; I've seen other figures elsewhere). Here's a review of various cards' performance on Bioshock:

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/603/8/

Lots of good info here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/03/the_best_gaming_graphics/

Due strictly to gaming performance, I dumped an 8600gt for a 3850 about a month ago when BestBuy had them for $160 US. I avoid the high-end because I'm a cheapskate. The 8600 wasn't cutting it in Crysis, although it did play Bioshock fairly well at medium settings at 1280x1024, my monitor's native resolution. The 3850 will give about 2 to three times the framerate of an 8600 in Bioshock, depending on your resolution. My 3850 came with a molex-to-pcie power adaptor as in your picture above, but extras like that depend on the vendor.

I've moved back-and-forth between ATI & Nvidia cards many times over the years depending on their cards' price/performance ratios and have had no problems. And I've never run into problems using ATI cards on mobos with Nvidia chipsets.

I'm not trying to talk you into anything; not a fanboy of either; just another option.

If you're not in a hurry, Nvidia has a new line-up coming out supposedly in March (it was supposed to have been Feb. 14, but got pushed back due to Chinese New Year celebrations interfering with production; must be a helluva party). That should help reduce prices on current models at least, and hopefully they'll finally come out with a decent mid-range gaming card like the 3850.

[yoda313]

Thanks everyone.

I don't know if I will jump yet or not. I got my dual core installed and I can play BIOSHOCK on full detail at 960x660 widescreen resolution. Its not mindblowing but it looks very good. Using the fill option on my hdtv I get full screen support.

I may still do it but I'll have to consider it.

By the way I don't have anything against ATI but my motherboard is NVIDIA so I decided to stick with them.