Ive been doing some research while waiting for my new Lan Party Expert to arrive and one thing seems to confuse me.

I know the motherboard requires an 8 pin EPS connector, and if you use a 4 pin Intel connector that you have to use the auxillary floppy power connector.

The question I have is should you use the auxillary floppy power connector with an 8 pin EPS connector?




If you want to read how my first Lanparty was killed read below (It is not related to this question however)


I was waiting on a 24pin cable for my X-connect when my video card arrived (The last part I needed for my new rig). I wanted to see if everything worked so I decided to hook it all up to my dads new Antec case which came with a 420 watt SmartPower PSU. It was still sealed in the box he had never used it and was equally curious to see how it worked. So i hooked everything up using the stock amd heatsink just to see how it would work

I hit the power button and the case booted up. I went into the BIOS to look at the settings then everything went blank the computer had shut off. I thought that maybe i had hooked somthing up incorrectly so I checked every connection on the motherboard. I also noted that powersupply made a strange noise that sounded like static electricity popping i guess, but it only made it after the computer had shut down (or I could only hear it after the computer had shut down)

Everything had been hooked up properly so I turned the system back on and once again went into the BIOS. This time it remained on a bit longer. I went and looked at the cpu temps (around 30C if i remember right) Ram timings, ect. Then it just shut off again at this time I noticed the fans on the videocard and northbridge were twitching like they were trying to spin up but couldent.

I was looking down at the motherboard manual to make sure i hadent missed anything when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye when I tried turning it back on nothing happened at all not even a fan twitch

So my dad took his case to the store to have the powersupply tested and they guy said the powersupply tested out ok, but that it might be bad since the fan didnt turn on. I told him the fan wouldent turn on unless the fan connector was plugged into the motherboard.

He suggested we buy another power supply and return it if it did not work still. So i bought a $120 no name 600watt powersupply. Hooked it all up with no results the mobo was dead. When I pushed the power button the powersupply buzzed and the lights dimmed in my basement. A little chip near one of the PCI slots got so hot that i burnt my finger when i touched it.

My dad ended up taking his case back to the store. And I returned the other powersupply

My new board will be here on monday. And now after doing some research Im feeling my X-Connect isnt going to cut it. It has served me well with my prescott. but looks like its going to be another $150 to get this rig up and running with a decent power supply

Can you maybe take some pics as to further explain the problem? I am not sure I am following you here.

Quote: So my dad took his case to the store to have the powersupply tested and they guy said the powersupply tested out ok, but that it might be bad since the fan didnt turn on. I told him the fan wouldent turn on unless the fan connector was plugged into the motherboard.

The Tech Guy said it was OK but It might be bad? Lol, what an excuse to get you to buy another PSU. Return that PSU he had you bought, since its generic.

To test the antec, get a wire or paper clip and hook it up between the green wire and ground. However, make sure you have a fan or something connected to the PSU.

I get what your saying, Maybe something shorted out, check all your drives, and test them individually. You could have also had bad grounding on the mobo in the case (maybe it was seated wrong). In that case, before you hook everything up (once you get your new mobo) setup a ghetto test station on your bench (have the mobo sit on the cardboard box it came in) Just to make sure everything works OK. Then if it works on on the test station it may hae been a problem with the case.

It'll work with just the 4 pin & 24 pin atx connector hooked up, the floppy connector is basically for an SLI setup, altough they recomend the 8pin EPS connector for a more stable power supply for overclocking, i run a Hiper R 580w with just the 4 pin & 24 pin power connectors with no problems what so ever . I've had my opty 165 up to 3006mhz on it ..... i belive you can get an adapter for the 4 pin to plug in to so it becomes the 8 pin EPS ...

This may sound kinda dumb, but does the same thing apply to the LanParty Ultra?

For 109$ after rebate, the OCZ 520 is a steal!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002

It worked on my SLI rig after a 250$ PC Power and Cooling 510SLI blew a cap after only 3 months!

It also is the one most OC'ers use because it's a single rail, there are issues with dual rail power supplies and SLI/Crossfire...Digi World had issues with his 600watt Fortran and X-1900's, he got the same OCZ and it has been kicking ass since!

It has some nice velcro straps for wire management, and you can adjust the rails...I cannot say how much this power supply kicks ass!

Don't screw around with cheap power supplies, they kill hardware!

Would that PSU be better than an antec of the same wattage?

Quote: Originally Posted by Nerdz The Tech Guy said it was OK but It might be bad? Lol, what an excuse to get you to buy another PSU. Return that PSU he had you bought, since its generic.

The guy suggested that i buy it just to try it out, he told me to bring it back. he gave me a generic one because it didnt have shrinkwrap on it and he could just put it back on the shelf. I took it back the next day

The Antec power supplies have a fan connector on them that plugs into the motherboard. The fan will not turn on if that is not plugged in. When the guy tested it there was no hardware in it so that is why the fan would not turn on. However he did not know about the fan connector. He told me that the computer they had in the back the fan turned on when he plugged the tester in, but that computer was all wired up with the motherboard,

I suspect that the Antec powersupply was bad and it took the motherboard out with it. I have been reading about lots of problems with Antec power supplies, especially the ones that come with the cases.

My dad returned the Antec case as well and is possibly going to get a coolermaster. He wants a mid tower with no door on the front that still looks good. He is going to take my x-connect off my hands and wont need a case that comes with a PSU

I am going to pick up either a fortron or ocz PSU like what is suggested on the dfi-street forums

I will be overclocking and might use sli in the future

Quote: Originally Posted by raptor87 I am going to pick up either a fortron or ocz PSU like what is suggested on the dfi-street forums I will be overclocking and might use sli in the future

Again I will say, Digi got the "Fortran" after reading the same things but it fell flat on it's face (It's up for sale now...CHEAP!) so if you get it and have issues...don't say I didn't warn ya

GET THE OCZ 520 SLI

raptor87 if your going for a new psu then you should consider a Seasonic as it comes with both the 4 & 8 pin connectors it's also highly rated as a top notch psu as is the OCZ that $SOLID$ Necro suggested.

Sn0wMan, from what i've read in magazines & on the web Antec psu's ain't what they used to be ...

Quote: Originally Posted by $SOLID$ Necro For 109$ after rebate, the OCZ 520 is a steal! http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002 It worked on my SLI rig after a 250$ PC Power and Cooling 510SLI blew a cap after only 3 months! It also is the one most OC'ers use because it's a single rail, there are issues with dual rail power supplies and SLI/Crossfire...Digi World had issues with his 600watt Fortran and X-1900's, he got the same OCZ and it has been kicking ass since! It has some nice velcro straps for wire management, and you can adjust the rails...I cannot say how much this power supply kicks ass! Don't screw around with cheap power supplies, they kill hardware!

Thanks I will look into that you posted before I finished my last reply

my replacement lanparty will be here monday so i need to get a PSU asap.

I just hope its enough watts i dont want to have to upgrade the PSU again next time I upgrade

Its amazing how far my computers have gone in the last couple years. when i graduated in 2003 i bought a 2.66ghz intel which I upgraded to a 3.0 in 2004. in december 2004 i ditched my old case and picked up a koolance case and the ultra x-connect which is the best power supply ive owned to date before that i used the ones that came with the $40 cases from the computer show. Now I find out my x-connect is not adequate. Getting into overclocking has been fun and veryinteresing for me

Quote: Originally Posted by raptor87 Thanks I will look into that you posted before I finished my last reply my replacement lanparty will be here monday so i need to get a PSU asap. I just hope its enough watts i dont want to have to upgrade the PSU again next time I upgrade Its amazing how far my computers have gone in the last couple years. when i graduated in 2003 i bought a 2.66ghz intel which I upgraded to a 3.0 in 2004. in december 2004 i ditched my old case and picked up a koolance case and the ultra x-connect which is the best power supply ive owned to date before that i used the ones that came with the $40 cases from the computer show. Now I find out my x-connect is not adequate. Getting into overclocking has been fun and veryinteresing for me

Don't be fooled into by going by just the "Watt" ratings, they mean very little when it comes to how most power supplies are rated...there is no common standard!

You have to pay attention to the "AMPS" on each rail, looks at the 12 v rail of the OCZ 520

520W: +3.3V(28A) +5V(40A) +12V(33A)

33AMPS!

http://www.ocztechnology.com/product...m_power_supply


I can tell you first hand this power supply has the nutz to handle anything out there, enough to feed a 3GHZ Opty SLI 6800 Ultra rig and Digi's power sucking Pentium D at 4GHZ with the highest power drawing Crossfire cards on the market!


Again, and for the last time, there are issues with Multi GPU's and dual rails! You are completely ignoring this advice...so screw you I'm going home!

Very few dual rails will cut the mustard, and the ones that do are alot more money.. for some long haired reading check this out.


http://www.legitreviews.com/article/348/14/

Quote: Again, and for the last time, there are issues with Multi GPU's and dual rails! You are completely ignoring this advice...so screw you I'm going home!

Im not ignoring you

just making sure this is the best choice

blue led fans make me think of honda civics for some reason

I ordered the ocz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002

so back to the original question would it hurt to plug in the floppy connector even though i am not using sli at the moment

Quote: Originally Posted by jonni3 Sn0wMan, from what i've read in magazines & on the web Antec psu's ain't what they used to be ...

Thanks for the advice. I will be buying a new power supply within the next 6-8 months, so I will have to shop around a little bit.

Necro, I had no idea that the OCZ had that much power. I think my coolermaster has like 18 amps or something like that. I will be going from an athlon xp 3000+ to a athlon 64 3500+ also upgrading my BFG 6200 to something like a 7900 GT. I will probably need some extra power to push all that plus neon lights. Do you think I should get at least what? 22-25 amps? more?

It seems like you're asking for advice, then not listening to it if it's not what you want to hear...

Will it hurt? Ummm... YEAH? Is that what you want to hear?

Umm... NO? How about that, is that more like it?

Better yet, why don't you go outside and sit and wait for the UPS guy to deliver it, then read the instructions on both your motherboard and PSU when they arrive?

It is a relatively easy thing to actually do, it's just that some folks are either afraid to or just plain forget...

I'm running an SLI setup, with a PCP&C 510 plugged into the mobo:

2x2 four-pin, 24-pin, 4-pin molex, and 4-pin floppy connectors, no problems...

Quote: Better yet, why don't you go outside and sit and wait for the UPS guy to deliver it, then read the instructions on both your motherboard and PSU when they arrive?

I had read the manual when i originally recieved that board. and it said the auxilarry power connector was not needed unless running SLI. but the people at the dfi-street forums said you should use the floppy connector because of stability issues without it. but they were talking about using only the four pin connector. I was just wondering if it would either damage the board by using it without SLI, or if it would help the board run better. Thats all

I am not ignoring what you say
Just trying to clear some confusion up for myself

Quote: Originally Posted by raptor87 I had read the manual when i originally recieved that board. and it said the auxilarry power connector was not needed unless running SLI. but the people at the dfi-street forums said you should use the floppy connector because of stability issues without it. but they were talking about using only the four pin connector. I was just wondering if it would either damage the board by using it without SLI, or if it would help the board run better. Thats all I am not ignoring what you say Just trying to clear some confusion up for myself

You said you plan to overclock, but not SLI right away, so...

Plug in the two must-haves for the motherboard (20/24-pin and the 2x2 (square) 4-pin), and try to boot it. If it runs fine without the need for the 4-pin molex and the 4-pin floppy, then enjoy...

If it craps out, power down, plug in the 4-pin molex and try again... Runs good, enjoy... Craps out, plug in the 4-pin floppy, and test again. Unless you get some weird variant of the PSU/mobo, that's all the connectors you're going to be able to plug in...

Does that set your mind at ease?

Yeah i see what your saying. It dosent have a 4pin molex connection though

just 24 pin atx, 8 pin eps and floppy power

but i am at ease thanks for your help

and thanks $solid$ necro for the psu reccomendation
and jonni3 I did check out the seasonic

The extra pins to the EPS (8 pin) connector are all 12v+ and ground. If your PSU isn't capable of delivering enough juice on the 12v+ rail, then using something to rig up to the EPS connector won't work. My sevrer board has an EPS connector, and before I had a proper power supply, I rigged two PSU's together to provide the extra juice. I had the mobo and HDD on one PSU; and extra fans, CD drives, and the EPS connector hooked to the other PSU. I fashioned the 8 pin connector out of an old 20 pin ATX cable (found the side the pattern matched and cut that 8 pin section off). I only used it for 1 day to test my new gear at the time, and I promptly got another PSU.

You can make it work as long as you have enough amps on the 12v+ to back you up. However, you are probably best off waiting for a new PSU. It was rather reckless of me to put my $180 mobo on the line with the setup I had. Hope you have better luck with your next PSU and keep us posted on how it works out!