I don’t have another PCIE cable, should I just wait and buy another one before continuing? Or is this fine to use?
I don’t have another PCIE cable, should I just wait and buy another one before continuing? Or is this fine to use?
25 Comments
Do you want to OC? No? Then give it a try. Nothing bad can happen except not enough power will lead to BSOD. If your system will be stable while gaming then worry not, the power cables are rated for those loads and can handle them well. There is no risk with it running it like that
Source: I run 4090 with similar setup at 750W PSU
It’s fine to use but I would recommend another cable just in case
It’s fine, use it interm and order the cable.
Personally, even though extra cables from vendors seem way over priced, i would get another pci cable, from the power supply vendor, just for the peace of mind.
Running some games i see power draw over 400 watts and gpu utilization over 90% with a 7900 xtx.
If you can find an overlay that displays power draw i would enable it and watch it, paying a lot of money for an expensive card and then possibly limiting its performance by starving it of power, seems counter productive.
So you’re wondering if you can use the pigtail?
https://knowledge.seasonic.com/article/8-installation-remark-for-high-power-consumption-graphics-cards
The **recommended** way to power a GPU over 225W is with an individual power cable per connector, but it should be okay to use the pigtail if the card isn’t under heavy load.
For 30-series Founders Edition cards with the 12-pin adapter you will need a separate cable per 8-pin connection, this is listed as a requirement, not a recommendation. This doesn’t change for the 40-series.
* Make sure that 12VHPWR connector is fully plugged into the GPU. Really. It’s also supposed to be easier to connect the adapter before installing the card.
The reasoning has a few facets: using fewer cables means the cables carry more load making them run hotter, which increases resistance, which makes the cable hotter and the PSU work a little more. A sustained loading could expose any flaws in construction.
Not all PSU cables are made equal, those with thinner wires won’t handle heavy loads as well as those made with heavier gauge wire.
I don’t know if anyone has done more the GamersNexus on transient spikes yet, but it seemed that some of the recommendations from PSU and GPU makers to use more cables is to mitigate some of the issues related to transient spikes causing the PSU protections tripping.
MSI has something similar: https://www.msi.com/blog/we-suggest-80-plus-gold-1000w-and-above-psus-for-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3090-Ti
But being focused on a 3090 Ti kind of puts a dent in the appeal.
[ThermalTake](https://i.imgur.com/lelbjsX.png) has a version that’s hidden in a PDF, which is similar to the earlier version of what Seasonic had.
[Silverstone](https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/tech-talk/wh_pcie-connection) seems to say they won’t cover warranty if an issue arises from using a pigtail on a power hungry card. They include [their power cable suggestion graphic](https://www.silverstonetek.com/upload/images/tech/WB21-GRA/PCIe%20connections.jpg).
Wait for another
It depends on the PSU. Some PSUs like the Corsair models can support 300 watts per cable.
*
I’m running mine like that for about a year now, one pluged straight to PSU and 2 daisied. I’ve said I was going to change it but never have and haven’t had any issues. But, I’m also not OC’ing or doing anything crazy with it, just daily use and some gaming.
Parts list: ASRock Phantom Z490, i9 10900k, Enermax Liqmax 240 AIO, 2x 16gb GSkill Ripjaw RAM, Intel 660p 2.048TB SSD, EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra, and Corsair RM850x Gold all wrapped in the Fractal Meshify Compact.
More often than not that’s perfectly fine. 8pin pcie cables are rated for 150w each officially, all but the cheapest crap though is over engineered to a large degree and can handle way more than that.
Best practice is still to use 3 cable’s but it’s usually overkill.
[here’s a better explanation of what I mean.](http://jongerow.com/PCIe/index.html)
Which manual is this from, what GPU are you looking to power, and what Power supply ?
All questions you need to provide answers for before we can tell you whether the image is right or not.
i did this with some cables i got from aliexpress on my 3080 ftw3 ultra (power hungry 350-380w full load) and was fine after a year
Wait I’m not supposed to use a single cable for my GPU? On an RX 6700xt + 1050w PSU atm, will there be issues?
Is that an RM series from Corsair? If so, you can use [this cable](https://www.corsair.com/us/en/p/pc-components-accessories/cp-8920332/premium-individually-sleeved-12-4pin-pcie-gen-5-12vhpwr-600w-cable-type-4-white-cp-8920332). Bought mine off amazon though.
It plugs into 2 8 pin PCIe slots on your PSU straight into the 40xx series card’s 12 pin. No more adapters and no need to worry about thick cables.
Make sure you check that [your PSU is a type 4](https://www.corsair.com/us/en/s/psu-cable-compatibility) is all.
Currently running it on my RM1000x and 4080 Super Aero.
It’s totally fine, don’t worry. I ran a 3070 and a 4090 the same way.
It depends on what your GPU is and your PSU. I would say its fine though. I’ve been letting my little brother use my old Strix 3080Ti, it’s a 3-pin beast and he has a Corsair 750 watt PSU with a Ryzen 3700X CPU and did the same thing as in this image. It’s worked fine for months.
Ohhh, so that’s why my cable is burning out. It’s lasted for a long time like that though. Thanks for posting this
What your PSU only has one cable?
Yes.
It is fine, but it is best to have a power rail for each port. It would be best to have three cables rather than two.
I’ve never seen a situation where this caused a problem.
For that matter with respect to the image with the red X, it makes sense that you would not want to overload a cable but then the PSU manufacturer should not have put a second PCI-E power connector that was not tested to handle its industry standard rated output.
For cards with three ports, yes. It’s not ok to use the daisy-chain when the card has two ports. If you have the option of using three cables that’s even better though.
I look at it this way:
The official manual says it’s acceptable. This is the manufacturer giving their blessing and recommendation to run your rig in a particular configuration.
As long as you’re not overclocking (which is, *on paper*, against manufacturer recommendation anyway), there’s a 99.99% chance you’ll be fine… Setting aside standard margin for error and/or faulty-from-the-box equipment.
If by some staggering odds you catch that 0.01% chance fault and your rig fails, then the manufacturer owes you new equipment. Simple as. They made the recommendation, and as long as you were following the recommendation, you aren’t at fault. Customer service is obviously a different animal and prone to asshattery, but again, *on paper*, this is how it works.
There’s nothing wrong with erring on the side of caution and having a single dedicated cable per slot. This is the best option regardless of anything. But if you’re in a bind, you can use what’s listed in the manual. If they’re a reputable manufacturer, the card/PSU has been tested and proven to this standard, if not better than.
Computers are a lot more durable than most people give credit for. Not to say you shouldn’t be careful or cautious, but you don’t need to baby your rig either. It’ll be okay.
yes engineers don’t usually allow you to plug them incorrectly so if it fits its ok and also in this case you are just like connecting two cards in parallel because those cards have literally twice or trice the chips to feed
110% fine when you’ve got a rtx 4090. Anyone saying otherwise doesn’t know what they are talking about
It’s fine. Even using one cable for 2 gpu power ports is fine.
But it’s better to have a single cable for each port. It’s even better to not use an adapter.