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15 February 2010
Author: Giorgos Lazaridis
PC Power Connectors




ATX 4 pins 12 Volts power supply

Along with the ATX12V 1.0 (2000), this 4-pins connector came to provide some extra 12 Volts

When the 24-pins connector was introduced, the power supply problem was somehow solved. But the motherboards and the devices had more demands on 12 Volts, thus, the 4-pins 12V power connector was introduced. This connector has 2 12V and 2 GROUND cables. It is physically polarized to avoid errors in connection.


Part Numbers:
CableMotherboardTerminalsMax current
(per pin)
Molex 39-01-2040 Molex 39-28-1043 Molex 39-00-0168
Molex 44476-1111
8 A

Pinouts:
#ColorDescription
1BLACKGROUND
2BLACKGROUND
3YELLOW+12V
4YELLOW+12V



ATX 6 pins auxiliary power supply

A mostly rare connector, used usually with the old 6+6 pins connector. Most people have never seen such a connector.

This is a rather rare connector. It was used mostly with the 2x6 pins power supply. It had +3.3 and +5 volts lines, as well as three extra grounds. It is a polarized connector with all the... bad habits that the 6+6 power supply connectors had.


Part Numbers:
CableMotherboardTerminalsMax current
(per pin)
Molex 90331-0010 Molex 15-48-0106 Molex 08-50-0276 5 A

Pinouts:
#ColorDescription
1BLACKGROUND
2BLACKGROUND
3BLACKGROUND
4ORANGE+3.3V
5ORANGE+3.3V
6RED+5V



ATX 8 pins 12 Volts power supply

The EPS12V cable was adopted by the SSI group to provide more power and stability

A new connector with 4 12-volts lines introduced during 2003. It was used for powering multiple CPUs, but as the new CPUs was growing rapidly, it became a standard connector. It is usually called also "EPS12V" cable. This cable was adopted by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) group to provide a more powerful and stable environment for critical server-based systems and applications. Sometimes, power supplies carry only one 4-pin 12V connector. You may connect only one 4-pins 12v power supply in an 8-pins connector on the motherboard with no problem. Also, if your power supply comes with 2 x 4-pins 12v connectors, they can be connected both, side by side on the motherboard. It is physically polarized to avoid errors in connection.


Part Numbers:
CableMotherboardTerminalsMax current
(per pin)
Molex 39-01-2080 Molex 39-28-1083 Molex 39-00-0168
Molex 44476-1111
7 A

Pinouts:
#ColorDescription
1BLACKGROUND
2BLACKGROUND
3BLACKGROUND
4BLACKGROUND
5YELLOW+12V
6YELLOW+12V
7YELLOW+12V
8YELLOW+12V




Peripheral power supply
Peripheral 4 pins power supply

This is the oldest connector that is used still (and widely) today, for powering various devices of any kind

This connector dates back to the original PC 6+6 pins power supply, yet it is still widely used. At first it was used to power the hard disc drives and the cd-roms, but until today it has been used to power any kind of device, such as extra fans, video cards, moding accessories etc. It is so common, that the term "4 pin molex" leads directly to this connector, even if a 4 pin molex is also the 4 pins 12V power supply cable for the motherboard. It is physically polarized to avoid errors in connection.


Part Numbers:
ComputerCableTerminalsMax current
(per pin)
Molex 15-244-xxx Molex 15-244-048 Molex 20-81-201
Molex 20-81-202
11 A

Pinouts:
#ColorDescription
1YELLOW+12V
2BLACKGROUND
3BLACKGROUND
4RED+5V



Floppy disc 4 pins power supply

Also a very old connector, but it looks like that it has crossed the point of extinction...

This is also dated from the first PC 6+6 power supply, but it is slowly disappearing, as the floppy discs are disappearing too. It has exactly the same pins as the previous 4-pins peripheral connector, but it is smaller in size, thus is usually called "mini molex". Sometimes, except the floppy discs, this connector was used to provide extra power to the AGP cards. The connector is physically polarized to avoid errors in connection.


Part Numbers:
CableTerminalsMax current
(per pin)
AMP 171822-4 AMP 170262-1 3 A



Pinouts:
#ColorDescription
1RED+5V
2BLACKGROUND
3BLACKGROUND
4YELLOW+12V







Relative pages
  • Learn how the PS2 keyboard protocol works
  • Learn about the most popular PC Cooling methods
  • Learn about the WiFi interferences to the human body
  • Learn about the origin of Internet, how it started and the course to what we know today as Internet
  • How to make a MAME arcade machine controller without the use of a keyboard
  • Re-use and/or extend your molex connectors










  • Comments

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    BEFORE you post a comment:You are welcome to comment for corrections and suggestions on this page. But if you have questions please use the forum instead to post it. Thank you.


          

  • At 2 November 2011, 5:56:38 user Kammenos wrote:   [reply @ Kammenos]
    • @Roger Cole for small signals you may wanna use RJ connectors, like the ones used on telephones and ethernet cables. They come in different sizes with 2,4,5,8 wires and they are pretty small. This is what i would use for small signals. For high current rates, polarized headers such as these are ggood:
      http://www.futurlec.com/ConnPolHead.shtml


  • At 1 November 2011, 17:24:02 user Roger Cole wrote:   [reply @ Roger Cole]
    • Great resource as has been said. I am looking for a plug/socket to adapt a six-wire 12v house thermostat controller. Based on reading this, (a) I can forget about using the ATX 6 pin as being too rare but (b) looks like I could use two peripheral 4-pin plugs or (c) the PCI Express 6=pin. The latter looks like overkill for the small signals and currents there will be and I am thinking option (b). Any thoughts appreciated!


  • At 20 October 2011, 5:13:55 user Kammenos wrote:   [reply @ Kammenos]
    • @Mark Green each connector has a different key, so that they cannot be connected wrong. You may wanna check the keys to ensure that they do connect there. If you see closely the conneters you will notice that each pin may be rectangular, or like a roof top. The same "keys" applies to the the connector receptacles on the motherboard. This way, you cannot put wrong connectors.


  • At 19 October 2011, 20:20:57 user Mark Green wrote:   [reply @ Mark Green]
    • What a great resource!

      MY Gigabyte x58 has and 8 pin MBD connector which is labeled \"ATX\"-no mention of pci-e.

      Can the 6x2+2, or 6x2 pci-e cable from the P/S be plugged into this?

      The OCZ power supply I want to buy does not mention 8pin ATX, it only talks about 6x2 and 6x2+2

      I am guessing the \"ATX\" 8 pin receptacle on the MBD has 12v conductors in the MBD which lead to the pci-e slot?

      I am confused-can you explain?
      Thank You!
      Mark


  • At 21 February 2011, 2:56:29 user Pietro Azurin wrote:   [reply @ Pietro Azurin]
    • You have a very clean, sharp and down to earth site. Keep-up the hacker/hobbiest point of view audience. I learn so much from your site.Thanks



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