At this point, rare is the graphics card that does not require auxiliary power . Something that can be seen as normal, since these expansion cards consume more and more. Since the PCIe port on our motherboard is not capable of supplying more than 75 W of power, it is common for even low-end models to need this type of power. In this article we are going to see what types of connectors have been used. Which ones are currently used. And the reason for that need.
There were already models of graphics cards that required auxiliary power before the arrival of the PCIe bus to motherboards. We are talking about the year 2003. And of models as old as the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5000. Which, in their high range (FX 5800, 5800 Ultra, 5900, 5900 XT, 5900 Ultra, 5950 and 5950 Ultra), all required power assistant. However, this feeding was done through a molex connector.
In the case of the older ATI Radeon , there were models that used molex connectors. But other models used the old small molex connector. The one used to power floppy drives.
And it is that, it would not be until the arrival of the GeForce 6000 series and its equivalent of ATI Radeon (the Radeon 90000) a couple of years later, that the first PCIe auxiliary power connectors will begin to be seen .
In fact, in the transition period between AGP and PCIe , it was not uncommon to see the same model of graphics card using both interfaces. And that, therefore, they had the appropriate power connector to this.
How is the PCIe auxiliary power cable?
The auxiliary power cable for graphics cards is characterized by taking all its power from the +12 V rail of the power supply . This is so because the graphics only use that type of power to work. Individual wire colors are usually yellow (for voltage) and black for neutral.
There are also adapter cables that allow the use of molex or SATA power connectors to make up for the absence of these in our power supply.
This type of cable is more modern. Initially adapters were used that were connected to two molex connectors of the power supply. In fact, today, this type of power adapter is still the most widespread. And the one most often distributed by graphics card manufacturers with their models.
As already mentioned, the power connector is of the 6 + 2 type. This means that its main body is a 6-pin connector. To which two extra pins can be added, if the graph needs it.
This gives a lot of flexibility to graphic and font manufacturers. As well as benefits users, in the case of having any of the first graphics that used only the initial 6-pin connector.
The reason for the existence of the two types of connectors is that one of them is capable of providing an extra 75 W (the 6-pin one), while the other connector provides up to 150 W of extra power (the 8-pin one). To this must be added the 75 W provided by the PCIe slot on the motherboard to the graphics card.
