I bought an ASUS Prime RX 9070 XT graphics card and an ASUS Prime power supply, but the card has three power connectors. Should I connect all three, and which cables or ports on the power supply should I use?
3 Answers
If your power supply has ports labeled PCIe or GPU, plug the three graphics-card cables into those ports. Modular PSU cables are not universally interchangeable, so only use the cables that came with your specific power supply. Check the manuals or a reliable installation guide before starting if you are unsure.
Use all three 8-pin connectors on the graphics card. Connect each one to a separate PCIe/GPU cable from the power supply, using the 6+2-pin ends if that is how the cables are configured. Do not use CPU/EPS cables, splitters, or extension adapters. Make sure each connector is fully seated.
Check the power supply’s wattage and the graphics card’s recommended requirements first. A 750W Gold unit may be borderline depending on the rest of the system, so compare its official specifications with ASUS’s recommendation before powering it on. If the PSU does not include three separate PCIe cables, replacing it with a suitable unit is safer than improvising with adapters.
The important part is having enough dedicated PCIe cables and connectors, not just the wattage printed on the PSU. Use the cables supplied with that exact modular power supply.