I'm building my first PC with an XFX Mercury 9070 XT, which draws around 340W and uses three 8-pin power connectors. My XPG Core Reactor II 1000W power supply came with three PCIe cables, but each one has an additional daisy-chain connector instead of being a single straight cable. Should I connect all three main cables and leave the extra connectors unused, or use two cables with one daisy chain? I'm mainly wondering what's safest, and how to keep the unused connectors from looking messy inside the case.
3 Answers
Two cables with one daisy-chain connection would probably work, but three separate cables distribute the load better and are the preferred option. If the unused connectors look messy, you can gently zip-tie each one back against its own cable.
Using all three separate PCIe cables is the ideal setup for a power-hungry card like this. The extra daisy-chain connectors are normal and can simply remain unused.
Got it—I’ll use all three cables just to be safe.
Those pigtail connectors are designed to be used this way, so there’s nothing unusual about leaving them disconnected. Another valid layout is using the main connector from one cable, then the main connector and pigtail from another, but three individual cables is the cleaner electrical choice. Custom sleeved cables or extensions are also an option if appearance matters.
That makes sense. I’ll tie the extra connectors back so they’re less visible.