I'm almost done building my new PC, but I've run into a bit of a snag. My power supply unit (Super Flower Leadex VII Pro) comes with 6+2 VGA power cables that don't exactly fit the shapes of the supplemental PCIe power plug on my MSI B850 Tomahawk motherboard. The connector will fit, but the top left corner pin is rounded while the slot is square. Is it safe to use this setup, or does it matter?
2 Answers
You might be confusing the connectors. Those power headers at the top left are actually EPS 12V connectors for the CPU, not PCIe connectors for the GPU. You definitely shouldn’t plug a PCIe cable into that slot since the pin layouts are different, and it could seriously damage your CPU!
It sounds like you're talking about the supplemental PCIe power plug, and you probably don't need to worry about connecting it unless you're running multiple GPUs. It's generally fine to run just a single GPU without plugging that in, since the 24-pin connector usually provides up to 75 watts. But if you're looking for extra stability, especially on that motherboard, you might want to plug it in if you can. Just be careful with those cable shapes!
Using that cable could potentially be risky if the shapes don’t match as they should, since it’s designed for a different purpose. If you want to be safe, I'd suggest looking for the correct cables to avoid any issues.
Thanks for clarifying! I agree, I don’t plan on pushing my system too hard. I've seen some recommendations to connect it for stability, but it does seem to fit fine except for that one pin shape. Do you think using that 6+2 cable would still be a safety risk?