I put together my PC last night and hooked up the CPU power cables, but I noticed that only one slot is filled. I have a Ryzen 7 9800x3d processor, an ASUS TUF B650E-E WiFi motherboard, and a Corsair RM850x power supply. The cable fills the 8-pin port, but there's another 4-pin port right next to it that's empty. Is this a problem?
2 Answers
It's generally fine if you only have one 8-pin cable connected. Most motherboards only require that one for regular use. Did your power supply come with a second CPU power cable?
One 8-pin can deliver over 300W, which is generally more than enough for your Ryzen 7, which has a TDP of 162W. The extra 4-pin is often for extreme overclocking, so you might not need it if you aren't pushing your CPU hard.
I just checked my PSU box and thought I had only two 8-pin connectors. But I found a 4+4 that was hard to see. If I'm not planning to overclock, should I just leave it alone?
Yes, it came with two 8-pin connectors, but since my motherboard has an 8-pin and a 4-pin, I could only use the 8-pin.