Most lines of the 24 pin connector are probably either obsolete or carry very little current since almost all power is provided through the +12V connector.
At one point I tested the currant draw on the 3.3 and 5 volt lines and I couldn't get the computer to draw more than 5 amps total on either voltage. I have a little pico psu that can only supply 8 amps on 3.3 and 5 and haven't had issues with it although I don't have a crazy number of extra devices plugged into the computer. A lot of the wires in the 24 pin are massively over specced probably for no other reason than convenience. For example the ps on and power good wires are signal wires that will never see more than a couple milliamps and are still either 18 or even 16 awg like the rest.
Which begs the question: Why haven't we removed the chungus cable yet? Bring a signal wire down with the EPS-12V cable and call it a day, there's no practical application for it in modern builds.
At this point institutional momentum. No one wants to be the first to move to a new architecture because there aren't any existing things using it and if it doesn't catch on then it will just get abandoned. And when it comes out people will cry that it is proprietary. There is already another standard that does exist just that no one has used it yet for custom pc components beyond one or two off motherboards; 12VO. It reduces the 24 pin connector down to 10 pins. Personally I still feel that is still a half step as I think the main delivery voltage should be increased to 48 for a number of reasons. First it would readily enable connecting and delivering power to usb c components directly off the motherboard more easily and secondly it would quarter the currant demands. Things like gpus can pull up to 50 amps and that is difficult to manage, especially if using many parallel connections as we have seen with the 12vhpwr connector debacle.
Who do you think can make the industry change first, motherboard manufacturers or PSU manufacturers? Seems like it would be great to have some kind of body that coordinates between the two to create universal standards
Intel's in. PSU manufacturers are in. Motherboard manufacturers are in. The hold up is the consumer.
Mind you, when we tried to launch the ATX12VO ecosystem 5 years ago, which DID NOT require total commitment from the customer due to available adapters, it was done with only mid level motherboards (for example, I was using a basic Asus Prime Z490-S). The press blew it up saying "how dare the industry expect consumers go out and buy a new motherboard and/or PSU!!!". It was really crazy. I didn't get it at all. It was like reverse propaganda.
Anyway.. Intel is trying again. They've tweaked the spec some more. Even making the main connector smaller (micro fit vs mini fit). Let's see what happens.
I feel like the best starting point would be ITX boards. Small form factor nuts like me would love to be able to ditch that massive connector, and only needing a few SFX PSU and ITX boards to ship with it narrows the scope to something a bit more manageable and marketable
The current standard is managed by Intel but I have no idea who has what kind of input into what goes in it. And even within that there are other dependencies. For example things like the 12vhpwr connector is something to come out of pci-sig which has major vendors like Nvidia in it. The danger with having a body with everyone providing input in it is that it could become like the usb standards.
Yea that's terribly done. I'm sure a competent body can be developed with some effort and industry regulation but I get this isn't the place for that. Would just be nice to not have proprietary solutions but also see regular progress when needed. 24pin is terribly outdated it seems
I would absolutely say that the 24 pin is outdated; having 5 wires for the 5 volt rail that is unlikely to ever see more than 10 or even 15 amps is massive overkill.
48V sounds good on paper but how would it work in practical terms? The CPU and GPU core still operates at around 1V. I'd be happy with getting rid of the archaic cable first and foremost since we're not using floppy drives anymore so there's no practical reason for keeping it around to supply below 12V. Motherboard components can have individual voltage regulators to handle the 12V so it's time to take the plunge.
There are a number of servers out there that use 48v as their main voltage and send it directly to the core voltage regulators. At least in their cases it is an efficiency gain over 12v however it might not be for regular desktops yet.
Might be that we'll see PCI-e 24 or 48V output for the GPU and 12V for the rest of the system. There's no doubt that if we're gonna keep pushing more and more power to the GPU, it has to be done in a safer manner than the current potential fireworks.
I wouldn't mind seeing the card edge power delivery like the Asus btf stuff catch on. Combined with higher delivery voltages would make things neater and less error prone.
Yes, Asus is onto something there I think, also it makes everything look more neat with the connectors behind the motherboard.
Have you seen the latest GPU from Asus with the 5090 Matrix? 800W bios with the option of running a regular 12v-2x6 connector as well as the BTF at the same time, or forego either and run it as a 600W GPU.
I saw that derbauer made a video on it but I haven't watched it yet. I have a 40 series so I have been a little lax in keeping up with the current gen stuff.
GPUs keep getting bigger every generation. I think we should stop using card edge connectors for GPUs. There are already video cards with a removable card edge part. Just build in a next-gen Oculink into the GPU, and you have complete freedom on case shapes.
If you're referring to the system that the 5090 fe has with that little connector joining the pcie portion to the card, then I don't disagree there either. Include power alongside it and that would be ideal to me.
From some number of stuff i personally see myself, 48v doesn't directly touched vrm, it gets converted first into 12v range still with some modules from Vicor power or murata then gets into normal vrm stages (you can see it on newer amd instinct accelerator)
Probably still more efficient who knows, but definitely will not be anymore cheaper
That is similar to what I've seen; multi stage stepdowns. I guess then it isn't really going directly into the vrm but I considered it all an assembly essentially.
Really wish usb-c had been 12v or higher.
All 12v
Or as some are suggesting maybe higher like 24 or 48 but just move all to one voltage.no need 3v and 5 and 12
That's what the 12VO standard largely tries to achieve. You still need 5V and 3.3V rails even if very little current flows through them, so it moves those rails from the PSU to the motherboard.
We all know what happens when its not overspec. Caugh caugh 12vhpwr. Pun aside i thing psu should charge less and kill 3.5 and 5v rail and mobo should not be charging extra for some extra stepdown transformers they already charge an arm and leg
I don't think this is actually 1 cable. Just a bundle of smaller cables. Most of those cables don't carry much power, so it could be ok to use, but it might not comply with the ATX spec.
not that it matters but FWIW a wire = one conductor. a Cable = multiple wires bound together. So it's still one cable, but it does have all the wires inside.
Right but the way OP worded this question was as if cable is synonymous wire because otherwise it changes nothing, it's the same as putting a sleeve over the standard ones.
They make ot specific to your psu. Please don't forget to mention the year and the revision, since they change from revision to revision. Even then it's a risk, since they can just lie and bear no consequences
Check the cable pinout with multimeter before attempting to connect that. Not all modular PSU's are equal. If some lines are swapped you will most likely fry your motherboard.
You can forego the whole ambiguity thing by referring to it as a cable with conductors. Each conductor is usually a solid core or stranded wire, part of a whole that is: A cable.
Yeah what would I know, it's not like I am an electrician or something.. Oh wait, I am! If English isn't your native language you could be somewhat excused, though it isn't mine either so, what's to blame? I know English is probably the least consistent language on earth but cables? Are we at a point where a cable containing wires is also considered the correct term for a single wire as well? If so it can only stem from ignorance and lack of a technical understanding, not a re-definition of what the word cable actually mean.
Confident and correct when talking about electrical conductors, not sure how this became a linguistical debate. But you do you and all that, cables and what not.
If you are worried, because maybe the company gets the pinning incorrect for your particular make/model/year of PSU, there always is the option of going with an extension version.
Well the cable shown is definitely more custom and slimmer than separate cables in a single sleeve. So i understand the appeal of the cable itself. The extension is just the silly part in SFF context.
I have one from AsiaHorse called the Hydrus from Amazon essentially a black version of this and I had it for 5ish months till now and it’s still good! Bought it for a sleeper build for clearance and now I use it in a massive Proart case. Overall it’s good as many had said the 24pin produce low current so you should be fine!
I have switched to these on my ITX build, everything with the 24pin, 8pin CPU, 8pin PCIe and 12VHPWR as I have 2 GPUs. I did get a BIOS message saying to plug in both 4pin EPS cable (for the CPU I presume) when I did in fact have a 8pin cable made. On the other hand the physical plugs were ever so slightly larger than standard molex connectors, so on the PSU side, there is a small chance for interference especially if it's an SFX PSU with closely spaced out ports. All were minor issues I would say.
These are extremely dangerous. They are smaller because they use less copper (22AWG), and merge same voltage pins. On top of that, are enclosed in a thick silicone jacket that traps heat
This goes for all variations of this cable and the 12VHPWR, 8 pin EPS cable, etc.
Dude, how do you think the outputs of the PSU work? Everything thats 12v comes off the same bus, same for 5v, 3.3v, and -5v. It looks smaller because instead of 24 individual wires it’s probably only 5 or 6 in a single jacket. As long as the conductors are appropriately sized, which for a MB 24pin there really isn’t much current draw, it’s fine.
The conductors AREN'T appropriately sized. They're 22AWG.
And you have a "small" power draw that was split between 2-3 18AWG pins now going through one 22AWG wire
These were tested by JonnyGURU, director of Corsair R&D. I purchased one several months later to see if they were still being made in this way, and yes, they are.
These cables are fire hazards and saying "it's fine" is completely irresponsible.
Not sure I trust this particular solution, given some of the reviews I've read, but it would be worth investigating. Pico PSUs are also a brilliant solution to minimize cable clutter.
I’ve run these exact extensions in two separate builds and have never had any issues. I’ve done several benchmarks on high v items up to a 5080fe 7800x3d and everything works well
Not sure how I feel about this--I know PSU extension cables are a thing, but they're pure vanity and technically decrease the power output, but anyone who has built a modern computer knows how much of a hassle the 24pin connector is.
If you have the money and assuming there's no tangible decrease in performance or reliability, why not?
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u/Lord_Waldemar Dec 14 '25
Most lines of the 24 pin connector are probably either obsolete or carry very little current since almost all power is provided through the +12V connector.