ASUS Crosshair VIII Dark Hero 8+4 CPU Connections

1Wolf

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2007
Messages
433
This is the first mobo I've had with the 8+4 pin CPU connector. I'm a bit confused and I'm not even sure if this is a PSU question or a Mobo question. Mobo Manual says to use either the 8-pin or the 8+4 pin. My PSU is a Seasonic TX-1000 and comes with 2 cables that are "split" with 4+4 connectors that line up together. Take a look at the picture below. In my hand you can see I'm holding the 4+4 CPU connectors from the PSU. Then look at the female slots in the 8-pin connector on the Mobo and visually line up the pins. It doesn't fit. The top 4 pins of the connector line up fine with the top 4 pins of the socket. However, the bottom 4 pins don't match up.

I've attached 2 pictures. One with lines showing the match-up and one without the lines so that you can see it uncluttered. The red lines indicate matches. Square Male to Square Female. Semi-Round Male to Semi-Round Female. The Blue lines indicate mis-matches.

The Blue mis-matched shaped will indeed still fit together. The Semi-Round male pins will still fit into the square female sockets so I can get that 4+4 pin connect to clip on there fine. I'm just not sure if its right. Maybe they are supposed to be that way?

Then, I'm assuming if it is ok that they fit together that way, I'd just talk half of the next cable (Just 4 of the 8 pins in the 4+4) and attach it to the second 4-pin slot on the Mobo and leave the remaining 4-pin from the PSU just dangle.

So I'm a bit confused here. What am I doing wrong?

20210317_193255_2.jpg

20210317_193255_1.jpg
 
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Yes, I have the same board and power supply. You'll have one pair then one half of the next pair. It kind of stinks cause you'll have the other one of the second pair hanging loose. I plan to get a custom cable from cable mods soon.
 
The cables are keyed like that so that either half of a 4+4 plug can be used in a single 4-pin socket.

Yes, I have the same board and power supply. You'll have one pair then one half of the next pair. It kind of stinks cause you'll have the other one of the second pair hanging loose. I plan to get a custom cable from cable mods soon.
You don't have to connect the extra 4-pin. Just the 8-pin is enough for any reasonable use.
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies so far but I think that maybe my questions got a bit hidden in the text. To summarize...

1) First question was about how the 8-pin "Male" pins from the PSU fit together with the 8-pin "Female" socket on the Motherboard. There are a series of Square pins and semi-round (Little house shaped) pins on the PSU cable and a series of square and semi-round (little house shaped) sockets on the Motherboard. I was expecting these to match up. Square for square. Semi round for semi round. But they don't (See pictures with red and blue arrows above, the blue arrows don't match). The plug still fits together fine without forcing it so that means that the "semi round" pegs still fit in the square holes but I wasn't sure if that was SUPPOSED to be that way or not? Is that ok?

2) Second question was the one that was answered above...about whether the 4-pin socket gets filled with "half" of another 4+4 pin cable from the motherboard. Thats what I thought but I wanted to verify. I have read via google searches that you don't really need the 4-pin but I'd rather go ahead and populate it anyway. Better safe than sorry.
 
Thanks to everyone for the replies so far but I think that maybe my questions got a bit hidden in the text. To summarize...

1) First question was about how the 8-pin "Male" pins from the PSU fit together with the 8-pin "Female" socket on the Motherboard. There are a series of Square pins and semi-round (Little house shaped) pins on the PSU cable and a series of square and semi-round (little house shaped) sockets on the Motherboard. I was expecting these to match up. Square for square. Semi round for semi round. But they don't (See pictures with red and blue arrows above, the blue arrows don't match). The plug still fits together fine without forcing it so that means that the "semi round" pegs still fit in the square holes but I wasn't sure if that was SUPPOSED to be that way or not? Is that ok?

2) Second question was the one that was answered above...about whether the 4-pin socket gets filled with "half" of another 4+4 pin cable from the motherboard. Thats what I thought but I wanted to verify. I have read via google searches that you don't really need the 4-pin but I'd rather go ahead and populate it anyway. Better safe than sorry.
You won't be sorry, not having enough power won't damage anything, it just might not be fully stable. Unless you're doing some serious OCing I'd leave it unplugged and see if you have any issues.

In regards to the connector I don't know that I've not seen those match up either but if it fits in there I wouldn't be concerned. Forcing it is just something that you can't do.
 
Reasonable use, HA!! This is [H], plug them both in!!
Fair enough. You can really squeeze a lot of power through those connectors though, like >300W for an 8-pin.

1) First question was about how the 8-pin "Male" pins from the PSU fit together with the 8-pin "Female" socket on the Motherboard. There are a series of Square pins and semi-round (Little house shaped) pins on the PSU cable and a series of square and semi-round (little house shaped) sockets on the Motherboard. I was expecting these to match up. Square for square. Semi round for semi round. But they don't (See pictures with red and blue arrows above, the blue arrows don't match). The plug still fits together fine without forcing it so that means that the "semi round" pegs still fit in the square holes but I wasn't sure if that was SUPPOSED to be that way or not? Is that ok?

I did try to answer that, but I could have explained it better. The 4 and 8-pin sockets have different keying, such that technically they require specific plugs. That would be really inconvenient though, so PSU manufacturers use 4+4 pin plugs that are keyed in such a way that you can fit either half into a 4-pin socket, or both together into an 8-pin. In other words, they are supposed to be like that.
 
Thanks to everyone for the help. I guess, in the end, the answer is that I've found one of those rare occasions in life where its actually ok to put a round peg in a square hole.
 
They exist so that you can't put the square peg in the ROUND hole. round in square is fine :p
 
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