9 - Dreaded 8-pin Power Connector Issues
Power Connector Issues
Uh-oh !
When we received the GX2 and started installing it we ran into a problem, two-fold. The GX2 has both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector. When I inserted the card into the PC I noticed that the 8-pin power connector could not be inserted properly, up-to a point where I got angry forcing me to use too much force. It just didn't fit. I was like WTF is happening here, why doesn't my 300 EUR kilowatt PSU fit on this 8-pin connector.
For whatever reason the retention clip on top of the 8-pin connector is too wide, and blocked by the chassis on the GX2. I took out six power supplies to verify if their 8-pin connector would fit on the GX2, among them SLI certified products .. only the Enermax Galaxy 1000 Watt PSU connectors was able to fit properly, and that's just crazy.
BFG inserted a 8-pin converter cable to bypass this problem ... and Murphy's law kicked in completely, that one didn't fit either. Now our sample is from an early batch, only 50 of these boards + 8-pin cable where shipped out, the new batches have that final (proper) 8-pin cable. But fact is, without that 8-pin feed, your card is not going to work.
Two things are being done to help alleviate this issue. First, board vendors will be making available adaptors to help the oversized plugs work with the GeForce 9800 GX2. Second, PSU manufacturers are updating their designs to follow PCI-E specification.
Now in most reviews you will likely not hear this information, as NVIDIA provided complete systems (including a proper PSU) to the reviewers. Co-incidentally we received a card from BFG as well which we tested in our standard test-rig, by accident I stumbled into this issue.
Chances are getting slim, but should you run into this issue, stay calm. There's two things you can do:
- Contact the board partner, you can (in this case contact BFG) directly at their tech-support. They'll help you out.
- If you do not want to wait (hey I can't blame you) you can solve it .. but will not like it. You need to cut away the retention clip from the PSU 8-pin connecter (use the supplied one in the BFG box) and only then the 8-pin cable will fit. Here's how you can achieve that.
- You're now good to go, once you get the new 8-pin connector, obviously replace it with the one we just physically battered.
As you can see in this model the chassis is blocking the connector, in this case a little .. some PSU connectors have an even wider retention clip. With a bit of luck you can push it a little to (as Beyonce would say) "to the left, to the left".
Above the supplied BFG 6-pin to 8-pin power connector. Blunder - the one supplied was too wide as well and would not allow to be plugged in. BFG has new connectors inbound and the latest batches should already be fine. We cut away the retention clip, and only then are able to insert it. Below the red connector shows what we just cut away.
Not exactly charming, but at least we can now insert the 8-pin connector. Since the retention clip is gone, make sure the connector is pushed in properly, and make very sure that it is secured solid into it's position.
Again, if this issue applied to you; as soon as you receive the new 8-pin cable, replace it !
We tested some, including the majority of SLI certified PSU's, on this issue to see if they would fit properly, it was not the case. This is also not limited to BFG, all board-partners have the same design specification. So please bare in mind that early batches might have this problem.
This is absolutely by far the most silly problem I have noticed in years.
