Quick question

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I need to get a molex to 6pin PCI-E power converter but I have noticed that there are two types!!

One uses a single molex connector and the other a pair - what is the best one to choose??

The graphics card I am using is an HD3870 512MB GDDR4.

[circuitmonkey]

I've collected a fair few over the years, send me a PM with your address and i'll be happy to throw one in the post for you, this goes for anyone else too

[DanceswithUnix]

I think I would generally choose the Molex pair.

A hard drive Molex pinout has one pin with 12V on it, one 5V, and two 0V connections.
The PCIe connector has two pins for 12V, and three 0V connections (+one unused).

So using a pair of Molex connections gets you two 12V pins from the PSU to drive two pins on the PCIe connector.

Couple that with the fact that Molex connectors are a bit rubbish, and using a pair of them just seems a good idea.

[Sputnik]

I guess it depends if you want to spread the load of the card across 2 rails or not ?

[Uriel]

I once got one from somewhere that I think was wired incorrectly - a 2 molex to 6 pin pci-e. My PSU at the time would just cut out if it was plugged in. It worked with one molex though.

I'm sure whether you actually need 2 molexes connected depends on how much juice your graphics card actually draws.