Am I paranoid, or will these work together?

[VikingCrown]

I purchased this case :
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-147-005&depa=1

and this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-249&depa=0

from newegg. Now according to the case manufacturer's website, the case has a 20 pin power supply, and I was under the impression that the motherboard had a 24 pin power connection, am I missing something, or do I need to purchase some sort of adaptor? :eek: or am I just wrong and the motherboard does have a 20 pin connection?

[pentachris]

Am I paranoid,

Quite possibly, yes. :D

or will these work together?

Most assuredly, yes. It's an ATX mobo, and an ATX case.

The power supply connection looks kind of like a white honeycomb in the bottom right corner. Count the pins. :)
http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/13-128-249-02.JPG

[jlreich]

Yes the mobo will fit. The motherboards 12" length is the max length for that case. It will be a tight fit, but it will go in. :)

There is a 20 pin connector(the one Pentachris indicated), and an extra 4 pin connector in the upper right corner just behind the PS/2 connectors, used for extra power to the CPU. For a total of 24 pins. Since you already have the case, look at the wires from the PSU, you will see the larger 20 pin connector, and the small 4 pin connector. :)

[saphalline]

Check that picture again, guys! The mobo may be of ATX design, but the main power connector is indeed 24-pins! There's a sticker covering the 4 pins that aren't used with an ATX power supply, but make no mistake, there are 24 pins there. This allows the mobo to accept a wider range of PSU's, inluding EATX/NLX PSU's (used in servers) and the new BTX PSU standard (which combines the 20-pin ATX power connector with the smaller 4-pin 12V connector all in one 24-pin power connector).

As the push to BTX becomes more obvious in 2005, expect to see a lot more mobo's supporting the fledgling standard.

[jlreich]

I was wondering about that sticker, but thought it was probably just some warning notice. :o

I assume since the 4 pin connector is still on the mobo, the connector from the PSU will not fit along side the standard 20 pin connector? But the mobo can use either the 20pin + 4pin, or the new 24pin connector?

[saphalline]

But the mobo can use either the 20pin + 4pin, or the new 24pin connector?
Correct, it's either one or the other. Physically, the 20-pin and the 4-pin won't fit side-by-side anyway, but it's important to tell people not to do this anyway! I've heard many a horror story about people "forcing" things to fit just because they think they should. Computers are a lot easier to put together these days, people! Don't try forcing anything! If it doesn't fit, it's probably not supposed to!!

[VikingCrown]

I'm glad we're discussing this now, as I just ordered the mobo today, and I still have a week or 2 before the build, that way if need be I can order the adaptor.

I just got home and checked out the case power supply, and it is a 20 pin connector and a 4 pin connector (side by side). I also checked out Rosewill's site and it says in their install .pdf for the case that the power supply is 20 pin with a p4 support. I assume this means the 4 pin piece.

So Sapphaline, does that mean I shouldn't (or can't) use the power supply as is with the mobo I have ordered? Or will I need to err on the side of caution and order a 20 - 24 pin converter (which would I need 20 pin male - 24 pin female, or 20 pin female - 24 pin male)

[saphalline]

I just got home and checked out the case power supply, and it is a 20 pin connector and a 4 pin connector (side by side).
No no, they aren't side by side. They are separate connectors. They are NOT supposed to be connected to the mobo side by side. That's why they are 2 separate connectors. Server power supplies and the new BTX power supply don't have 2 separate connectors that are supposed to be side by side, they just have a single 24-pin connector. Rule of thumb - if there are two or more cables, they probably go to separate locations. ;)

The only power supply connector that is side by side is the old AT spec, which died long ago during the PentiumII era. Even if you had an AT power supply, it wouldn't have nearly enough power to run a modern system. Biggest AT PSU I've ever seen was only 265W! :eek:

So Sapphaline, does that mean I shouldn't (or can't) use the power supply as is with the mobo I have ordered? Or will I need to err on the side of caution and order a 20 - 24 pin converter (which would I need 20 pin male - 24 pin female, or 20 pin female - 24 pin male)
They aren't supposed to be side by side, so there is no adapter. The ATX 20-pin power connector goes into the mobo. The 4-pin 12V power connector (ATX 12V spec - this is what your PSU means by "P4 ready") goes into the mobo's 4-pin connector. It's all kept as simple as possible. There's even a sticker on the mobo covering the extra 4-pins of the main power connector so that you don't make a mistake. I doubt the 4-pin 12V connector would even fit into the extra 4 pins on the main power connector anyway, but just so you know, don't force it!! Likewise, the ATX 20-pin power connector will only fit the proper way into the BTX 24-pin connector on the mobo (the connectors are keyed) but once again, don't force it the wrong way!!

Like I said, this is all supposed to be as simple as possible, but there is still going to be confusion between the two specs. All the connectors only fit one way, but I bet you a million bucks some idiot out there will try and force things and fry his system, and then he'll be mad and tell everyone he knows to stay far away from "X" mobo/PSU because they don't work! :mad: I hate people who do that! :p Even the old AT connectors only fit one way, so it's not rocket science! What it boils down to is that whichever way you go, there should be 24 pins going into the mobo. Whether you do it the ATX way and use one 20-pin connector and one 4-pin connector, or go the BTX way and use one 24-pin connector, there will only be 24 pins going into the mobo.

A bit confusing at times, but simple enough once you get the hang of it.

[jlreich]

Don't worry, your fine. :) What you have is what you need. Just leave the sticker on the connector on the mobo, and plug in 20 pin connector from the PSU, and the 4 pin connector from the PSU to the small 4 pin connector on the mobo(upper right hand side of the picture in the post above).

Saphalline's original post was more of a side note, pointing out the new type of connector. Not that it wouldn't work. Please correct me if I am wrong Saphalline.