POWER SUPPLY for LGA 1366 sockets

Question

I have just bought this motherboard: a TYAN S7002 (S7002G2NR-LE).

It's based on two LGA 1366 sockets for Intel Xeon 5500 series.

I am having a problem with it though. Apparently, the power supply I am using (is the one used on regular, not server, computers) only has one 24-pins power connector for the motherboard, while the motherboard has, besides the 24-pin connector, two others 8-pin power connectors.

My question is: do I really need connectors for the two 8-pin power connectors? What kind of power supply should I buy to make sure it will work?

Answer 1

According to the SSI EPS-12V power supply standard, those 8-pin power connectors are for the processors. So, assuming the motherboard was designed the way I would expect, each plug needs to be plugged in for the corresponding processor to work.

As mentioned earlier, the power supply is an EPS-12V power supply. You can also find the 8-pin processor power connectors on SLI/Crossfire power supplies, but to get two of them may take some digging. The EPS spec only requires 2 8-pin processor power connectors above a certain power level (such as 800W).

The Manual for the S7002 recommends 1000W+ PSU. A brand I have experience with is ThermalTake Toughpower.

Keep in mind, the PCIe 8-pin plug will not fit into the 8-pin processor power plug.

Answer 2

You DO need to have something plugged in there. The processors take their power directly from those 8 pin connectors.

Unless you have a REALLY old power supply, it should have at least one 4 pin CPU connector. You can get away with using the 4 pin CPU connector in an 8 pin socket. It will fit into one of the sides of the connector without any modification or force.

That connector only carries 12v and ground - the pins are connected together on the motherboard. They use more wires to be able to carry more current without heating up the wires. It's not ideal to use the 4 pin connector, but I've never had a problem with it.

You can also get adapters or splitters that will connect to a molex plug and give you 4 or 8 pin CPU connectors. If you are using 2 CPUs, you'll need at least 2 4pin CPU connectors from the power supply.

Unless this is a fairly high end desktop power supply, I'd look into replacing it with the proper one anyways. It's not really a matter of what connectors it has, but rather that it has sufficient power to run the system properly.