I'm totally confused about how to install my EVGA GQ Power Supply

February 10, 2020 7:11 PM

I'm building a PC, and I've gotten to the part of installing the PSU. The instructions don't make sense, they don't label things (that I know of) and there are tons of cables. How do I know what wattage to use? Below is my PC build parts.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

I found this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rucfmsGjPow

But it still very much confuses me. It doesn't answer which bundle of cables to use. It says there is a "tester", but there was no tester that came with my brand new PSU (It was from Amazon, and New, not used.)

posted by ggp88 to Technology (9 answers total)

Response by poster: This is the part list... I accidentally didn't post it the first time:
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ggp8/saved/#view=DXfvf7
posted by ggp88 at 7:35 PM on February 10, 2020

Your list isn't set public yet I don't think. I get "Permission Denied" when I try to load it.
posted by glonous keming at 7:37 PM on February 10, 2020

Response by poster: Maybe this will work?
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/ggp8/saved/#view=JH3y4D
posted by ggp88 at 7:39 PM on February 10, 2020

Best answer: So a little help: The part in the video around 1m where he's talking about the cable you'll plug into your motherboard (the long narrow one with 2 parts) is a bit different from the one on your PSU. The video's mobo cable is fully modular, while the one on your PSU is already permanently attached to you PSU. It's the thick harness of cable that's wrapped in black mesh coming out on the right edge of the side where all the other modular parts will plug in. The plugs on the other end of that will plug into your motherboard.
posted by glonous keming at 7:46 PM on February 10, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks! I was able to figure that out, but I wasn't able to figure out which bundle of cables to use. There are so many, and it scares me that I'm going to choose the wrong combination and damage my equipment.

My PC part picker guide said that my estimated wattage for all my parts is 464W. But, again, which bundle of cables would I use based on that fact?
posted by ggp88 at 8:10 PM on February 10, 2020

Best answer: If your power supply didn't come with a tester, that's fine. Most don't, and it's a completely optional step. If you bought your power supply new from a reputable supplier it should provide power that's well within-spec.

Most (all?) modular power supplies have keyed connectors that only fit the type of connector that they'll be supplying power to, so if the cables aren't labeled and you're not sure which cable will plug into what, it should only fit into the socket meant for that cable on the PSU. That said, the manual and the PSU itself should have the sockets labeled. Only one end of the cable will plug into the PSU; again most (all?) modular PSUs take care to make sure that you can only plug in the cables one way, so as long as you don't try to force any connections, you should be fine.
posted by Aleyn at 8:12 PM on February 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Also, the wattage of the PSU just specifies the maximum amount of power it can deliver, and as long as you match the cables to the sockets for what you need to supply power to, you don't need to wire things up in any specific configuration. I'd recommend using the fewest number of cables you can get away with purely for aesthetic and airflow purposes, but it's not necessary to do so.
posted by Aleyn at 8:18 PM on February 10, 2020

Best answer: You don't pick bundles of cables based on wattage. You just plug in the bundles you need based on what you have that needs power.

You need power to the cpu, so get one of the bundles labeled cpu then plug it into cpu1 on your power supply and the 8-pin cpu power input on your motherboard. You'll have to grooble the two 4-pin connectors together to make the 8 pin connector the motherboard wants to suckle on; this is normal.

You need power to your video card, so get one of the bundles labeled vga and plug it into vga1 on your power supply and the two 8-pin connectors into your video card. Your psu has 6+2 connectors that turn into 8-pin; this is normal.

You need power to your spinny hard drive, so get one of the bundles labeled SATA then plug it into the sata1 connector on your psu and the power input on your hard drive. (you'll also need a sata data cable between the hard drive and the motherboard).

That should do it, looking at your build list. Chuck the rest of the cable bundles back into the psu box and chuck *that* into the case box and put it someplace. Your cpu cooler will plug into and get power from the cpu fan header on the motherboard. The nvme stick drive will get power and data connections directly from the motherboard.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:59 PM on February 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. My course of action is becoming a lot more clear now. My only remaining question is that I notice that there are (what seem like) duplicates of each kind of cable. All the CPU cables have the same exact keyed connectors on each end, all the VGA cables have the same connectors, and all the SATA cables have the same connectors.

The manual indicates that all the CPU cables are all the same voltage (12V), though it doesn't indicate the voltage of the VGA cables or the SATA cables.

Does this mean that I should be fine using any of the included CPU cables, any of the included VGA cables, and any of the included SATA cables, as long as they fit into the correct sockets?? Or does it matter which ones I use?
posted by ggp88 at 7:29 AM on February 11, 2020