Just got a new Motherboard, CPU and GFX card to fit in my old case with my current PSU, RAM, HDDS, etc. But now its all in bits across my living room i find that my PSU ATX connector is 4 pins to short to fit the new motherboard (Abit KN8 939). Is this something that is non standard? or is it that my PSU is out of date (its about a year old) Is there someway of "modding" the plug so it will fit or will i be missing something important? I didn't budget for a new PSU ontop of the other bits as i assumed all ATX PSUs would be standard. If i can't bodge it, any suggestions on a cheap (read £40ish) reliable PSU that will fit a 939 board? Thanks in advance.
The extra 4 pins are part of the newer ATX v2.0 standard. They provide extra wires to the distribute more evenly the higher current required by more modern processors. Generally, you'll be fine without a new unit - most motherboards won't have a problem running with the older 20-pin connector. If you do have any problems, pick up a Seasonic 400W power supply. They're excellent value, cool, quiet and stable.
Thanks for the swift response. The motherboard has the 24 pin ATX socket, the 4 pin CPU socket and what looks like a 4pin molex to power the PCI-E/AGP cards. So am i safe to just plug the 20 pin connector i have from my PSU into the 24 pin socket on the motherboard? I've checked and it will fit in, missing 4 pins at 1 end. Is there anychance at all it'll ruin the Motherboard or CPU when turned on?
Check the motherboard manual, some say that they can run on a 20pin connector, my housemates ran happily for a week before hit got rid of his *choke* Q-tec *choke*
