POWER CONNECTORS

WHAT IS A POWER
CONNECTOR?

 Power connectors
are devices that allows an
electrical current to pass
through it for the exclusive
purpose of providing power to
a device.
 WHY IS THE POWER CONNECTOR
IMPORTANT?
• Power connectors act as the vital link between a device and its
source of power.
• Power connectors can carry either an alternating current (AC)
or direct current (DC)
 TYPES OF POWER CONNECTORS
20 Pin P1 4 Pin ATX + 12v 8 Pin 12-V 4 Pin Molex
Connector 24 Pin P1 Connector/ 20+4 Pin P1 Connector Power Connector Connector Connector

15 Pin SATA 4 Pin Berg PCIe 6 Pin PCIe 8 Pin PCIe 6/8 Pin
Power Connector Connector Connector Connector Connector
20 Pin P1 Connector
• The 20 Pin P1 Connector is the main motherboard
power connector used in the early ATX system.
• It includes 3.3 volt rail to power newer chips that
need less than 5 volts of voltage.
• It has a second 5 volt rail that is constantly on even
if the power supply is turned off to supply the
motherboard with power when the computer is sleeping.
 24 Pin P1 Connector/ 20+4 Pin P1
Connector

• The 24 Pin P1 Connector, also called the 20+4 pin

connector, is the main motherboard connector used
today.
• This connector has two pieces a 20 pin, and a 4 pin.
• This allows you to use just the 20 pin connector for a
20 pin motherboard; or connect the 20 pin and the 4 pin
together for a 24 pin motherboard. 
4 Pin ATX + 12v Power Connector
• The 4 Pin 12-V Connector is an auxiliary motherboard
connector, which is used for extra 12-V power to the
computer.
• Computers use to put most of their load on 3.3 and
5 volts, computers then started to use 12 volts more and
more.  
•This connector added two 12 volt lines so more of the
load could be shifted to 12 volts.
•They were used to power CPU and sometimes
motherboards. 
 8 Pin 12-V
Connector
• The 8 Pin 12-V connector is an
auxiliary motherboard connector,
which is used for extra 12-V
power to the processor,
providing more power than the
older 4 Pin auxiliary connector.
• This connector was
manufactured to provide 12 volts
to multiple CPU’s.
•The 8 pin 12 volt connector is
often used instead of the 4 pin
12 volt cable. 
4 Pin Molex Connector
• The 4 Pin Molex connector is used for older IDE
(PATA or Parallel ATA) drives and some newer SATA
drives. It can provide +5 V and +12 V to the drive.
• This type of connector is a peripheral power cable. Its
main use was for floppy drives and hard Disk.
•It is now used for extra fans, video cards, and case
lighting. 
15 Pin SATA Power Connector
• The 15 Pin SATA power connector is used for SATA
(Serial ATA) drives. It can provide +3.3V, +5 V, and +12
V, although +3.3 V is seldom used.
• SATA Power Connector were made to improve the ATA
interface to a more advance design.
•This type of connector has a data and power cable.
4 Pin Berg Connector

• The 4 pin Berg connector is used

by older floppy disk drives (FDD).
• The 4-pin Berg connector is
commonly known as the floppy power
connector, as it was used for
connecting the 3.5-inch floppy disk
drive to the power supply unit. It is
the most popular Berg connector. 
PCIe 6 Pin Connector
•The PCIe 6 pin connector provides an extra +12 V for
high-end video cards using PCI Express, Version 1
standard.
•This connector is used to provide extra 12 volt power
to PCI Express expansion cards. Many video cards draw
significantly more than 75 watts provided by the
motherboard slot, so the 6 pin PCI Express power cable
was created.
 PCIe 8 Pin
Connector
• The PCIe 8 pin connector
provides an extra +12 V for
high-end video cards using
PCI Express, Version 2
Standard.
• These high-power cards
draw most of their power
from the 12 volt rail so this
cable provides only 12 volts.
PCIe 6/8 Pin Connector
• The PCIe 6/8 pin connector is used by high-end video
cards using PCIe x16 slots to provide extra voltage to
the card and can accommodate a 6-hole or 8-hole port.
To get the 8 pin connector, combine both the 6 pin and 2
pin connectors.
• PATA/Parallel ATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) is a standard for connecting
hard drives into computer systems.
• SATA/Serial ATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a computer bus interface
between host bus adaptors and mass storage devices.
• PCIe/PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is an interface standard for
connecting HSIO (High-Speed Input Output) components.