Graphic Card Power Socket

[delshay]

I'm looking to upgrade my Vega Nano card by removing just the 6 pin socket & replacing it with an 8 pin socket, but I just notice something.

Looking at the male pins on the card I notice it's silver in color, but hold on, the Seasonic power cords female pins are gold in color. So I went to Seasonic website & it clearly state they use "Gold plated connectors". So the question is, why are my cards & motherboards silver in color?.

I don't know how many users get on with these connectors, but sometimes my Vega card is not detected. I have to unplug/re-plug the power cord for the card to be detected. This only happens sometimes, not all of the time.

I'm including the PDF Docs below & it clearly states sockets are available in Tin or Gold plating. It would be interesting if anyone has gold plated contact pin on they GFX card or motherboard. Please note I'm only posting this thread to make user's aware & I don't think It makes a lot of difference regardless what plating we have.

Updated correct/part number PDF

 

[Assimilator]

The only thing you'll accomplish by replacing a 6-pin power socket with an 8-pin is to brick the card. Don't be stupid.

 

[delshay]

The only thing you'll accomplish by replacing a 6-pin power socket with an 8-pin is to brick the card. Don't be stupid.

I have excellent soldering/desoldering tools so removing sockets is easy.

 

[P4-630]

I'm looking to upgrade my Vega Nano card by removing just the 6 pin socket & replacing it with an 8 pin socket

They are designed to work with a 6 pin, not an 8 pin.

 

[eidairaman1]

I have excellent soldering/desoldering tools so removing sockets is easy.

Dude get another card before you do this experiment, you may need another phase like the Fury/FuryX has.

 

[Calenhad]

I'm looking to upgrade my Vega Nano card by removing just the 6 pin socket & replacing it with an 8 pin socket, but I just notice something.

Looking at the male pins on the card I notice it's silver in color, but hold on, the Seasonic power cords female pins are gold in color. So I went to Seasonic website & it clearly state they use "Gold plated connectors". So the question is, why are my cards & motherboards silver in color?.

I don't know how many users get on with these connectors, but sometimes my Vega card is not detected. I have to unplug/re-plug the power cord for the card to be detected. This only happens sometimes, not all of the time.

I'm including the PDF Docs below & it clearly states sockets are available in Tin or Gold plating. It would be interesting if anyone has gold plated contact pin on they GFX card or motherboard. Please note I'm only posting this thread to make user's aware & I don't think It makes a lot of difference regardless what plating we have.

Replacing the 6-pin socket for a 8-pin one will accomplish nothing. The GPU is not wired to use more than that 6-pin on the circuit board. Worst case the circuit board is not even designed for a 8-pin socket to sit there and you end up connecting 12v to ground or some stupid shit.

Gold plated contacts are tin contacts plated with gold (obvious name is obvious). Meaning a very thin layer of gold is added to prevent corrosion. Your computer is rarely in an environment where humidity or other sources are causing excessive corrosion on tin contacts, so it is mostly for show. Looks better on the spec sheet, adds little to cost, and no negative effect for doing it.

 

[P4-630]

In case you want to try it anyway, post your results here:

Ghetto Mods

the Buffalo AirStation WCR-G300 runs pretty hot and too bad it has no ventilation at all, so i drill some on the back of the router and i add cord to hang the router

www.techpowerup.com

 

[delshay]

@Thread

Vega Nano & some Vega 56 cards use the same PCB with full dual 8 pin socket. So removing the 6 pin socket & replacing it with 8 pin socket should not make a lot of difference. Swapping out the socket was planed over 8 months ago & it will go ahead. While am at it, the original 8 pin socket will also be removed provided I can get hold of enough sockets with "gold plated" contacts.

The point of this thread is, why are power leads gold plated & the GFX card is not.

If you look at at your motherboard sockets, most are gold plated, but some are not, but you are inserting leads that are gold plated, namely the 24 pin header.

 

[eidairaman1]

@Thread

Vega Nano & some Vega 56 cards use the same PCB with full dual 8 pin socket. So removing the 6 pin socket & replacing it with 8 pin socket should not make a lot of difference. Swapping out the socket was planed over 8 months ago & it will go ahead. While am at it, the original 8 pin socket will also be removed provided I can get hold of enough sockets with "gold plated" contacts.

The point of this thread is, why are power leads gold plated & the GFX card is not.

If you look at at your motherboard sockets, most are gold plated, but some are not, but you are inserting leads that are gold plated, namely the 24 pin header.

It's a choice engineers decide upon, the silverish/chrome contacts could be nickle or zinc plated for the same reason gold plating is used.

Raw steel and iron with enough humidity in the air can just oxidize, I know a couple of my tools did that within a weeks time at work.

It's also a wow/appearance factor. Underneath its copper/tin/steel.

So @delshay that nano have 8 traces to the pcie power?

 

[delshay]

It's a choice engineers decide upon, the silverish/chrome contacts could be nickle or zinc plated for the same reason gold plating is used.

Raw steel and iron with enough humidity in the air can just oxidize, I know a couple of my tools did that within a weeks time at work.

It's also a wow/appearance factor. Underneath its copper/tin/steel.

So @delshay that nano have 8 traces to the pcie power?

Gold plating at both ends is one of the best contacts you can have. Mixed contacts kind of defeats the point.

Let's say one lead that carries 12v or GND go's HR, How will anyone know one conductor has gone HR, because it's covered-up by one of the other leads out-putting 12v or GND. So most user will not notice one conductor has gone HR including myself, because it's not something we would check as the device will continiue to work minus one conducting lead.. On the odd occasion I plug in the 24 pin, short the jump to start-up motherboard & nothing happens. Pull out the 24 pin connector, push it back in, short out pin & it starts. What does this tell us. ...It means poor contact is possible across any pin,

My Vega Nano has shown this on the odd occasion, but I can bet i'm not alone here. There will be user(s) out there that have plugged in devices & nothing happens, only to disconnect/reconnect & it works.

PSU company's go to great lengths to insure we have a good proper contact connection by giving us gold plating contacts with-in their leads, so the socket should also have gold contacts for overall superior better contact. Anyone that's into High End Audio will know this, ie it's not a good idea to mix contacts.

 

[Calenhad]

Gold plating at both ends is one of the best contacts you can have. Mixed contacts kind of defeats the point.

Let's say one lead that carries 12v or GND go's HR, How will anyone know one conductor has gone HR, because it's covered-up by one of the other leads out-putting 12v or GND. So most user will not notice one conductor has gone HR including myself, because it's not something we would check as the device will continiue to work minus one conducting lead.. On the odd occasion I plug in the 24 pin, short the jump to start-up motherboard & nothing happens. Pull out the 24 pin connector, push it back in, short out pin & it starts. What does this tell us. ...It means poor contact is possible across any pin,

My Vega Nano has shown this on the odd occasion, but I can bet i'm not alone here. There will be user(s) out there that have plugged in devices & nothing happens, only to disconnect/reconnect & it works.

PSU company's go to great lengths to insure we have a good proper contact connection by giving us gold plating contacts with-in their leads, so the socket should also have gold contacts for overall superior better contact. Anyone that's into High End Audio will know this, ie it's not a good idea to mix contacts.

You overestimate how much gold is used for gold plating. It is an anti-corrosion measure. It has minimal if any effect on conductivity. If the contacts were a gold alloy, then sure. Gold plating is for looks/anti-corrosion. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using gold plated connectors. They are one step up from plain tin connectors. Just don't expect them to do anything more than prevent corrosion. And as mentioned above, there are other metals used for plating that basically does the same thing.

@Thread

Vega Nano & some Vega 56 cards use the same PCB with full dual 8 pin socket. So removing the 6 pin socket & replacing it with 8 pin socket should not make a lot of difference. Swapping out the socket was planed over 8 months ago & it will go ahead. While am at it, the original 8 pin socket will also be removed provided I can get hold of enough sockets with "gold plated" contacts.

The point of this thread is, why are power leads gold plated & the GFX card is not.

If you look at at your motherboard sockets, most are gold plated, but some are not, but you are inserting leads that are gold plated, namely the 24 pin header.

A pcb with solder points for a 8-pin connector means nothing, unless the rest of the pcb is populated with the necessary power circuitry. And I seriously doubt any manufacturer will just heap on the rest of the power circuitry incase somebody feel like swapping the connector. Using the same pcb is a cost saving move. Using unnecessary components is the opposite, and I gurantee you that at least the bean counters stopped that dead.

 

[Shrek]

A pcb with solder points for a 8-pin connector means nothing, unless the rest of the pcb is populated with the necessary power circuitry. And I seriously doubt any manufacturer will just heap on the rest of the power circuitry incase somebody feel like swapping the connector. Using the same pcb is a cost saving move. Using unnecessary components is the opposite, and I gurantee you that at least the bean counters stopped that dead.

There is a way to find out, if the unused pins have 12 V across them when the 6 pin is connected, I'd imagine things were wired up ready.

but I take no responsibility if any damage is done.

 

[eidairaman1]

You overestimate how much gold is used for gold plating. It is an anti-corrosion measure. It has minimal if any effect on conductivity. If the contacts were a gold alloy, then sure. Gold plating is for looks/anti-corrosion. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using gold plated connectors. They are one step up from plain tin connectors. Just don't expect them to do anything more than prevent corrosion. And as mentioned above, there are other metals used for plating that basically does the same thing.


A pcb with solder points for a 8-pin connector means nothing, unless the rest of the pcb is populated with the necessary power circuitry. And I seriously doubt any manufacturer will just heap on the rest of the power circuitry incase somebody feel like swapping the connector. Using the same pcb is a cost saving move. Using unnecessary components is the opposite, and I gurantee you that at least the bean counters stopped that dead.

Thats why i was asking about traces along with VRMs

I think the annode and cathode chart will tell us whether 2 metals can be used together or not

 

[Nike_486DX]

6pin to 8pin upgrade would do absolutely nothing, unless you somehow add more vrm phases (custom pcb, voltmods and hardcore oc comes to mind ), but why would you do that to a card that is 7 years old? Just leave it in peace, and let it live for another year or so. More pins means you can supply more power without the risk of melting the cables, thats it. You can run the furmarkl for an hour or so on that card, and then touch your psu cables, are they even warm? If no, then there is no point in such modification.

...Especially if you have a good quality psu with 16awg cables, because for crappy psu there is an additional factor, which is 20 or 22awg (really thin) wires, in some cases made of steel, not even copper, and they tend to heat up under load, but thats not your case

 

[delshay]

There is a way to find out, if the unused pins have 12 V across them when the 6 pin is connected, I'd imagine things were wired up ready.

but I take no responsibility if any damage is done.

Trace layout is already there for 8 pin, It's a direct swap, nothing else is required. ...It will then look the same as the bigger card with the full dual 8 pin. If I fit a bigger cooler & flash it, it should operate the same as a full Vega 56, but I won't be doing that. It will remain a Nano card with higher quality contact pins & extra unused two pins connected.

Also I'v just seen the prices of the gold plated version, it's very expensive. Tin plating is much cheaper & can be found on EBAY & most places.

EDIT: There maybe a fuse rating to be changed, not sure at this time, have to check, but that should be it.

 

[erocker]

The point of this thread is, why are power leads gold plated & the GFX card is not.

It's what they had in the parts bin at the time.

 

[Nike_486DX]

Trace layout is already there for 8 pin, It's a direct swap, nothing else is required. ...It will then look the same as the bigger card with the full dual 8 pin. If I fit a bigger cooler & flash it, it should operate the same as a full Vega 56, but I won't be doing that. It will remain a Nano card with higher quality contact pins & extra unused two pins connected.

Also I'v just seen the prices of the gold plated version, it's very expensive. Tin plating is much cheaper & can be found on EBAY & most places.

So are you after some snake oil (gold plated connectors), or some real benefit (tdp increase)?

 

[delshay]

So are you after some snake oil (gold plated connectors), or some real benefit (tdp increase)?

If you have very good solid contact, computer maybe more stable especially if it is subjected to vibrations, but why don't we wait until I change the sockets.

They are designed to work with a 6 pin, not an 8 pin.

You still have option not to connect the last two pins. Connecting the last two pins is not going to change anything much.

It's what they had in the parts bin at the time.

Really. ..Then there should be GFX cards & motherboards with gold plated power points for CPU/GPU out there, but I'v yet to find one, but they should be out there somewhere.


This is what the card would look like when completed, dual 8 pin..

 

[Nike_486DX]

If you have very good solid contact, computer maybe more stable especially if it is subjected to vibrations, but why don't we wait until I change the sockets.



You still have option not to connect the last two pins. Connecting the last two pins is not going to change anything much.



Really. ..Then there should be GFX cards & motherboards with gold plated power points for CPU/GPU out there, but I'v yet to find one, but they should be out there somewhere.

gold plating means almost nothing outside of the audiophile stuff, really. And for every internal connector of a pc, be it the cpu power, or the 24pin atx power for the mobo, its just not vital nor useful. All you really need is a tight fit and stable voltage, and it will work flawlessly for years. Yes tin plating is somewhat worse (at microscopic level) than gold plating, but it only matters for those types of connections where there is emphasis on wear & tear. Think of it as a phone, you plug & unplug it daily, 365 times a year. Tin plating would wear out really fast, thats why all phones use gold plating in the main port. But you dont do this with your graphics card. The normal user would unplug the card maybe once a year, for repasting or other stuff.

 

[Shrek]

Yes tin plating is somewhat worse (at microscopic level) than gold plating, but it only matters for those types of connections where there is emphasis on wear & tear.

I believe corrosion plays a role.

 

[eidairaman1]

If you have very good solid contact, computer maybe more stable especially if it is subjected to vibrations, but why don't we wait until I change the sockets.



You still have option not to connect the last two pins. Connecting the last two pins is not going to change anything much.



Really. ..Then there should be GFX cards & motherboards with gold plated power points for CPU/GPU out there, but I'v yet to find one, but they should be out there somewhere.


This is what the card would look like when completed, dual 8 pin..

Dude gold plating will make no difference so just get a 8 pin socket whether gold or not and get started on your project log.

Basically make a fury nano into a fury/x without the same pcb size, I'd just make sure the heatsink is larger, perhaps you can get a fury/x cooler to compensate for the additional thermals.

 

[delshay]

Dude gold plating will make no difference so just get a 8 pin socket whether gold or not and get started on your project log.

Basically make a fury nano into a fury/x without the same pcb size, I'd just make sure the heatsink is larger, perhaps you can get a fury/x cooler to compensate for the additional thermals.

It's for the Vega 56 Nano card, but now that you have mention it, R9 Nano maybe included also. The very first device that will have the gold contacts will be a motherboard/repair (blown MOSFETS), because the 8 pin socket is already out, because you can't desolder the MOSFETS without melting the socket. I will replace it with gold plating contacts. So this will be the very first board to include gold plated contacts.
Vega 56 will be next, then I will decide whether to upgrade all my motherboard collection.

 

[Nike_486DX]

It's for the Vega 56 Nano card, but now that you have mention it, R9 Nano maybe included also. The very first device that will have the gold contacts will be a motherboard/repair (blown MOSFETS), because the 8 pin socket is already out, because you can't desolder the MOSFETS without melting the socket. I will replace it with gold plating contacts. So this will be the very first board to include gold plated contacts.
Vega 56 will be next, then I will decide whether to upgrade all my motherboard collection.

in the meantime i do a 40pin fpc connector swap (phone repairs routine), without melting the socket, how is this possible then. You can remove any socket without melting at all, the key procedure is to preheat the whole pcb to 150C and then go gently on the connector itself. Never concentrate the heat in one place, go in circular motion gently tapping the connector/component until you feel movement. Actually pcie connectors are way easier to remove, because of their (big) size you can just heat the pcb and slide the plastic part off, and then desolder the pins individually.

 

[eidairaman1]

I hope this project succeeds

 

[delshay]

UPDATE:

I have updated my first post with the correct PCIe socket. If you look carefully at the PDF or online photo you can only tell you have gold plated contacts by the back of the connector. Very hard to spot. So some of us may already have gold plated contacts. You can't tell if you have gold plated contact by looking at the pins & it's near to impossible to check motherboard 8/24 pin.

it's all as gone to pot anyway as there are no PCIe sockets available until the year 2023. Sorry i'm not waiting around for this. So I have a choice, build my own custom gold plated socket or desolder a bog standard socket off another card.

I'm in the middle of repair/new experiment, so I want to get this completed by the end of the week..

in the meantime i do a 40pin fpc connector swap (phone repairs routine), without melting the socket, how is this possible then. You can remove any socket without melting at all, the key procedure is to preheat the whole pcb to 150C and then go gently on the connector itself. Never concentrate the heat in one place, go in circular motion gently tapping the connector/component until you feel movement. Actually pcie connectors are way easier to remove, because of their (big) size you can just heat the pcb and slide the plastic part off, and then desolder the pins individually.

You could try product in video below. Never used it myself but I will show what I do when dealing with MOSFETS/IC next to or in-between the PCIe slots. Short story I use thick foil to protect. I'v been using the same foil for over 10 years .zero damage & no discoloration to nearby components. Take a little while to get used to it' but once you get the hang of it, you will never look back. I don't like kapton tape, hate the stuff.

(1) EEVblog #437 - Removing SMD Parts with ChipQuik - YouTube