Connector Types
The connection between the motherboard and power supply is crucial in a PC. Power connectors enable the exchange of various voltages and signals between the PC and motherboard. Depending upon the form factor of the motherboard, different types of power connectors are used. Different form factors of motherboard use different numbers, types, shapes and sizes of power connectors. Every computer requires these power connectors for power supply to the system processor, memory, and all slotted add-on boards.
The various types of power connectors used in a PC are:
P1 connector: It is a special connector that has 20-pins. It allows a connection between the motherboard and power supply. This special connector is placed where the ATX power connector is plugged in.
Molex connector: It is the connector, which is used to connect the computer power supply to the drives inside a PC. It is a 4-pin connector, which is used to bring the DC power to the drives. It is designed specifically for floppy drives and hard disks. But it can also be used for various other components like add-on fans, extra video card, supplementary motherboard power, case lighting, etc.
SATA Connector: SATA is the short form of Serial Advanced Technology Attachment. It is a 15-pin connector that is designed to meet the high data transfer rates. It provides point-to-point link with hot plugging capability. It can be used to connect Hard Disk Drives (HDD), Solid State Drives (SSD), and Optical Disk Drive (ODD) that includes CD, DVD, Blu-ray drives, etc.
PCIe Connectors: Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) connector is a 6-pin connector. it is designed to provide extra wattage to motherboard. It is now upgraded to 8-pin connector, which can deliver up to 150 watts.
EPS 12 V connector: It was designed to provide 12 volts to support multiple operations of CPU. It is also called as 8-pin + 12Volt EPS connector. Power supplies that are built to EPS12V standard include a 24-pin motherboard power connector and an 8-pin +12V EPS connector. Figure 6 shows an 8-pin +12V EPS connector.
