Graphics Card Issue

I'm going to have to replace my graphics card in the very near future, but the connectors from my 750 watt Corsair are confusing me. The Corsair PSU has two 4 pin connectors and the MSI Radeon 580RX Gaming X has one 8 pin connector.
Can the 2 4 pins fit into that GPU and work without a problem? This card is very expensive and I don't want to burn it and/or my computer up.
Thanks for the help!

Do the 4-pins have any kind of designation on them? What is the model of the PSU?

According to answers on this page, the answer seems to be no.
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2091867/power-gpu-pin-slot-psu-pin-connectors.html

There may have been 4-pin connectors used with older video cards, but modern ones seem to use 6-pin or 8-pin.

You may have to get a new power supply to go with that card.
There are adapters, but some people warn against using them.

That's why I was asking for the model of the PSU. If it's an older one, she may need to get a new PSU with an 8 pin GPU connector. And DEFINITELY stay away from adapters.

My older PSU does not have an 8 pin GPU connector either and I would need to replace it if I got a card like that Raedon 580.

I'm confused, any graphics card I've ever encountered plugged into the mother board. Other than the power output what does the PSU have to do with the graphics card?

Higher end gaming cards require so much power they can't get it all through the slot on the motherboard. They require an extra power cable running directly from the power supply to a connector on the card.

Some really high end graphics cards require not just one 6-pin or 8-pin connector, but two. For example this one
http://www.ozone3d.net/public/jegx/201011/gtx480_power_connectors.jpg

And the Radeon HD 6990 on the bottom of this page has even more -- two 8-pin connectors + a 6-pin connector.
http://www.geeks3d.com/20101108/tips-maximum-power-consumption-of-graphics-card-connectors/

Here's a picture of a Radeon RX 580 with an 8-pin power connector on the corner
https://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/ProductImageCompressAll1280/14-137-118-Z05.jpg

And this is also why you need a hefty power supply to run these high end graphics cards. Even my old GTX 260 from 2009 needed two 4-pin connections from the power supply to run.

My PSU is a 750 watt Corsair. I would have to open my computer case to check for a model number. My current graphics card is a 7800 series Radeon and my computer is about 5 years old. The graphics card I want only has 1 8 pin connector and requires 400 watts. Thanks for warning me off about the adapter cables because that would have been my next question.
Would the computer motherboard be a problem where connections are concerned?
Thanks for all the help.

It needs a PCI E x16 slot which you should make sure your motherboard has. And since your computer is 5 years old, make sure this enormous card will actually fit in your case. Your problem here is going to be that your older PSU does not have an 8-pin power connection for this card. If I got a card with an 8-pin requirement, I'd have to get a new power supply too.

At Newegg, the specs recommend a 500 watt power supply.

Graphic cards aren't the only cards that require extra power. I have a PCIe usb expander card that requires a small 4-pin connector. I use a short molex cable adapter with no problems.

I've got all the requirements for the new card but the power connectors from the PSU to the graphics card. New power supply with the right connectors or new computer. I'd love a new computer, but that's probably not gonna happen. So, I guess I'll look at the power supply units and see what I can find.
Many thanks to everyone that took the time to help me decide what to do. I appreciate it!

If you have an extra molex fan connector in the computer (almost everyone does), Google molex cable adapters and you will find an amazing array of different adapters for almost every application. The molex has 5v and 12v available, so as long as your card doesn't require 3.1v (doubtful), you could possibly get away cheap with one of those adapters.

For these high end graphics cards, adapters are not recommended.

Why? They are just wires.

Another thing to keep in mind is that your PCI-E x16 slot on a 5 year old computer is probably 2.0 and this new card will be PCI-E 3.0. They are backwards compatible, but you are still plugging newer tech into an older MOBO. PCI express 2.0 has a peak speed of 8 GB/s. 3.0 has a peak speed of 16 GB/s. So, you might check to see if your MOBO supports PCI-E 3.0. No biggie if it doesn't, but you won't be getting everything out of that video card it's capable of.

I think we are talking about 2 different things. I am talking about the extra power connectors on some cards not the PCIe slot. I am trying to explain a cheaper way to get that power other than a new power supply.

I was mentioning the PCI 2.0 and the PCI 3.0 as an additional thing to consider as far as the MOBO connection. You're right - it has nothing to do with her power connection issues for this very high end video card. As Jenny and I mentioned, adapters are not recommended for these high end cards.

I don't want to be annoying but You don't say why. All they are is some type of molded connector and wires. There is really nothing to go bad unless they mis-wire it at the factory.

If I'm paying almost $400 for a video card and tech assistance places like Tom's Hardware recommend against it, I'm not going to chance it!

The adapters may be "just wires" but the power supplies are not, and they do wear out over time. Here's an article about what can go wrong with power supplies
https://www.electronicproducts.com/Power...e_about_it.aspx

Also think about the power requirements that would be expected of a molex as opposed to a graphics card adapter. A molex was usually used for a hard drive or optical drive, and its power requirements wouldn't go above a certain amount. The power requirements of a graphics card might spike a lot higher during a demanding game. So with the adapter, you'd have the graphics card attempting to pull more power than the power supply was designed to produce over those two molex connectors. Whatever components the molex connectors are connected to inside the power supply would be designed for a couple of hard drives, not a high end graphics card. These components might heat up enough to melt, blow, cause the power supply to shut down, etc., at the very least wear out a lot faster. Problems might not show up immediately, but chances are they would show up soon after playing demanding games. At the very least you'd wear out the power supply a lot faster and have to buy a new one anyway.

I'll have to talk to a tech about this. It's too complex for me I think. I have all my CPU-ID info to take with me to see what I can find out.

You shouldn't have any problem with the motherboard.
The Radeon HD 7800 series has a PCI-e x16 3.0 interface,
https://www.amd.com/en-us/products-site/Pages/desktop-graphics-7800.aspx

The Radeon 580 RX also has a PCI-e x16 3.0 interface.
So if the HD 7800 works in your computer, so should the 580 RX.

The first motherboard with PCI-e x16 3.0 slots came out in 2011
https://newatlas.com/msi-z68a-gd80-g3-motherboard/19158/

So it's possible your 5-year-old motherboard might have a PCE-e x16 3.0 slot, especially if the computer was built as a gaming computer. Even if it only has a PCI-e x16 2.0 slot, the 580 RX card should work as long as the power supply supports it.

If you know your motherboard model number, you can look up whether it has 2.0 or 3.0.

I have a feeling her MOBO might have a 3.0 slot. As I said, they are backwards compatible, so it would be no biggie.

I knew Jenny could get into the nitty gritty of why molex cannot handle the power requirements of a high end card like this one. That's why there are dedicated direct connections from the PSU to the graphics card.

So, bottom line is new power unit with 8 pin connector and no cable adapters?

Right. You won't need the adapters.
If you get another Corsair or another name brand, 750 Watts is plenty.

Newegg has several Corsairs if you want to stay with that brand. I'm a big fan of the fully modular ones, but they are a bit more. I noticed some of them have as many as 4 of the PCI-E 8 pin connectors. They say they are 6 + 2.