Usually the square plug with yellow and black cables.
2007-05-13 17:47:37 · 4 answers · asked by nosh! 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
most mother boards in existence built in the past 5 years have had the 4 pin 12v connector on them. what the power connector does is entirely different from board to board some use it to power your auxiliary ports like Ethernet on-board sound on-board video etc.. and some use it to power your north bridge and South Bridge chips, the actual use varies greatly. on newer boards and this goes for 90% of them its used as an auxiliary power source for your on-board fan controls and bus chip. Because newer CPU's and computer parts in general use more power newer boards use a 24 pin power connector instead of a 20 pin and the 4 pin 12v connector. the main reason for doing this is to supply your board and expansion slots with more steady power. think of it like this what happens if you plug a power strip into a power trip and fill up all the plugs with high current devices.. most likely you will pop the fuse or when when a device is turned on or off will cause power surges to you other devices. the extra 4 pin power plug in essence or for a easier an explanation just assists in powering your board to stop the surges from happening and frying stuff.
2007-05-13 18:22:14 · answer #1 · answered by Blitzkrieg 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most expansion cards now get power from +12V rail. The PCIe graphics slot can support up to 75watts, most of it from the +12V rail.
2007-05-13 19:27:18 · answer #2 · answered by Karz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some high powered boards need them, my old ATI rage pro video capture card required it to run the processor and fans on it.
2007-05-13 17:53:47 · answer #3 · answered by Right 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
for powering up or energize by external DC12 volt battery.
2007-05-13 17:52:27 · answer #4 · answered by Manik 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋