Where to obtain power for USB 3.0. PCIE card?

stuart253 · 01 Oct 2011

Hello.

I do not see any molex connectors at all inside my tower, unless they come in different shapes , sizes and colors.

The only connector that is free is the one I showed.

As far as replacing my power supply

. Thats way out of my comfort zone.
My machine is just a year old.

I do not want to go for less ports.

I sounds like going USB 3.0 is not going to happen for me unless I go for a new machine that has USB 3.0 already or replace the power supply.

Thanks for all who responded.

Stu

TVeblen · 01 Oct 2011

See if you can find an adapter cable that is floppy female on one end and Molex male on the other.

You will find many that are floppy male and Molex female - I have no idea if there is any such animal as above.

Also do not be afraid to (with the machine shut off and power disconnected) cutting the wires and removing the floppy connector, and splicing a molex connector onto the same wires. Sound scary but it is really a simple operation.

Do you have any spare connectors that look like this:

th3r0ck · 02 Oct 2011

Layback Bear said:

It might be the time for a new power supply. Filling out the rest of your specs would help us.

you can find "Y" cables also.. search in after market..

stuart253 · 02 Oct 2011

Thanks

I will try.

Stu

pooch · 02 Oct 2011

Stu if you look at the specifications of the card you will see that the molex connection is for power support, this means to me that the card will work perfectly without the power connection, the connection will only be necessary if you use to many USB devices that draw large amounts of power. I suggest trying the card first without the power cord, you can always add it later if you experience problems.

stuart253 · 12 Oct 2011

Hello,
Just an update to my situation. I was able to add a sata Y splitter to one my sata drives. I then purchased a female molex to male sata connector. It worked, except I did not allow for the size of the connector. Could not put the cover back on. Just submitted a rush order for a female molex to male sata cable.
Very happy, thanks for all for their suggestions.
Stu

essenbe · 12 Oct 2011

I don't have an XPS but my Dell had the same problem. The 3 pin floppy connector you showed I found under the CD/DVD. If you have an extra sata power cable you could get one of these and have extra power plug. From there you can go many ways.

Where to obtain power for USB 3.0. PCIE card?-athena.png

badger906 · 13 Oct 2011

My usb3 pci card gets powered directly from the pci slot. Might just be like the powered usb hubs you get, just incase you plug too many power thirsty devices in

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Comp Cmndo · 13 Oct 2011

USB 3.0 allows current draw of 500ma - 900ma, whereas USB 2.0 is limited to 500ma.
PCI-e connector has no +5V, so the extra 400ma has to come from the PSU. If your USB device requires no more than 500ma, the molex power is not required, If you are using a USB hard drive, it will be needed.

pooch · 13 Oct 2011

Comp Cmndo said:

USB 3.0 allows current draw of 500ma - 900ma, whereas USB 2.0 is limited to 500ma.
PCI-e connector has no +5V, so the extra 400ma has to come from the PSU. If your USB device requires no more than 500ma, the molex power is not required, If you are using a USB hard drive, it will be needed.

??? worked alright on mine without xtra power