There were already some graphics card models needed auxiliary power before the arrival of the PCIe bus on the motherboards. We are talking about the year 2003. And for older models such as the NVIDIA GeForce FX 5000. That is, in their high-end range (FX 5800, 5800 Ultra, 5900, 5900 XT, 5900 Ultra, 5950 and 5950 Ultra), all the power needed for the assistant However, this power is made through a -molex.
In the case of elders ATI Radeon, there were models that used molex connectors. But some models use the old molex connector. The one used to feed the Droppy Drives.
And it's not until the GeForce 6000 series comes along with its ATI Radeon (Radeon 90000) series a few years later, when the first auxiliary power connectors start appearing. PCIe
In fact, in the transition period between Standard AGP and PCIe, it was not unusual to see the same graphics card model using both frameworks. And that, therefore, they had the right power connectors in this case.
How does the PCIe auxiliary power cable help?
The auxiliary power cable for graphics cards is characterized by taking full power from +12 V rail power supply. This is because graphics use only that kind of power to work. The colors of each string are usually yellow (bad) and are neutral in color.
There are also wires adapter which allows the use of molex or SATA power connectors to replace the absence of these in our power supply.
This type of cord is very modern. Initially, the adapter was connected to two power adapter connectors. In fact, today, this genre adapter to feed It's still very contagious. And the most widely distributed graphics card manufacturers are typically their models.
As mentioned, the connector is to feed It is a type 6 + 2. This means its main body is a 6-connector. Two additional pins may be attached to it, should the image require it.
This offers a lot flexibility graphic designers and fonts. Just as it benefits users, in the case of having one graphics that only uses the first 6 connector.
The reason for the existence of these two types of connectors, that one of them is capable of providing an additional 75 W (6-pin), while the other connector supplies up to 150 W (8-pin). To this we must add the 75 W provided by the PCIe cardboard slot to the graphics card.
