Quote:
Originally Posted by MpG  Granted, but the AWG rating for 18g wire over shorter distances is about 16A. And if I'm not mistaken, even Molex originally rated their 4-pin connector design for that kind of current (although I'd never go that high myself). I'm not saying it's a perfect setup, but I don't think I'd feel any worry about it. |
I don't really worry about it either but think of it this way:
Say if someone has a 600W PSU with lower-powered card like an 8800GTS 512MB and that 600W PSU has a pair of PCI-E connectors. Now, one of those connectors will go to the GPU (which in this case has a board power of about 120W) and then runs the other PCI-E connector to the Boreas to cool the dickens off their CPU. Now say your 600W PSU is pretty good and has a pair of 20A +12V rails. One of those rails will naturally go towards the CPU connector and another (should) have...well, everything else on it. That means 20A (240W) for the Boreas (140W @ Max), the GPU (120W Max) and all the hard drives and other goodies which use the +12V rail.
See what I am getting at? The single PCI-E connector on the Boreas may be ok in theory but it also makes the unit accessible to people with lower-end power supplies. It is for this reason that GPU manufacturers include the "extra" 6-pin PCI-E connector on their cards. Most don't need it (75W from the PCI-E connector + 75W from a PCI-E 1.1 slot is sufficient) but it is there as a safe guard measure against people trying to eke by more than anything else.
You could say that people won't cheap on the PSU when buying an $800 uber product like this but let me tell you, the PSU will be the first thing that takes a hit when it comes to fitting the Boreas in someone's budget.
THAT is why I think there should be another connector on the unit.