Would like to install my Nvidia GTX1050ti (with 6 pin power supply) into my Acer TC-875-UC11

BillJohnson
BillJohnson Member Posts: 4 New User
edited January 2021 in Aspire and Veriton Desktops
Hello all and thanks in advance for any help that you can give me on this.

I just bought an Acer TC-875-UC11 from Costco. It has the Intel i5-10400 10th generation chip, 12 GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD and 256GB SSD and a 300W PSU. I already own a dual fan Nvidia GTX1050ti 4GB graphics card and I would like to use it in this system. My GTX1050ti card requires a 6-pin power connection to be plugged in, on the top of the card. In my old desktop, I powered the card using a 4pin MOLEX to 6 pin PCI-E adapter. The card is 75W, so there should be enough power to run the card. There is a PCI-E slot in the computer, but when I install the card, I get the message that I need to power down and plug a 6 pin plug into my card. There are no MOLEX connectors coming off of the PSU in this system (and there is only 1 SATA power port available) but I do see a cable going into the motherboard that is labeled "ATX 12v" The socket has 8 holes, but the Acer PSU plug going into it is only using 4 of them. So, any ideas on how I can get the extra required 6 pin power to my card? Can I use a splitter/adapter to split that ATX 12v plug into the motherboard and then over to my card? Does the motherboard require that ATX 12v for anything? or is it there to power the PCI-E? Here is a photo of the socket and plug, going into the motherboard:


Hopefully, there is a way to get this to work without replacing the PSU. I have 4 of these computers (all with GTX1050ti graphics cards) to replace, and I would like to use these Acer computers to do it, but I don't want to buy 4 different graphics cards...I'd like to make these work. 

Thanks so much in advance!

Answers

  • BillJohnson
    BillJohnson Member Posts: 4 New User
    A couple of more photos:


    This is the 6 pin socket on my Nvidia GTX1050ti that requires the extra power


    and here is the splitter/adapter plug that I'm hoping to use, to make this work. I'm wondering if I can uplug the 4-pin connector from the ATX 12v socket on the motherboard and then plug this adapter into it. Then, I can plug it back into the motherboard and also run it over to the graphics card. Obviously, I don't want to blow anything up, or take power away from anything that the motherboard might need that ATX-12v power for, but it's my understanding that the ATX 12v socket/cable is for extra power to the PCI-E slot, so I'm hoping it might work.

    Again, thanks in advance!
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,219 Trailblazer
    Your Aspire TC-875 uses the new style ATX12VO power supplies that Intel defined for the 2020 and newer models. It has two motherboard connectors, one 8 and one 6 pin that have only 6 +12V/GND pairs and the power enable button connection. I believe it's a 300W supply and the GTX 1050 ti cards are rated by NVIDIA to require a 300W supply. Everything is good there except for that extra connector you need to allow the GPU to draw the extra power the PCIe slot doesn't budget for. Here's the motherboard layout for your system:

    #4 and #18 are the two power supply connectors, #6 is the connector to power disk drives. You likely have a cable that connects to one of the #6 to power the ODD or a HDD, or both. Both #6 connectors have +12V and +5V to run two drives each. So, you have a couple of choices... You can split off one of the power supply connectors to get the needed extra power for the GPU or you can come off one of the drive power connectors on the MB and bring that to the GPU. Which way to go is going to be determined on how comfortable you are in building cables, vs. buying them pre-made. If building from scratch I'd likely take the Y cable off the power supply route, those sockets and pins are a bit heavier duty than the drive power connectors. If off the shelf is best than Acer has a part number for the drive power cables (50.VQED3.001) and SATA power to GPU power adapters are pretty easy to find.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • BillJohnson
    BillJohnson Member Posts: 4 New User
    Thanks so much Bill, for all of the information! I'm pretty stupid when it comes to the insides of computers, so I'll probably be safer going the "pre-made" cable route. I have an open plug labeled as "SATA PWR2" on the MB (looks like a 6-Pin and labeled as #6 on the schematic of the MB) Would it be possible to simply buy a SATA 6-pin to PCI-E 6-pin cable, to power the card? Would that be enough power? It was my understanding that one SATA PWR plug wasn't enough, but I might have heard that wrong. I know that the GTX 1050ti card needs 75W, but it gets most of that from the PCI-E slot, correct? Since the single fan GTX1050ti doesn't need extra power, I'm assuming the extra 6-pin plug on the top of the card is needed for the extra fan?

    Also, If I try to split the #4 power supply connector on the MB (I think that I have a Y-cable that will do that) is there any chance that it could "blow anything up?" Or is the only side effect that it wouldn't work. 

    Thanks so much in advance!
  • BillJohnson
    BillJohnson Member Posts: 4 New User
    Also Bill, here is a shot of my MB, showing the 6-pin socket (labeled as #4 on your photo) and also the available socket that is labeled "SATA PWR 2" 

    The 6-pin socket at the top (labeled as #4 on your MB photo) has a cable plugged into it, but I unplugged it for the photo.
    The white socket labeled SATA PWR 2 (#6 on your MB photo) is available, but I'm confused to why it appears to be be a 6-pin connector. I thought SATA power connectors were 15-pins. What is this "SATA PWR2" socket? and, would it be okay to use it for the GTX 1050ti external PCI-E 6 pin requirement?

    Also, what type of socket is that one labeled as SATA PWR2? I'm wondering what type of cable connector that I should search, if indeed I can use it for power. What is is called?

    Thanks Bill!
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,219 Trailblazer
    Yeah, the six pin at the top of your picture is +12V coming in to the motherboard from the power supply. The six pin SATA power connectors have actually got power for two SATA devices on each. SATA only needs +5V, +12V and GND. Early SATA devices needed a lot more power than they do now, so the original spec had several pins for each power line. The Acer part number for the SATA power connectors is: 50.VQED3.001. Those each have two power connectors to support two drives. Your existing cable likely is connected to the ODD and HDD or else has one free. IIRC each SATA is rated for 54W so you might have to do some tweaking to use both +12V signals to drive the GPU.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.

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