Power Supply connector 24 pin vs. 20 pin???

[Laquan]

I have a mother board which is having 24 pin connection for the power, beside this the 24 pin PSU really only have 23 pins that make a connection and one is kept empty. I am using power connector which only has 20 pin with a 4 pin ADD ON clip as connector. So I want to know what the difference between the two is. Do I have to make any changes to ensure my mother board work fine or it is OK to run with 20 pin PSU.

[Hardwareman]

Why are you are bothering about power supply is 20 pin PSU connector as far as it is not giving your processor any problem so it’s fine to go with 20 pin. If you are facing problem then you can consult to your supplier from whom you have purchased the machine or mother board. So in this way you can handle the issue in future.

[Maxforu]

All motherboards have a 24-pin connector because of some reason. Read the motherboard's manual if it explicitly states that it can take a 20-pin power supply. Otherwise it requires all 24 pins you can check if the motherboard requires some of those extra 4-pin connectors and, go for compatible power supply. This will ensure your system to run properly without any problem related to the motherboard.

[Killen]

You can connect both 20-pin and 24-pin cables power supply to connected with 24-pin connector. But a 20-pin power supply may create a problem like making your system unstable or even booting problem because of insufficient electricity to the system. So you have to make sure that supply of electricity is sufficient for the system when you are using 20-pin PS cable.

[T.J.]

The extra 4 pins are ADD ON to power a PCI-E graphics card. If your system is having a PCI-E card then you can use the 20 pin PS connector. If you are using a PCI-E card which has external power connection and it connects directly to the power supply then you can run it with 20 pin PS connector with your motherboard. This solution will clear your confusion between the two.

[RoninBlade]

The extra four pins actually supply a second 12V rail to prevent too much amperage draw on one wire. The new spec calls for one 12V for the CPU, and the second for the motherboard/peripherals.
I think you need a 24 pin connector, however, I have seen some people say that it will work with a 20 pin connector if you don't center it but offset it to one side.