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do i need to use the ez plug on my setup?

jsarver
Level 11
hey guys i apologize ahead of time if this is in the manual or in this forum somewhere. i have tried the search function
and google with little definitive answer.

i have a mfv with 3770k at 4.3, 16gb of 2133 ram, sli'd 670's factory overclocked and self overclocked, and also am running a sound blaster z. just wondering if im in need of plugging in the ez connector for power to the pcie slots. would it help make my oc's more stable/higher? any benefit at all?

i have noticed rare driver crashes and occasional volatge resets in evga precision x but i know that could just be from my current oc being to high on my gpus. would the additional power stable this out?

im currently running off of a corsair 860i with the 24 and 8 pin plugged into the board.

thanks!
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31 REPLIES 31

nikosa43
Level 12
In general it is recommended to have it plugged for SLI and the board circuit will draw power as and if needed. Now for the crashes, it is very hard to say what's the reason behind. First try to stress the system with your GPUs at default settings and without your manual "touch". Also I don't know how loaded is the rest of your system. 2X670, sure is not 2X570. 670 draws less power, but if you OC everything and you have lots of HDs, fans or cathodes, maybe your PSU is not enough.

HiVizMan
Level 40
Would say that with one card you do not need it.

If you run a benchmark at stock on the VGA does it crash at all? Or does the crash only happen when your card is overclocked?
To help us help you - please provide as much information about your system and the problem as possible.

im running sli. the cards dont crash on benchmarks (overclocked or stock) or stress tests but i seem to run into issue with long gaming session (battlefield 3, crysis 3) and again it only happens very randomly. its hard to narrow down an exact factor that causes the crash. this is only while I'm over clocked. i know obvious answer is turn down oc but im hoping that a little more constant power might fix this...

jsarver wrote:
im running sli. the cards dont crash on benchmarks (overclocked or stock) or stress tests but i seem to run into issue with long gaming session (battlefield 3, crysis 3) and again it only happens very randomly. its hard to narrow down an exact factor that causes the crash. this is only while I'm over clocked. i know obvious answer is turn down oc but im hoping that a little more constant power might fix this...


If the crashes happen only under OC and after long gaming session, I would say that the problem is focused more on overheating issues. Suspects can be your PSU and VRMs or Memory of your GPUs. Maybe it's time to step down the clocks a bit to let them breath. The benefit will be huge and your loss in FPS will be minimal. For the wiring, I always use and suggest to use all lines (12 Volt rails), to distribute the load of the PSU, to as much as possible lines. If you use only a couple with extensions to light up everything in the box it's easy to have a single 12 V line overloaded.

thanks nikosa. ill go ahead and run another 3 port molex ribbon to the ez plug and just leave the other two plugs empty.

for clarification for anyone who stumbles across this thread, are there any guidelines officially on when using the ez plug is a must? seems to be a lot of confusion of if and when its necessary and issues a system would present with when its left unplugged.

jsarver wrote:
thanks nikosa. ill go ahead and run another 3 port molex ribbon to the ez plug and just leave the other two plugs empty.

for clarification for anyone who stumbles across this thread, are there any guidelines officially on when using the ez plug is a must? seems to be a lot of confusion of if and when its necessary and issues a system would present with when its left unplugged.


There is something in the user manual. 🙂 Not that it is much help really to be honest, but on page 1- 22 it does state that you should ensure that you provide sufficient power for Crossfire and SLi so I guess it does sort of say use all the connectors.

I do populate the connector when running multi cards.

It is easy enough to try I guess, did it make any difference to your system stability?
To help us help you - please provide as much information about your system and the problem as possible.

jsarver
Level 11
im sure the crashes have to do with my personal overclock. they are solid at stock speeds. i was just wondering if added the extra power would
get them from 99% stable up to 100%.

my system is definitely loaded. running h80i, 9 fans, one led light strip, and two ssds. not to mention all the usb gadgets plugged in and
pulling power.

jsarver
Level 11
also, if i do connect it, which it sounds like i should, is it ok to just run an extension from my already wired up 3 plug molex cable or should i
run a dedicated connection?

NemesisChild
Level 12
As I understand it, it's only really needed if running 3 or more GPU's.
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