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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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8 years ago

Can I use 6+2 PCIe ATX power connector to power supply Arria 10 Dev Kit?

Hi all,

I read from the Arria 10 Dev Kit User Guide (Page 51 in https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/support/boards-kits/arria10/fpga/a10-fpga-dk-ug.pdf) that, when plugging the board into a PCIe slot, we should not power supply the board via the 12-V DC jack (J13); instead, it seems that we should be using a 12-V "PCIe 2x4 ATX power connector" for the power supply (J4).

My question is, my PSU only provides two "PCIe 6+2 ATX power connector" for powering PCIe devices; the PSU's 2x4 connector is for motherboard/CPU. I also googled and found that a 2x4 ATX connector is a rarely seen format for PCIe ATX connector. So, is plugging the 6+2 PCIe ATX connector to the Dev Kit OK? The pin patterns (shapes) of the 6+2 connector match perfectly with those of the ATX port on the Dev Kit (which means that I can plug the connector to the port easily without forcing it), and on the 6+2 connector it prints "PCI-E". Based on these observations, my guess was that the 6+2 connector should work; but I also want to make sure doing this won't destroy my board.

Does anyone has any experience on this? Any hint or suggestion is appreciated!

3 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    By PCIe 2x4 ATX connector, they are in fact meaning a PCIe 6+2 ATX connector like you would use for a graphics card.

    They do not mean an ATX EPS12V connector (8pin CPU connector). Using a CPU connector would likely destroy the board.

    You can see this from page 31 of the schematic (https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/support/boards-kits/arria10/fpga/a10gx_pcie_e3p1.pdf) - pins 1 to 3 are +12V, and the rest are connected to GND which corresponds to the pin-out of the PCIe 6+2 connector. The pins named "sense" on that connector in the schematic is a further confirmation as only the PCIe 6+2 has those.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    Thanks for the suggestion @TCWORLD! The board can be successfully powered by the 6+2 connector :)

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    Hi TCWORLD,

    Thank you for helping me make sure. I confirm that the Arria 10 Dev Kit can be powered by the PCIe 6+2 ATX connector without a problem. Also, the tip of checking the schematic is useful! Thank you so much!

    --- Quote Start ---

    By PCIe 2x4 ATX connector, they are in fact meaning a PCIe 6+2 ATX connector like you would use for a graphics card.

    They do not mean an ATX EPS12V connector (8pin CPU connector). Using a CPU connector would likely destroy the board.

    You can see this from page 31 of the schematic (https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/support/boards-kits/arria10/fpga/a10gx_pcie_e3p1.pdf) - pins 1 to 3 are +12V, and the rest are connected to GND which corresponds to the pin-out of the PCIe 6+2 connector. The pins named "sense" on that connector in the schematic is a further confirmation as only the PCIe 6+2 has those.

    --- Quote End ---