Individual 8-pin vs Pigtail Connectors for GPUs

Your PSU may have come with two separate PCIe 8-pin cables - one with a single 8-pin PCIe connector, and another with two 8-pin PCIe connectors, which we refer to as "pigtail".

But is using the pigtail cable safe? Or should you use two individual 8-pin cables?

Spoiler alert: Pigtail cables are safe to use. No worries.

First, we'll want to quickly cover the standard specifications set by PCI-Sig. They state the PCIe 6-pin is only capable of 75W, while the 8-pin is capable of 150W. The extra 2 pins are two wires simply acting as "sense" wires that notify the GPU of the capability to draw 150W.

The 150W rating only applies to the connector on the GPU. In other words, the primary difference between the 6-pin and 8-pin is based on PCI-SIG's specification, and not the conductors. A well-constructed 8-pin cable, such as our PSU cables with pigtail connectors, should be well capable of providing more than 300W of power.

If we look at the RTX 5090 as an example following PCI-SIG's specifications, they are rated at or close to 600W - hence why they include a power adapter that requires four 8-pin PCIe connectors. In accordance with the PCI-Sig specifications, each 8-pin PCIe connector will supply 150W to total the 600W required for adequate support. You may use two of our cables with pigtail connectors to adequately power the RTX 5090.

The purpose for the pigtail connector is to simplify the connections to your GPU - making cable management easier. You can see the capabilities of 8-pin power cables below.

There is a common misconception that ALL 8-pin connectors are limited to 150W - this is not true. First we need to differentiate between two connectors:

• CORSAIR Type 4/5 8-pin PSU connector - This is the 8 pin connector that you connect to your power supply. This connector can supply over 300W.
• PCI-e 6+2 pin connector - This is the 8 pin connector you would insert into your graphics card, or the adapter that came with your RTX series cards. The PCI-e specifications have set this connector to being able to handle 150W. In reality it can handle much more, but due to variances in power supply and cable manufacturer’s quality and materials used, the graphics card manufacturers are limited to only drawing 150W per connection.

You can read our page that compares native 12V-2x6 vs 8-pin to 12V-2x6 for more information as it covers similar concepts.

If you have a GPU with two 8-pin PCIe connectors, its approximate power requirement is in the range of 151-300W. As a result, you'll only require a single cable with pigtail connectors (assuming you're using a CORSAIR PSU), rather than run two individual cables. If you have a GPU with three 8-pin PCIe connectors, then it'll also be perfectly fine to use one pigtail connector paired with an individual one.

We cannot speak on behalf of other brands, but if you are using a PSU from another brand, and are totally risk averse, you can opt to use 2 individual 8-pin cables instead for the peace of mind.