Motherboard connectors

[raven11]

How do you tell by the description, how many connectors is on this motherboard. Is there a certain number in the description that gives it away?
Someone told me that my power supplys have to have at least as many connectors as the motherboard. That is understandable but what all is considered a connector.
Are USB ports connectors? I thoght htey were ports. Are PCI Express slots connectors? Just what are the connectors?
Does anyone know how many this motherboard has?

Intel BOXDX58SO2 Socket LGA1366 Motherboard - ATX, Socket B (LGA1366), Intel X58 Express, 1600MHz DDR3, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, Dual Gigabit LAN, SLI/CrossFireX Ready, USB 3.0

[xiz0r]

Two Serial ATA 6.0 Gb/s ports
Six Serial ATA 3.0 Gb/s ports, Two eSATA ext. port

2 sata 6Gb/s + 6 sata 3Gb/s for 8 internal port with 2 eSata (external)
So you could have as many as 8 drives inside the computer case + 2 external hooked up via esata
If you dont have enough power cable from the power supply you can buy some "Y" adapter cable.

[rdgrimes]

Be aware that when you have a secondary SATA-3 controller like this board does, the SATA-3 ports are not on the chipset. Also, if you use the external eSATA port it may disable the internal SATA-3 if they are both on that secondary controller.

IMHO you're better served with a newer board that supports SATA-3 on the chipset.

[raven11]

2 sata 6Gb/s + 6 sata 3Gb/s for 8 internal port with 2 eSata (external)
So you could have as many as 8 drives inside the computer case + 2 external hooked up via esata
If you dont have enough power cable from the power supply you can buy some "Y" adapter cable.

I am tyring to find all the part to build a computer from scratch. How do I know how to match a power supply with a motherboard and the other parts? I went to a calculator but hten it ask how many connectors were on the motherboard, so I was at a loss to figure my wattage.
Are you saying there are 8 or 10 connectors?
What would be a good power supply for that certain motherboard besides the the Cooler Master I mentioned?

[raven11]

Be aware that when you have a secondary SATA-3 controller like this board does, the SATA-3 ports are not on the chipset. Also, if you use the external eSATA port it may disable the internal SATA-3 if they are both on that secondary controller.

IMHO you're better served with a newer board that supports SATA-3 on the chipset.

Pardon me for being so dumb. He will not build it unless I get all the parts. He said get a motherboard that has the same amount of connectors that the power supply has. He told me figure the wattage by going to a PSU calculator on the web. He made it sound easy to buy the parts. HA!
That motherboard has not been purchased yet, it is a new one that I was going to purchase. Are you saying it is not a good choice? Or are you saying the power supply is not a good choice?
If I wanted a second power supply, how would I go about choosing one for that motherboard. How do you choose the best power supply? He said that maybe one with the good ventialtion on front and bottom. Do you know one that has that would work with that motherboard that has vents on front and bottom?

[alex666]

Be aware that when you have a secondary SATA-3 controller like this board does, the SATA-3 ports are not on the chipset. Also, if you use the external eSATA port it may disable the internal SATA-3 if they are both on that secondary controller.

IMHO you're better served with a newer board that supports SATA-3 on the chipset.

rdgrimes, nice to connect with you again. Thanks for the input. I have a separate thread going here, been trying to finally use my GSATA 3 connectors, having sompe problems. I'm about to install a new ssd drive that is sata 3. And I think your suggestion is a good one about just updating to a new mobo that supports sata 3 from the chipset. Plus, real-world differnences probalby will not be that great running an ssd on sata 2 vs. sata 3.

How's New Mexico?

marty

[rdgrimes]

Pardon me for being so dumb. He will not build it unless I get all the parts. He said get a motherboard that has the same amount of connectors that the power supply has.

This refers to the power connectors for the MB. Just get a power supply that has a 24-pin main connector plus an 8-pin 12V connector. Those 2 power the motherboard and CPU. Some boards need less, but the connectors are made to accommodate that. But with the 24 and 8 pin connectors you are set up for any MB.

Get a decent 500W PSU and you're good for anything. I suggest one with 3 12v rails. Unless you wish to run 2 big video cards, then get whatever the maker of those cards recommends, maybe 750W.

[rdgrimes]

rdgrimes, nice to connect with you again. Thanks for the input. I have a separate thread going here, been trying to finally use my GSATA 3 connectors, having sompe problems. I'm about to install a new ssd drive that is sata 3. And I think your suggestion is a good one about just updating to a new mobo that supports sata 3 from the chipset. Plus, real-world differnences probalby will not be that great running an ssd on sata 2 vs. sata 3.

How's New Mexico?

marty

It doesn't hurt to try using a secondary SATA-3 controller for the SSD, but if you encounter issues, consider just running it at SATA-2 on the chipset to save your sanity. The Marvell drivers are pretty poor, especially for AHCI. But I even have some issues here on a Marvell secondary running in IDE mode and have tried several different drivers. (not using SSD on that)