EPS 8-Pin CPU Power Cable Assemblies
The EPS12V 8-pin connector brings 12 V to a processor's voltage regulators; the 4+4 version splits so one plug also fits 4-pin boards, and server boards often carry more than one. Some data center GPUs take auxiliary power through the same CPU 8-pin connector — NVIDIA's A100 PCIe card is one — which is why server cable lists mix CPU and PCIe 8-pin leads that must never be swapped. Our manufacturing partner builds EPS assemblies to your drawing, for boards, cards and the adapters between them.
Where EPS 8-pin assemblies are used
Server and workstation boards
Processor power leads and extensions from the supply or a power distribution board to each CPU power input.
GPUs with CPU 8-pin inputs
Auxiliary power for cards whose power input is a CPU 8-pin connector rather than a PCIe one.
Adapters between the two
Leads that move from PCIe to CPU 8-pin wiring, or back, where a system's outputs and a card's input differ.
What you can specify
Each point is confirmed with our manufacturing partner before the quotation. Connectors are the genuine parts your drawing names, and an alternative is used only with your written approval.
- A fixed 8-pin or a 4+4 plug
- The number of drops, for boards with several CPU power inputs
- The supply end: modular socket, distribution-board connector or open leads
- Wire gauge, colors and sleeving
- Labels that tell CPU leads and GPU leads apart
Testing and records
Every unit gets a continuity test — right pin, no open circuit, no short — and ships with a test report. Hi-pot, insulation resistance and pull-force testing follow the plan agreed in your quotation.
Continuity is run lead by lead against the EPS pinout on your drawing, so a lead labeled CPU is wired as CPU.
How testing and records work →How much does each pin carry?
Model the six 12 V pins and six returns of a 12V-2x6 or 12VHPWR connector as resistors, solve how the current really shares, and read each pin's current, each contact's heat and the margin left against the per-pin rating, a worn or open pin included.
Open the per-pin current calculator →Common questions
Which GPUs take a CPU 8-pin power lead?
Some data center cards do: the product brief for NVIDIA's A100 80GB PCIe card lists one CPU 8-pin auxiliary power connector. Check your card's documentation — if it says CPU or EPS 8-pin, a PCIe 8-pin lead is the wrong cable.
What is the difference between an EPS 8-pin and a 4+4 plug?
The contacts are the same; the 4+4 splits so it also fits older 4-pin boards. When every board in the build has an 8-pin socket, a one-piece plug avoids mating the halves out of step.
Can you make adapters between CPU 8-pin and PCIe 8-pin?
As assemblies built to your drawing. The drawing has to show both pinouts and the power the adapter will carry, because 12 V and ground sit on different contacts in the two connectors.
What should an EPS power cable RFQ include?
Lengths, the connector at each end with part numbers, 4+4 or one-piece plug, the supply-end pinout, wire gauge, sleeving, labels, and whether any lead feeds a GPU rather than a processor.
Related connectors
Industries
Connector and series names on these pages — JST, Molex, Micro-Fit, Mini-Fit, PicoBlade, Pico-Lock, CLIK-Mate, PCIe, MCIO, SlimSAS, OCuLink, HSD, HFM and DEUTSCH among them — may be trademarks of their respective owners. They are used only to identify the connectors an assembly is built with or mates with. Interconnix is not affiliated with, sponsored by or an authorized distributor of any connector maker.