Identify Different Pin Connectors
There are two main types of internal connectors for a computer -- socket (or header) connectors and power connectors. Socket connectors connect various components via flat ribbon cables. These cables transfer data from one component to another. Power connectors are of various colors and are used to supply power to various components within the computer. All these connectors have header pins or leads. Pins are metal bits used to attach the connector to a component. The number of pins often is the main clue to the identification of a specific connector.
Locate a power connector with a single row of four pins and four wires extending from it to the power supply. This 4-pin power connector is intended to supply power to hard disk drives, optical drives or floppy disk drives. Floppy drive connector may be slightly smaller.
Find a power connector with two rows of 10 or 12 pins and an equivalent number of wires extending to the power supply. This is an ATX 20- or 24-pin power connector and is used to supply power directly to the motherboard. Sometimes a power supply will have a 20-pin connector and a 4-pin adapter (two rows of two pins each) that can be used for motherboards with either pin count. In a 20-pin motherboard, the 4-pin adapter will not be used.
Locate a smaller power connector with a single row of three or four pins and wires extending to the case fan. This connector is used to connect the fan to the motherboard.
Find a power connector with a flat end (usually black) with a single row of 15 pins and five wires extending to the power supply. This is a SATA power connector. If a computer has a serial ATA hard drive (or other SATA device), it may have a specific SATA power connector used to power this device. Other hard drives are usually powered by the 4-pin power connector.
Locate a power connector with two rows of three pins. The connector will also have three yellow wires and three black wires. This is a 6-pin PCI card connector for some video cards that require additional power. Not all computers will have this power connector. Some PCI pin connectors have eight pins either in the form of two rows of four pins each or two additional pins and two additional black wires. Some high power consumption graphics cards require these additional pins.
Find a flat gray cable with a 40-pin header (two rows of 20). This is a 40-pin socket connector used for connecting an IDE or ATA devices, such as hard disk drives and optical drives to the computer's motherboard. This connector transfers data rather than power. Some computers may have similar-looking cables with 50-pin headers for connecting SCSI hard disks.
Locate a connector with a flat end (usually black) with seven pins attached to a flat cable. This is the SATA data cable that connects a SATA device to the motherboard.
Find a 29- or 32-pin connector with a wide, flat end (usually black) with flat cables attached. This is a Serial Attached SCSI connector that connects SAS devices to the motherboard. Most modern computers will not have this type of cable.
