Front panel question

[Flybye]

My motherboard doesn't have firewire. I bought a firewire card, but it only has the 6 port external connector internally. It came with an adapter cable to convert it from the 6 port to the 10 port motherboard header pin type connector. Problem is it only has 1 power cable shooting at 12v. I tested it with a multimeter to confirm.

Front panel connector states it is a 2x12v. So would it work with 12v or will I have to tap another 12v from someplace else?

 

[nikstar]

You can just connect the other pin to 12v too. Just bridge them. ( I mean the two pins at the front panel)

 

[Flybye]

That's the thing. I only have one 12v cable since I'm using a 6 port connector and not a motherboard header.

 

[nikstar]

Yes, you have one 12v cable from the header and you must connect it to the front panel at two pins. You said you need 2 x 12v at the front panel, so connect the 12v you have, to those two pins.

 

[Flybye]

I'm sorry if I didn't clarify the front panel.

The G5 Power Mac front panel has 1 pin which is supposed to take in 24v.

Most people have a Firewire port on their motherboard that has 2 power pins on it each having 12v. Just wrap those 2 together and you got yourself the 24v for the 1 pin on the front cover.

My problem is I started out with a motherboard that doesn't have firewire on it. I bought a PCI firewire card that also has an external 6 pin port on the pcb, and the card came with a cable that has the 6 port connector on one end and the internal 10 port connector style on the other end like the type on motherboards. Problem is, the power pin only has 12v. I don't have 2 power pins on it that are 12v each to give me a total of 24v to connect to the front panel.

So then my question really is, can the front panel work off the 12v, or would I need to somehow get another 12v into the front panel's 24v connector?

 

[Flybye]

Nvm guys.

After reading this thread:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/customization/61021-g5-front-panel-question-2.html

The front pcb should work just fine even if firewire isn't connected. I guess I'll be testing mine with just 12v to see how it goes. Thanks all

 

[Gus]

I think it would be fine. LED might not be as bright. And some firewire devices might not work properly for lack of voltage? But I am not sure if that is true or not.

 

[nikstar]

I'm sorry if I didn't clarify the front panel.

The G5 Power Mac front panel has 1 pin which is supposed to take in 24v.

Most people have a Firewire port on their motherboard that has 2 power pins on it each having 12v. Just wrap those 2 together and you got yourself the 24v for the 1 pin on the front cover.

My problem is I started out with a motherboard that doesn't have firewire on it. I bought a PCI firewire card that also has an external 6 pin port on the pcb, and the card came with a cable that has the 6 port connector on one end and the internal 10 port connector style on the other end like the type on motherboards. Problem is, the power pin only has 12v. I don't have 2 power pins on it that are 12v each to give me a total of 24v to connect to the front panel.

So then my question really is, can the front panel work off the 12v, or would I need to somehow get another 12v into the front panel's 24v connector?

You can connect only one 12v line at the G5 front panel. If at the other side of the cable has 2 pins for 12v power MUST be connected to both of them. For example if your motherboard has an onboard firewire the 10 pin header has 2 pins (7 +8 as Gus said at the other post) for the power and if you use one cable for power you must bridge them together. Now with the Firewire card you have and the provided cable could be a little different (or maybe not). If you have a multimeter, measure it to be sure, but I think all you should be ok.

 

[Flybye]

Yeah that card's provided cable is different. This is what I have:

I measured the one power pin, and it currently shows 12v. But I'm going to try it anyways as I've read on a few sites the firewire power is scalable. So if more power is needed, that 12v will probably be automatically adjusted by the firewire card to feed more power.