Different cable colors and their meaning
There are many cables with different colors inside your PC case. This practical tip explains the meaning behind the many cable colors.
That is why there are different cable colors
- Some power cables that come from the power supply are the same color. This is because the output voltage of the same colored cables is identical. This makes it easier to identify the cables.
- To successfully connect a hardware component, all you have to do is read the required voltage on the component and connect the cable with the appropriate voltage. You can find out what output voltage the individual cables have in the next paragraph.
Meaning of the individual cable colors
The cable colors are not binding information from the manufacturers. So it may well be that the cable colors have different meanings at different manufacturers. Most of the manufacturers adhere to the following information:
- Yellow cables have an output voltage of 12 volts. The high voltage is required for the mainboard and the drives.
- The output voltage of red cables is 5 volts. These cables connect drives and the hard drive to the mainboard.
- Orange cables provide 3.3 volts.
- There are also cables with a negative output voltage. White cables have a negative voltage of 5 volts and blue cables have 12 volts.
- The black cables stand for the ground line and have a neutral voltage (0 volt). These are used in particular to ground the mainboard and power supply.
If you have problems with a hardware component in your PC, you should also check the cables in the PC. Cable breaks often occur. We will show you how to repair brittle cables in another practical tip.