For a long time, the main power line into the motherboard-the fattest cable branching off the power supply-was a standard 20-pin ATX connector. In recent years, it has evolved into a 24-pin connection. If your power supply has a 24-pin plug but there's a 20-pin receptacle on the motherboard, you can plug in the portion of the plug that fits and leave the extra pins hanging over the edge of the socket-as long as the motherboard design allows it. (Some power supplies employ a "20+4" design that lets you snap on or off the extra four pins-if yours does, don't use the extra four pins for anything else; there should be a separate four-pin connector to be used as the supplemental power for the board.) Otherwise, 24-to-20-pin adapters are available; they'll often come bundled with the power supply.
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