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computerpro3
LightningRod
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2003
- Messages
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Antec Power Supply Modding Guide
Thanks to all the guys at Xtremesystems that helped me do this (especially Minnyboy and STEvil); I couldn't have done it without them. BTW, I didn't invent this, I think Macci did. I am just writing this up to make it easy to understand. Any comments, corrections, errors, etc. feel free to pm me. Thanks!
NOTE: I am not responsible for any damage or harm to your computer or yourself from attempt of this volt mod. Do it at your own risk. By reading about and/or attempting this mod, you acknowledge this and agree to it.
PLEASE READ THIS GUIDE COMPLETLEY BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS
Equipment needed:
Soldering iron (15 watt preferred, $8 Radio Shack)
68Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
33Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
10Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
1k Variable Resistor (aka potentiometer, $2.50 Radio Shack)
2x 10k Variable Resistor ($2.50 each, Radio Shack)
single strand electric wire (multiple strand works, just more difficult due to fraying etc., price may vary)
small flathead screwdriver for turning the VR knob
scissors/wire cutter
paper clip
Digital MULTIMETER - MUST HAVE ($20 Radio Shack)
wire stripper
Rosin Core Solder - DO NOT USE SILVER CORE SOLDER...It is a lot harder to use than rosin core for this kind of work
This guide will help those of you who have Antec power supplies that have low lines, or if you just want to raise them period. It is a great, easy mod, and if you follow the instructions properly, it will yield great results. The goal of this mod is to locate the atx sense lines for the 3 rails (or 2 if you have a cheaper supply), cut them, reconnect them with a fixed resistor in the middle, solder a wire from one side of the fixed resistor to the pot, and then ground the pot. That will allow you to change the voltage rails to your heart's content. Now that was probably a little confusing, so I suggest reading the rest of the guide before attempting this
. Good luck and good modding!
Stage One
First, remove the power supply from the machine. This is a must, for obvious reasons. Bring it to a well lighted area with all of your tools layed out before you. Plug in the soldering iron in to allow it sufficient warming time while we plan the mod (warning, don't touch it to see how hot it is)
Now look at your atx connector. Here is a schematic of it.
Look at pin 11, the one that is in the upper left corner of the diagram. It reads +3.3vdc. This is the 3.3v line. Now there are two wires going in to this connector, one fat, one skinny. They should be orange. The thin line is the sense line, which is the one we want. Now locate the other two sense lines. The 12v sense line should be yellow, and located in pin 10 in the lower right hand corner of the diagram. The 5v sense line is directly above that in the upper right corner. Remember, DO NOT cut the THICK line, we want the THIN line. Decide how far up you want to cut the sense lines, whatever is most convenient for you. I recommend cutting them as close to the psu casing as possible, as to be able to mount the VRs when we are done on the psu casing for easy access. Let's tackle the 3.3v line first. Go ahead and cut the 3.3v sense line, the orange one originating from pin 11. Take the wire stripper and strip about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch from the end of each cut wire.
Now, for the 3.3v line, you need to get the 10Ohm fixed resistor and the 1k Variable Resistor. Take the soldering iron and some solder and put a drop of solder on each end of the fixed 10ohm resistor. This is called tinning it; it makes soldering two wires together much easier as all you have to do is heat the drop of solder already applied to the wire and it will melt and bond the wires together. Next also tin the cut 3.3v sense wires. Now, on a flat surface, lay one end of the wire and the 10ohm fixed resistor together and solder them together. Once they are cool (give it about 5 seconds) solder the other end to the other cut wire.
PROGRESS CHECK
So far, you should have located the 3.3v sense line, cut it, and reconnected it with the fixed 10ohm resistor in the middle.
Stage Two
If you made it this far, good job. Grab a drink, a slice of pizza, and take a break. Then get ready for some more modding goodness! Next, find your 1k VR and grab your multimeter. Set the multimeter to measure ohms (the omega symbol) and set the VR to it's maximum resistance, which in this case is around 1k. All you have to adjust it is take your small flathead screwdriver and rotate the knob on the VR while watching the corresponding numbers on the multimeter. Don't worry if it is like 978 or something, as long as its in the general ballpark you're okay.
With that done, tin the middle leg and the leg closest to the knob with solder. Take some of your single strand wire (make sure you have enough to reach from the fixed resistor, which is where you will be soldering it to, to where you plan on mounting the VR!), strip the ends, tin the ends, and solder it to the front leg of the VR. Solder the other end of the wire to one of the legs on the variable resistor. Now choose any black wire on your power supply and strip a section of it WITHOUT CUTTING IT. Strip about a 1-2 inch portion, or large enough for you to ground your wires to. Now solder another single strand wire on to the middle leg of the VR and solder the other end to the stripped black wire (the ground). Your 3.3v mod is completed. It should look like this:
After you have done this, you have completed the 3.3v mod. Now comes the scary part, seeing if it works. Grab the power supply and bring it over to a wall socket. Before you plug it in, take a look at the atx power connector. Refer to the ATX pinout diagram, the first image of this guide. Find the pin PS_ON. The wire going into this should be green, just to be sure you have the right pin. Take a paper clip, straighten it out, and bend it in a U shape. Stick one end in the PS_ON pin socket and the other end in any black wire's pin sockt (you are grounding it again). This allows the power supply to start without a motherboard. Do not start it yet, though. Take your digital multimeter and stick one end (usually the red one) in pin 11 on the large ATX connector, the same one that has the two wires (sense and 3.3v line). Set your multimeter back to reading voltages. Now go ahead, plug it in and power it up. Watch your reading on the multimeter. It should be close to 3.3. Now take your VR, and turn the knob on it 1/2 turn at a time. The reading should begin to climb. I suggest stopping at 3.5 or 3.6v, that should be fairly safe and allow you all the voltage you need. I keep mine at 3.5. If the voltage reading doesn't move, turn the VR knob the other way. If the psu fails to start, don't fear (well, maybe a little bit) as the Antec TruPower series has excellent overvoltage protection. This usually means that you have the VR set with too little resistance. Crank up the resistance to the VR's max (eg: close to 1k for a 1k VR) and it should start. If it still doesn't start, ensure nothing is shorting out or touching. Ensure you don't have a cold joint, and that it is grounded properly. IF all else fails, remove the mod and solder the sense line back together. IF your psu is still alive, that will fix it. Alas, if you solder back together the sense line and it still doesn't start, I suggest you invest in a Pc Power and Cooling 510 Deluxe Turbocool power supply. No need for mods on that beast.
Now for the other two. They are EXACTLY the same, NOTHING is different except YOU MUST USE DIFFERENT VALUE RESISTORS. For the 5v mod, you must use a 33ohm fixed resistor and a 10k variable resistor. For the 12v mod, you must use a 68 ohm fixed resistor and another 10k variable resistor. Here are schematics of how the other two mods should look.
After you complete each mod, go back and use the method I described for finding your voltage. When you have all of the mods done, I strongly suggest using hot glue or crazy glue to mount your VRs somewhere easily accessible. I have mine mounted on my psu so all I have to do is open the side of the case and I can adjust them easily. Hope this helps! Feel free to pm me with any questions!
-Computerpro3 out
Thanks to all the guys at Xtremesystems that helped me do this (especially Minnyboy and STEvil); I couldn't have done it without them. BTW, I didn't invent this, I think Macci did. I am just writing this up to make it easy to understand. Any comments, corrections, errors, etc. feel free to pm me. Thanks!
NOTE: I am not responsible for any damage or harm to your computer or yourself from attempt of this volt mod. Do it at your own risk. By reading about and/or attempting this mod, you acknowledge this and agree to it.
PLEASE READ THIS GUIDE COMPLETLEY BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS
Equipment needed:
Soldering iron (15 watt preferred, $8 Radio Shack)
68Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
33Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
10Ohm fixed resistor ($1 Radio Shack)
1k Variable Resistor (aka potentiometer, $2.50 Radio Shack)
2x 10k Variable Resistor ($2.50 each, Radio Shack)
single strand electric wire (multiple strand works, just more difficult due to fraying etc., price may vary)
small flathead screwdriver for turning the VR knob
scissors/wire cutter
paper clip
Digital MULTIMETER - MUST HAVE ($20 Radio Shack)
wire stripper
Rosin Core Solder - DO NOT USE SILVER CORE SOLDER...It is a lot harder to use than rosin core for this kind of work
This guide will help those of you who have Antec power supplies that have low lines, or if you just want to raise them period. It is a great, easy mod, and if you follow the instructions properly, it will yield great results. The goal of this mod is to locate the atx sense lines for the 3 rails (or 2 if you have a cheaper supply), cut them, reconnect them with a fixed resistor in the middle, solder a wire from one side of the fixed resistor to the pot, and then ground the pot. That will allow you to change the voltage rails to your heart's content. Now that was probably a little confusing, so I suggest reading the rest of the guide before attempting this
. Good luck and good modding!Stage One
First, remove the power supply from the machine. This is a must, for obvious reasons. Bring it to a well lighted area with all of your tools layed out before you. Plug in the soldering iron in to allow it sufficient warming time while we plan the mod (warning, don't touch it to see how hot it is
)Now look at your atx connector. Here is a schematic of it.
Look at pin 11, the one that is in the upper left corner of the diagram. It reads +3.3vdc. This is the 3.3v line. Now there are two wires going in to this connector, one fat, one skinny. They should be orange. The thin line is the sense line, which is the one we want. Now locate the other two sense lines. The 12v sense line should be yellow, and located in pin 10 in the lower right hand corner of the diagram. The 5v sense line is directly above that in the upper right corner. Remember, DO NOT cut the THICK line, we want the THIN line. Decide how far up you want to cut the sense lines, whatever is most convenient for you. I recommend cutting them as close to the psu casing as possible, as to be able to mount the VRs when we are done on the psu casing for easy access. Let's tackle the 3.3v line first. Go ahead and cut the 3.3v sense line, the orange one originating from pin 11. Take the wire stripper and strip about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch from the end of each cut wire.
Now, for the 3.3v line, you need to get the 10Ohm fixed resistor and the 1k Variable Resistor. Take the soldering iron and some solder and put a drop of solder on each end of the fixed 10ohm resistor. This is called tinning it; it makes soldering two wires together much easier as all you have to do is heat the drop of solder already applied to the wire and it will melt and bond the wires together. Next also tin the cut 3.3v sense wires. Now, on a flat surface, lay one end of the wire and the 10ohm fixed resistor together and solder them together. Once they are cool (give it about 5 seconds) solder the other end to the other cut wire.
PROGRESS CHECK
So far, you should have located the 3.3v sense line, cut it, and reconnected it with the fixed 10ohm resistor in the middle.
Stage Two
If you made it this far, good job. Grab a drink, a slice of pizza, and take a break. Then get ready for some more modding goodness! Next, find your 1k VR and grab your multimeter. Set the multimeter to measure ohms (the omega symbol) and set the VR to it's maximum resistance, which in this case is around 1k. All you have to adjust it is take your small flathead screwdriver and rotate the knob on the VR while watching the corresponding numbers on the multimeter. Don't worry if it is like 978 or something, as long as its in the general ballpark you're okay.
With that done, tin the middle leg and the leg closest to the knob with solder. Take some of your single strand wire (make sure you have enough to reach from the fixed resistor, which is where you will be soldering it to, to where you plan on mounting the VR!), strip the ends, tin the ends, and solder it to the front leg of the VR. Solder the other end of the wire to one of the legs on the variable resistor. Now choose any black wire on your power supply and strip a section of it WITHOUT CUTTING IT. Strip about a 1-2 inch portion, or large enough for you to ground your wires to. Now solder another single strand wire on to the middle leg of the VR and solder the other end to the stripped black wire (the ground). Your 3.3v mod is completed. It should look like this:
After you have done this, you have completed the 3.3v mod. Now comes the scary part, seeing if it works. Grab the power supply and bring it over to a wall socket. Before you plug it in, take a look at the atx power connector. Refer to the ATX pinout diagram, the first image of this guide. Find the pin PS_ON. The wire going into this should be green, just to be sure you have the right pin. Take a paper clip, straighten it out, and bend it in a U shape. Stick one end in the PS_ON pin socket and the other end in any black wire's pin sockt (you are grounding it again). This allows the power supply to start without a motherboard. Do not start it yet, though. Take your digital multimeter and stick one end (usually the red one) in pin 11 on the large ATX connector, the same one that has the two wires (sense and 3.3v line). Set your multimeter back to reading voltages. Now go ahead, plug it in and power it up. Watch your reading on the multimeter. It should be close to 3.3. Now take your VR, and turn the knob on it 1/2 turn at a time. The reading should begin to climb. I suggest stopping at 3.5 or 3.6v, that should be fairly safe and allow you all the voltage you need. I keep mine at 3.5. If the voltage reading doesn't move, turn the VR knob the other way. If the psu fails to start, don't fear (well, maybe a little bit) as the Antec TruPower series has excellent overvoltage protection. This usually means that you have the VR set with too little resistance. Crank up the resistance to the VR's max (eg: close to 1k for a 1k VR) and it should start. If it still doesn't start, ensure nothing is shorting out or touching. Ensure you don't have a cold joint, and that it is grounded properly. IF all else fails, remove the mod and solder the sense line back together. IF your psu is still alive, that will fix it. Alas, if you solder back together the sense line and it still doesn't start, I suggest you invest in a Pc Power and Cooling 510 Deluxe Turbocool power supply. No need for mods on that beast.
Now for the other two. They are EXACTLY the same, NOTHING is different except YOU MUST USE DIFFERENT VALUE RESISTORS. For the 5v mod, you must use a 33ohm fixed resistor and a 10k variable resistor. For the 12v mod, you must use a 68 ohm fixed resistor and another 10k variable resistor. Here are schematics of how the other two mods should look.
After you complete each mod, go back and use the method I described for finding your voltage. When you have all of the mods done, I strongly suggest using hot glue or crazy glue to mount your VRs somewhere easily accessible. I have mine mounted on my psu so all I have to do is open the side of the case and I can adjust them easily. Hope this helps! Feel free to pm me with any questions!
-Computerpro3 out