Gimmick, or Holy Grail?

intresting.... makes since.... well they have womething like that for graphics cards...why not the cpu?? need some more input...
 
And if this is a "good thing", why wouldn't a UPS type device with a battery instead of caps between the PS and the mobo/vid cards be the shiznit? Should show near zero ripple. Perhaps I'm wrong... now I gotta learn me up some stuff. Damn.

_ReeL
 
I read that entire article and I'm still not sure why I should feel the need to run out and buy one of these things...I guess the long unrelated ramble about high end audio equipment at the end didn't help drive the point home. :confused:
 
joemama said:
I read that entire article and I'm still not sure why I should feel the need to run out and buy one of these things...I guess the long unrelated ramble about high end audio equipment at the end didn't help drive the point home. :confused:
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That's for sure! I know my ears ain't good enough to tell the difference between ten dollar audio cables and thousand dollar ones.

Maybe these units could help Uber-overclockers and people who "play" benchmarks, but if your 'puters don't crash with what you do with them, why spend $$ for no appreciable gain?
 
I would think that a solid quality UPS unit would do the same. Then again I don't think I've ever seen anyone hook up a UPS unit directly to their video card like this product seems to be intended to do. Still, would it really make a difference if the power is clean coming from the power supply?

I'm not electronic-savvy enough to really know. But it'd be interesting to hear what the experts here have to say on it.
 
I'm no electronics guru, either. However logic dictates that a UPS won't do what these units will because the power has been altered by the computers power supply. I think these do what thepower supply caps on the MB do, but at a much greater...volumn?

What they do seem to do is filter out ripple and act as an accumulator if you have a short need for more wattage.

_ReeL
 
MD_Willington said:
It looks like a brick of firecrackers waiting to go off...
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Could be, but the MoBo I am using to post this has 4 caps right next to the CPU that are bloated and leaking something. It's been that way for over a year. Apparently, caps can keep working to some degree before blowing up.


I'm too poor to replace my motherboard :(
 
Just run down to your local car stereo center & get a few 1f caps! :cool:

As the initial load would trip the OL protection, just pre-charge them with your car battery! :D

DO NOT REALLY DO THIS! :p
 
Imagine all those caps to be those caps abit used on some of their boards a long time ago..

Ouch.
 
Wow, I read through that and I guess it made the readings on the o-scope look better, but the real-world results didn't really show any benefit. I loved the "brick of fire crackers" comment, that's pretty much what it looks like. Seems like a gimick to me, but who knows (I don't!).
 
davidhammock200 said:
Just run down to your local car stereo center & get a few 1f caps! :cool:

As the initial load would trip the OL protection, just pre-charge them with your car battery! :D

DO NOT REALLY DO THIS! :p
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lol

1uF caps is an interesting idea as larger caps have a slower response time (still fast but slower compared to little caps). This would mean ripple is more likely to be absorbed.
 
loads of dodgy caps got on the market that leaked and self destructed way before their rated time.
It was quite bad as lots of manufacturers fell foul of it.
 
Chernobyl1 said:
loads of dodgy caps got on the market that leaked and self destructed way before their rated time.
It was quite bad as lots of manufacturers fell foul of it.
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Ya, i know the story... I just couldn't read any english in the post i quoted. :)
 
Chernobyl1 said:
lol

1uF caps is an interesting idea as larger caps have a slower response time (still fast but slower compared to little caps). This would mean ripple is more likely to be absorbed.
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Those big auto stereo caps are 1f, not 1uf! ;)
 
What is also of concern to me: What happens if a short is encountered? All that capacatance going off at once might just have more than a passing resemblance to the abovementioned firecrackers!
 
dekard said:
?????
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Abit stuffed a lot of motherboards with "Jackcon" brand caps, and a lot of them ended up being bad, bloated, and leaking... Abit USA got sued big time in a class action lawsuit.
 
Sir_ReeL said:
What is also of concern to me: What happens if a short is encountered? All that capacatance going off at once might just have more than a passing resemblance to the abovementioned firecrackers!
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Guaranteed fireworks & probably a fire, too! :eek:
 
Either way, would you guys think this is a novel concept, just a really bad design?

Is there really any potential in a device like this?
 
Yes, a bank of capacitors on the end of the power supply will give a much larger reserve of power for instant current peaks and will absorb some noise on the power lines.
How much benefit this will give is dependent on the circuit being powered (and maybe the PSU in use).

The results so far are a fair indication of what to expect in my view.
With further ripple reduction (maybe through the use of different value caps), the results could improve.

Reduced ripple and instantly available large amounts of current will only serve a purpose if there are certain types of problem already.

One problem that can be generated by overclocking is driving the PSU too hard, causing the voltage to drop and increased ripple/noise on the power lines.
If your PSU isnt very good, you would be wise to replace it rather than get one of these as the capacitors can only compensate for lack of PSU power for a certain time, after which, the capacitors will level off to the same voltage supplied by the PSU.
The ripple on the PSU lines will be helped a lot though.
Driving a PSU hard enough to drop the voltage rails a lot can kill it and anything connected to it should it fail.

So if you already have a good PSU, why do you need one of these?
The reduced ripple/noise can only help maintain stability.
Stability is pushed right to the limit when overclocking so if you are right on the edge this device may help you go just a little bit further.

Having much larger instantaneous current capability 'may' help overclocks that fail due to the PSU's inability to supply extremely fast current spikes.
I'm not sure this is a concern though as most overclocks reach their limit due to excess heat.
Supplying more current for the isntantaneous peaks will create more heat so this may in fact hinder the overclock.

The long and the short of it is you will have much more stable voltage lines with higher peak current capability.
What benefits you get depends what you are using it with, what you are doing and what problems you already have..
If your PC is stable and isnt clocked to the limit, you probably wont see a benefit.
 
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