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power supplies

E

eli

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 30, 2003
Messages
1,648
Let me get this straight. So, in a nutshell.....there are three lines that come with the most recent PSU's: 3.3V, 5V, and 12V. High quality power supplies sustain those voltages or come within atleast 1-4% of them. It's also important to keep high draw devices such as video cards on their own power connecters without anything else. Am I right?


Also how does overclocking affect PSU's?

Later,
Eli
 
Originally posted by eli
It's also important to keep high draw devices such as video cards on their own power connecters without anything else. Am I right?


Also how does overclocking affect PSU's?
Click to expand...
It's not really that important for certain devices to be on their own cables. The reason you may have heard this is because in some applications, the thickness of the wire is insufficient to handle the amount of current flowing through the wire. With the 18 gauge wire used in most parts of the power supply, you have nothing to worry about, even if you connect several devices on one cable.

Overclocking typically increases the current draw on affected voltage lines. Since the power regulation systems for most CPUs draw from the +12 V rail, your power supply would need to deliver more current on that voltage line. Most good power supplies are designed with a robust +12 V current capacity, but don't skimp on a power supply if you plan to overclock.

Overclocking also complicates the thermal management of not only the motherboard area but also the power supply. In general, PC power supplies have okay power efficiency but they do generate a lot of heat on their own. The additional thermal load of an overclocked processor, chipset, and/or videocard adds stress to the power supply components and can adversely affect the power supply's operation. Side effects can include looser voltage regulation, more pronounced transients in the DC output, lower effective service life, or even unexpected component failure.
 
Originally posted by xonik
It's not really that important for certain devices to be on their own cables. The reason you may have heard this is because in some applications, the thickness of the wire is insufficient to handle the amount of current flowing through the wire. With the 18 gauge wire used in most parts of the power supply, you have nothing to worry about, even if you connect several devices on one cable.
Click to expand...
I'd argue it's still a good idea to put your 9800pro on a DIFFERENT string of connectors than your hard drives.
 
Newer Enermax supplies come with a dedicated graphic card lead labeled "extra". No sure about everybody else. Can't remember if its to isolate it from anything with a motor because of electrical interference, or just to give it a dedicated lead to keep the voltages constant for the GPU when other devices start.
 
Most, if not all, PSU's have the same voltage lines going to the same spot on the PCB in the PSU. With some of the problems with the 9x00 cards and certain hard drives causing coil whine, putting the video it's own cable is probably a good idea to prevent any electrical noise from the HDD.
 
Originally posted by mabegman
Newer Enermax supplies come with a dedicated graphic card lead labeled "extra". No sure about everybody else. Can't remember if its to isolate it from anything with a motor because of electrical interference, or just to give it a dedicated lead to keep the voltages constant for the GPU when other devices start.
Click to expand...
hmm, makes me wonder why other companies don't do that...
 
ok, I get it. Would hooking two HDDs or two CDROM drives up to the same cable result in uneven voltage?

Thanks,
Eli
 
Originally posted by eli
ok, I get it. Would hooking two HDDs or two CDROM drives up to the same cable result in uneven voltage?

Thanks,
Eli
Click to expand...
not if you have a decent power supply.
 
Originally posted by eli
ok, I get it. Would hooking two HDDs or two CDROM drives up to the same cable result in uneven voltage?

Thanks,
Eli
Click to expand...
No.
 
Hmm, I thought PSU wires were all 16 gauge, except a few wires on the ATX connector that are 18, most notably the +12 that is smaller at 18 gauge. It really depends on the PSU tho. My Vantec Stealth 520w has 16 gauge wire on *all* of it's connector.
 
well when i was running with my crappy noname 250 watt psu i had a problem with my hard drive and cathode being on the same cable. whenever i would turn on the cathode my hard drive would loose power and stop spinning for a fraction of a second. this would end up crashing my system. now i have a thermaltake purepower 480watt and i'm not afraid of that happening. but i think with a cheap psu, sharing a cable does matter
 
The majority of PSU's that are generic go through their lifespan without issues. Or so ive seen. Like a lot of things i imagine you hear just the horror stories and little praise (whos gonna say a 10 dollar psu kicks ass?)

Thats just what ive seen, and personally dealt with.
 
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