HardwareHeaven.com

HardwareHeaven.com
Looking for the skin chooser?
 
 

  • Home

  • Hardware reviews

  • Articles

  • News

  • Tools

  • Gaming at HardwareHeaven

  • Forums
 

Go Back   HardwareHeaven.com > Forums > Hardware and Related Topics > Hardware Discussion & Support
Reload this Page

Dual 12V Rail PSU Question

Register FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read


Hardware Discussion & Support Discuss your computer - its components or ANY hardware, past/current/future you want, or ask our forum experts if you have a general problem with your hardware.

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old Nov 22, 2006, 12:33 PM   #1
HH Old Fuddy Duddy
 
Dyre Straits's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 14,196
Rep Power: 216
Dyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his status
System Specs

Gold Member
Dual 12V Rail PSU Question
How does one determine which set of wires are for which 12V rail?

My understanding is that one is dedicated to the CPU and the other for connected/installed devices.

This particular PSU also has a separate PCI Express power cord.

Would appreciate some help on this.

Thanks!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyromaniac View Post
Thank you kindly for fulfilling my request, Dyre
You, sir, are a shining beacon of shiny shininess!
Quote:
If you have an issue with what you said, please resolve it in private
Dyre Straits is offline   Reply With Quote


Old Nov 22, 2006, 01:35 PM   #2
DriverHeaven Addict
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: U.S.A.
Posts: 309
Rep Power: 0
jp306 is on a distinguished road
System Specs

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dyre Straits View Post
How does one determine which set of wires are for which 12V rail?

My understanding is that one is dedicated to the CPU and the other for connected/installed devices.

This particular PSU also has a separate PCI Express power cord.

Would appreciate some help on this.

Thanks!
The 12volt for the CPU has 2 yellow and 2 black wires.
jp306 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 22, 2006, 02:20 PM   #3
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,989
Rep Power: 71
PangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nice
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dyre Straits View Post
How does one determine which set of wires are for which 12V rail?

My understanding is that one is dedicated to the CPU and the other for connected/installed devices.

This particular PSU also has a separate PCI Express power cord.

Would appreciate some help on this.

Thanks!
that will vary depending on each power supply's designs.

in below example of power supply with dual 12V rail...

only part of the +12V 8-pin power that uses +12V2, then the rest of the +12V on every connectors goes to +12V1.

yours may/can be different, depending on the power supply's designs (number and type of connectors, maximum current output specs for each 12V rails, etc)



not sure if this is what you are looking for.

Info: How much 12V current (Amperes) do I really get on the 12V rails of my PSU?
http://www.overclock.net/faqs/85645-...t-amperes.html
PangingJr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 22, 2006, 10:53 PM   #4
DriverHeaven Extreme Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 6,794
Rep Power: 0
H3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enoughH3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enough
All yellow wires are +12v, the black ones are ground/neutral
H3X4D3C1M4L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 23, 2006, 04:21 AM Threadstarter Thread Starter   #5
HH Old Fuddy Duddy
 
Dyre Straits's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 14,196
Rep Power: 216
Dyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his status
System Specs

Gold Member
Hi, PangingJr: That's a great diagram. Thanks!

If I'm reading that correctly, only the plug to the CPU power is the 12V2, right? Every other yellow wire is for 12V1, including for the PCI Express power, correct?

This is what I was looking for. I'm testing a PSU for a review and need to determine the stability of each rail in order to finish up the review.

I already knew that yellow wires were 12V. I only needed to know how to determine which ones were designated for which rail.

Thanks, everyone!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyromaniac View Post
Thank you kindly for fulfilling my request, Dyre
You, sir, are a shining beacon of shiny shininess!
Quote:
If you have an issue with what you said, please resolve it in private
Dyre Straits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 23, 2006, 05:35 AM   #6
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,989
Rep Power: 71
PangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nice
the power supplies that have only 2 12V rail might not have much of a different in design... since there are only 2 rails, so one of the 12V rail should be used for processor, and everything else should be on the other 12V rail. but like i said, however, they can be different.

here is an example of power supply with 4x 12V rail...
colour of a wire's... yellow/black, yellow(solid), yellow/blue and yellow/green,
in this power supply unit the wires of different colours will help you identify each of the 12V rails...

PangingJr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 23, 2006, 06:57 AM   #7
HH's Tomboy
 
Grace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Anywhere but in my house!
Posts: 776
Rep Power: 56
Grace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant futureGrace has a brilliant future
As PangingJr already mentioned, it all depends on the PSU design.

The most common design for dual rail PSUs is the one PangingJr posted above; the main line feeds the CPU 4-pin 12V connector and the secondary line feeds everything else. Sometimes, the main line extends to the ATX connector 12V cables and the secondary line feeds the PCI-E 12V power line and all of the Molex/SATA/floppy cables.
Grace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 23, 2006, 08:28 PM   #8
DriverHeaven Extreme Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 6,794
Rep Power: 0
H3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enoughH3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enough
Note that in any good PSU manual it will tell you. It told me that in my Enermax Liberty manual... everything but PCI-e plugs and the 8 pin mobo +12v plugs are on rail 1
H3X4D3C1M4L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 23, 2006, 08:56 PM   #9
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,989
Rep Power: 71
PangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nice
this pic is better, Dyre Straits.
with this one you can see 3 examples of different designs of dual 12V rail power supplies...
PangingJr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 24, 2006, 07:04 AM Threadstarter Thread Starter   #10
HH Old Fuddy Duddy
 
Dyre Straits's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 14,196
Rep Power: 216
Dyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his status
System Specs

Gold Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L View Post
Note that in any good PSU manual it will tell you. It told me that in my Enermax Liberty manual... everything but PCI-e plugs and the 8 pin mobo +12v plugs are on rail 1
Yes, if they included a manual, I'd never have posted here.

The last two PSUs I got didn't come with manuals. AND, to further confuse things, the one I'm asking specifically about has already been remanufactured to include TWO PCIe video cards whereas the one I have has only one.

I think a manual should be required with the box.


@PangingJr: Thanks for the updated pic!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyromaniac View Post
Thank you kindly for fulfilling my request, Dyre
You, sir, are a shining beacon of shiny shininess!
Quote:
If you have an issue with what you said, please resolve it in private
Dyre Straits is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 24, 2006, 03:14 PM   #11
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,989
Rep Power: 71
PangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nicePangingJr is just really nice
no problem, Dyre Straits. hope you like it.
PangingJr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 24, 2006, 04:58 PM   #12
DriverHeaven Extreme Member
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 6,794
Rep Power: 0
H3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enoughH3X4D3C1M4L will become famous soon enough
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dyre Straits View Post
I think a manual should be required with the box.
I thought it was

Your's is an Ultra PSU right? I never liked Ultra personally but I have seen situations where they skimp on little extras and frills to lower the cost of their products
H3X4D3C1M4L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old Nov 25, 2006, 09:44 AM Threadstarter Thread Starter   #13
HH Old Fuddy Duddy
 
Dyre Straits's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Georgia, USA
Posts: 14,196
Rep Power: 216
Dyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his statusDyre Straits is godlike in his status
System Specs

Gold Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by H3X4D3C1M4L View Post
I thought it was

Your's is an Ultra PSU right? I never liked Ultra personally but I have seen situations where they skimp on little extras and frills to lower the cost of their products
No, the one I'm testing is not an Ultra. I do have an Ultra, though.

I asked a couple others about manuals and they told me that the most recent ones they bought also came without a manual. If that's the case, it's a bad trend!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vampyromaniac View Post
Thank you kindly for fulfilling my request, Dyre
You, sir, are a shining beacon of shiny shininess!
Quote:
If you have an issue with what you said, please resolve it in private
Dyre Straits is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Thread Tools