Intel is changing the future of power supplies with its ATX12VO spec

Post by Marsymars » Mon, Mar 09, 2020, 11:44 PM UTC

kbumsik wrote: post #19

mmastrac wrote: post #8

12V makes so much more sense to be sending around - the losses at lower voltages are rough. It would be nice to replace legacy molex connectors with a more modern standard, however.

> It would be nice to replace legacy molex connectors with a more modern standard Any example of the modern one? I personally have no issues with the current one. I am not sure if those molex connectors should be called as legacy.

Post by Marsymars » Mon, Mar 09, 2020, 11:47 PM UTC

loeg wrote: post #32

michaelt wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most desktop users would probably prefer a UPS that also ensured their monitor stayed on.

I actually leave my monitor off UPS intentionally. While I'm away, I'd rather my workstation survive a brownout or short loss of power and if I'm actively working, it's easy enough to move the monitor's power cable to the UPS to save my work and shut down. My CPU draws ~45W at idle; my monitor draws a whopping 130W — having it on battery materially shortens the off-AC runtime.

Post by btian » Mon, Mar 09, 2020, 11:51 PM UTC

michaelt wrote: post #29

jleahy wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A typical CPU (or SSD even) uses a voltage of 0.9V currently, surely it doesn't matter whether the motherboard is converting 12V to 0.9V or 5V to 0.9V. Back when this stuff was originally designed 12V, 5V and 3.3V was all you needed (actually with the AT standard it was just 12V for motors and 5V for logic, that was pre-CMOS). Now every component requires a different voltage (if there's any standard it might be 1.8V…

Maybe for a lot of things, but I've seen plenty of SSDs that only need 5v power, and I've never seen one that only needed 12v.

Post by x0 » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 12:03 AM UTC

generatorguy wrote: post #40

sjwright wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re sending 1500 watts directly into a motherboard, something is probably wrong. Massive power draws (CPU, GPU) would always get their own direct connection, just as they do today. Apply this simple rule of thumb: watts become heat. The only major exception to this is where the power has exited the computer via USB or similar.

I haven't assembled a PC since the pentium 200 days. I recall hard drives, floppy drives, and the motherboard had their own power connections but not the CPU or GPU of the time. Still a single pin is probably something like a #18 gauge and would only be good for 10A before it gets too warm for comfort.

Post by microcolonel » Tue, Mar 10, 2020, 12:06 AM UTC