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Anyone explain the diff between the 12V and 5V rails?
- Thread starter SP33Demon
- Start date
Woodchuck2000
Golden Member
Um, the 12V rail supplies power at 12 volts, the 5V rail supplies it at 5 volts. That's about it.
The problem is that the question doesnt really make sense 🙁
It might help to explain that all there is a limit to the amount of current a PSU can supply on each rail. Running a dual AMD system requires the PSU to provide 30A on the 5V rail for example. It's very tough to find out how much power you're drawing of your rails, as it will vary wildly depending on what you're doing. Burning a CD for example draws a lot more power than surfing the web.
The problem is that the question doesnt really make sense 🙁
It might help to explain that all there is a limit to the amount of current a PSU can supply on each rail. Running a dual AMD system requires the PSU to provide 30A on the 5V rail for example. It's very tough to find out how much power you're drawing of your rails, as it will vary wildly depending on what you're doing. Burning a CD for example draws a lot more power than surfing the web.
SP33Demon
Lifer
To clarify, my main question would be which components of a computer run off of which rails, and which, if any, rail would you have to be wary of having too many peripherals running off of it? Would this be the 5V? Of course, I don't know anything about this type of stuff, so it may be a really moronic question (correct me if I'm wrong)... 🙂
Woodchuck2000
Golden Member
Not necessarily. The Molex provides both 5v and 12v connections - Some devices use only one, some devices need both. Depends on the device.
As a general rule, a 300W PSU is enough for the average user to run a fast CPU and graphics card with a couple of HDDs and CD-Roms. I've you're using massive amounts of peripherals/fans you might want to go up to 400W, but the quality is just just as important as the power rating with PSUs.
What PSU do you have and what are you running off it?
As a general rule, a 300W PSU is enough for the average user to run a fast CPU and graphics card with a couple of HDDs and CD-Roms. I've you're using massive amounts of peripherals/fans you might want to go up to 400W, but the quality is just just as important as the power rating with PSUs.
What PSU do you have and what are you running off it?
SP33Demon
Lifer
I have a 350W Enermax Whisper, running 45 and 30 G HD's w/ their own HD addon coolers (total of 4 molex), a 50X CDROM and 12X10X32 Burner, a 120MM Panaflo custom exhaust fan, 2 80MM fans (one intake and one exhaust), a DragonOrb3+ HSF, and your regular floppy drive. I'm actually going to add a DVDROM soon to replace the 50X, but that shouldn't affect the "rail".
I figured this should be sufficient for my power supply, but is there any way to check this? (Diagnostic software possibly?). This way, you may be able to tell if you are possibly "maxing out" your power supply and if you may need a more powerful PS.
~Rob 🙂
I figured this should be sufficient for my power supply, but is there any way to check this? (Diagnostic software possibly?). This way, you may be able to tell if you are possibly "maxing out" your power supply and if you may need a more powerful PS.
~Rob 🙂