Modular connector options

[bobross419]

I've been reading through some older posts over at XS and have seen quite a few posts regarding modular connectors and the increased heat/resistance that these cause. No one ever went into very much detail, but I was hoping to get some insights into this.

I'm thinking of creating a modular PSU and possibly using a different type of connector that might be more efficient than the plastic type connectors we generally see with regards to the heat/resistance increase due to a solderless connection. I've been doing some searching around Google, but I couldn't really find anything concrete about this -- maybe I'm just not using the right keywords. If anyone can point me to a good article or something about this I'd appreciate it.

Anyways, I remember in the Corps we used some pretty beefy connectors with solid pins and screwed caps. I was thinking that something like this might be better than the plastic we normally see. You can get an idea of what I am referring to at this link. This would only be used at the modular side of the cables, I'm not thinking of modifying the component side.

Could something like this reduce the heat/resistance that I've been reading about? Is there another type of connector that would be better?

I know my way around a soldering iron, but the theory behind circuits and what not isn't something I've really ever gotten into.

 

[Ben90]

Completely. Unnecessary.

 

[bobross419]

Completely. Unnecessary.

I appreciate your response, and your succinct input definitely clears things up for me. You sir are a true scholar and gentleman.

Anyone with something a little more specific and in depth than this waste of time?

 

[Ben90]

If your absolutely serious about this, the best thing you could do is replace all the wires with silver ones at something rediculous like 8 gauge.

Also rewiring your house to 240v would net you more gain. If your already at 240v, maybe rewire your house/PSU for 600v?

 

[Ben90]

Hopefully you all found my little experiment entertaining and informative, if not monotonous and overly in depth. Obviously, it's fighting a losing battle trying to convince anyone that modular connectors don't create any significant resistance, but I think there's a few things here we can all learn from.
Someone once said that a modular connector's pins have as much resistance as two feet of wire. I can't recall where that came from, but I think our five subjects have shown us that there's actually as much as four times as much voltage lost in a mere 18 inches of cable than there is in a modular connector. And when thinking about a loss in voltage in a modular connector, one shouldn't look just at the fact that a power supply has a modular connector, but perhaps how that modular connector is made.
The power supply that showed the most drop in voltage at the modular connector was the Corsair. I'm not really sure why this was since the connector was a one to one with a standard 6-pin PCI-e type connector. I could understand seeing this kind of drop with the other modular connectors on the Corsair because relatively small pins are used in the five pin connectors that plug into the power supply housing. Below is a close up picture of one of the Corsair modular peripheral power connectors.


Regardless of why there was this drop when the Corsair was under load, one has to keep in mind that this drop was only .03V even when there was an 11A load applied to a single connector. That's only a 0.25% drop in voltage during a very exaggerated static load.

11

 

[HOOfan 1]

the increased resistance is basically inconsequential. The most efficient power supply made right now is 100% fully modular. In fact almost all of the most efficient power supplies are mostly modular.

What you have read about modular cables is just FUD

 

[bobross419]

Hopefully you all found my little experiment entertaining and informative, if not monotonous and overly in depth. Obviously, it's fighting a losing battle trying to convince anyone that modular connectors don't create any significant resistance, but I think there's a few things here we can all learn from. Someone once said that a modular connector's pins have as much resistance as two feet of wire. I can't recall where that came from, but I think our five subjects have shown us that there's actually as much as four times as much voltage lost in a mere 18 inches of cable than there is in a modular connector. And when thinking about a loss in voltage in a modular connector, one shouldn't look just at the fact that a power supply has a modular connector, but perhaps how that modular connector is made. The power supply that showed the most drop in voltage at the modular connector was the Corsair. I'm not really sure why this was since the connector was a one to one with a standard 6-pin PCI-e type connector. I could understand seeing this kind of drop with the other modular connectors on the Corsair because relatively small pins are used in the five pin connectors that plug into the power supply housing. Below is a close up picture of one of the Corsair modular peripheral power connectors. Regardless of why there was this drop when the Corsair was under load, one has to keep in mind that this drop was only .03V even when there was an 11A load applied to a single connector. That's only a 0.25% drop in voltage during a very exaggerated static load.

Thanks for this Exactly the information I was looking for. And thanks to HOOfan 1 for the +1.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Quite a bit of the FUD was spread by a PSU manufacturer that was very anti-modular. In general, it was biased information. Gold plated terminations in a molex is the way to go in a PC IMO.

 

[Modelworks]

It is all about the quality of the connectors. You can buy connectors that are very high grade and extremely well designed or you can buy cheap connectors that fit loosely and make bad connections. A bigger loss than modular connectors is the way the wire connects to the pins in the connector. Cheap manufacturers connect the wire to the pin that involves crimping, often only contacting part of the wire. Best would be to solder the pins to the wire but that rarely is done.

Size of the overall surface area is another factor . A 1 inch round hollow socket will have higher capacity than a .5 inch round socket because the contact surface is larger. So modular with tiny pins would be a bad idea.