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Supplementing a psu

xylem

Senior member
Here's a question for the electronics-savvy. I managed to get a 5v *90amp* server power supply for a good deal. I am interested in supplementing the 5v line in my computer power supply with this one. I know this it is possible to run 2 psu's in parallel, but I'd like to know how to hook this up to my current Enermax psu so they will work together to power my 5v line. Links or detailed instructions are much appreciated... please pm or email me if need be.

Details: The Enermax is the 550w version; the 5v psu was made to power large networks and is an enhanced version to provide 90 amps of power (I have a voltometer to find the different lines, it is new and tested for functionality for a high load on the 5v line).

Thanks!
 
I advise: don't try it. Your psu has voltage regulation which might be screwed up by trying to supply an additional source of voltage to the 5v rail.

There are other ways of bolstering your +5v rail if you care to work on the circuit board of the psu.
 
I wouldn't mind working on the psu board, if adjustments can be made safely. There are no pots for adjusting line output built into this psu. Can you provide instructions?
 
There's no reason why you can't use 2 power supplies in a system, as long as you never connect the actual power outputs together.

You must connect the Ground (0 V) wires together. The other electrical outputs must remain seperate.

You could certainly power the motherboard from the enermax, and power the drives from the server supply. The other thing to bear in mind is what is the minimum load that the server supply can power - voltage regulation may not be acceptable below a certain level.
 
Mark,
My first thought on this was the same as yours: power the board with the Enermax, the drives and fans with the secondary psu. After thinking about it, it seems such a waste of resources. I mean, its a 550w psu, for heavens sakes. The Enermax +5v rail regulation isn't that great with certain mobo's, but it can be modded a bit to stabilize it, without going through the ordeal of adding a second psu to the system.
 
Thanks for the input. I'm pretty sure I read that it is possible to connect 2 psus to supplement each other's output (ie, connecting two 300w psus = an effective 600w psu), and my intent was to bolster the +5v line specifically for a strong signal to the cpu itself. You're probably thinking it's overkill, especially with a 550w psu, and my ASUS motherboard does make good use of the psu (I get steady 4.9+ on the 5v line @ 1.85 c/v), and it very well may be =), but I wanted to see if such an endeavor might increase the stable frequency of the cpu. Thanks for the input and help, and if you have any more thoughts, please share. Vic, thanks in advance for the instructions.

Oh, keep in mind that this extra psu only effectively has a 5v line, so powering fans and drives probably won't be possible (most fans run 12v and I think drives need the 12v line as well).
 
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