Question dual 12v rail power supply powers cpu on both rails?

[wtfmang]

I have a 380w seasonic made power supply that supplies 17A on each of two 12v rails.

there's the 24 pin connector and 4 pin 12v connector

do both connectors power the cpu?
so if the cpu needs more than 17A, it will draw current from both rails?

 

[DRagor]

24 pin powers motherboard (and some parts directly connected to it like RAM) while 4 pin EPS powers CPU.

do both connectors power the cpu?

Motherboard does supply some power to CPU but for most purposes what really counts is only what it gets from 4 pin.

so if the cpu needs more than 17A, it will draw current from both rails?

Probably nope, but would need to know how the rails are split. Typically one rail goes to PCIe cable only while the other powers everything else but in your case I'm not sure if this PSU even has PCIe cable.

 

[wtfmang]

24 pin powers motherboard (and some parts directly connected to it like RAM) while 4 pin EPS powers CPU.

Motherboard does supply some power to CPU but for most purposes what really counts is only what it gets from 4 pin.

Probably nope, but would need to know how the rails are split. Typically one rail goes to PCIe cable only while the other powers everything else but in your case I'm not sure if this PSU even has PCIe cable.

1 x Main connector (20+4Pin) 1 x 12V(P4) 6 x peripheral 2 x SATA 1 x Floppy 1 x PCI-E

Features

Features	80mm low noise cooling fan Dual 12V outputs: 12V2 for Motherboard and peripherals; 12V1 for processor Industrial-grade protection circuitry prevents damage resulting from short circuits, power overloads, over voltage, and under voltage 80 Plus Certified is the newest standard in power supply efficiency.

 

[DRagor]

Ok, that nicely explains it: CPU cable is on one rail while all the other cables are on second. It's a bit of overkill though as 4-pin connector can only deliver about 150 W for CPU (and that counting what it gets from motherboard already). If your CPU needs more power then you need PSU that has 8 pin EPS cable and motherboard that you can connect to such cable.

 

[--SID--]

S12II 380w? Actually it's not dual rail 12v.

What do you want to power with a 14 year old PSU that's pretty bad for nowadays standards?

 

[wtfmang]

S12II 380w? Actually it's not dual rail 12v.

What do you want to power with a 14 year old PSU that's pretty bad for nowadays standards?

i'm running a 12600k on it right now. Bare bones, no external gpu.

The only test I've done on it is Cinebench23

I'm keeping this cpu at stock speeds. No plans to overclock.


so you're saying it's a fake dual rail, i mean actually single rail??
if so, that means there's plenty of power for this cpu then?

 

[--SID--]

i'm running a 12600k on it right now.

On a 14 yo PSU with very bad voltage regulation and probably sky high riplle. Don't do it! You're killing your hardware.

 

[wtfmang]

On a 14 yo PSU with very bad voltage regulation and probably sky high riplle. Don't do it! You're killing your hardware.

do all good power supplies have crappy ripple and voltage regulation eventually?

I read some reviews of this seasonic, and it supposedly uses quality parts, and was a good performer.
This old psu was never overworked since I've owned it.

choosing between 2 evils, if I get a new psu, it will likely have cheap china caps and no active pfc.

 

[--SID--]

and it supposedly uses quality parts, and was a good performer.

Yeah, 14 years ago it was acceptable in quality and performance.

I get a new psu, it will likely have cheap china caps and no active pfc.

At least 300 bucks CPU, 200 bucks motherboard and 100 bucks RAM. 600 bucks of hardware you want to power with 14 yo e-waste or new piece of garbage. It's your choice but don't whine when it kills your stuff.

 

[jonnyguru]

choosing between 2 evils, if I get a new psu, it will likely have cheap china caps and no active pfc.

Why is that? Because you only want to spend $15 on a PSU from Alibaba?

I read some reviews of this seasonic, and it supposedly uses quality parts, and was a good performer.

Where was this? I'm not aware of any Seasonic 380W PSU reviews that have a full tear down.

 

[DRagor]

i'm running a 12600k on it right now. Bare bones, no external gpu.

Ouch. You know 12600K can draw over 150 W without overclock? That's more then your setup can deliver, which means you'll not get full power out of it with that PSU. If safety is something you ignore then maybe this can make you think about swapping it.

 

[wtfmang]

Ouch. You know 12600K can draw over 150 W without overclock? That's more then your setup can deliver, which means you'll not get full power out of it with that PSU. If safety is something you ignore then maybe this can make you think about swapping it.

12v x 17A = 204W. ?

it's running. and cinebench23 scores 17000+ like other reviews do.

so maybe the power is being delivered

Why is that? Because you only want to spend $15 on a PSU from Alibaba?



Where was this? I'm not aware of any Seasonic 380W PSU reviews that have a full tear down.

here's one.

Seasonic S12II-380 Power Supply

Seasonic has been making quiet, efficient, high performance, power supplies for many years. The S12II series is their latest mainstream line. We test drive the 380W model on our torture track. It gets the checkered flag without a single glitch. August 16, 2007 by Mike Chin Product Seasonic...

silentpcreview.com

and yes, I've never bought an expensive psu, especially for a barebones system with no gpu here.

But I did just order this $15 crap .... https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-ba-100-ba-0500-k1-500w/p/N82E16817438188?Item=N82E16817438188

as a replacement for my seasonic.

 

[Vic 40]

But I did just order this $15 crap .... https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-ba-100-ba-0500-k1-500w/p/N82E16817438188?Item=N82E16817438188

as a replacement for my seasonic.

Why are you willingly ignoring what people want to make clear to you?

 

[jonnyguru]

here's one.

Seasonic S12II-380 Power Supply

Seasonic has been making quiet, efficient, high performance, power supplies for many years. The S12II series is their latest mainstream line. We test drive the 380W model on our torture track. It gets the checkered flag without a single glitch. August 16, 2007 by Mike Chin Product Seasonic...

silentpcreview.com

There is literally NOTHING in that review that speaks to the topology, components used, build quality....

and yes, I've never bought an expensive psu, especially for a barebones system with no gpu here.

But I did just order this $15 crap .... https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-ba-100-ba-0500-k1-500w/p/N82E16817438188?Item=N82E16817438188

as a replacement for my seasonic.

Crap? Actually... that's not bad considering your build. And a great deal too. It has full range APFC and is 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency. It's double forward, like your Seasonic, but at least uses DC to DC for the minor rails.

I wouldn't use it with a high end discrete graphics card, but even without the rebate that's a good price.

Just don't risk using it for 14 years like you did the last one.

 

[Vic 40]

Spend some more and you get something better,
https://www.newegg.com/bitfenix-formula-gold-series-bp-fm650ulag-7r-650w/p/N82E16817376011
Just can't figure out why with the parts you have now $50 is too much to spend.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

do all good power supplies have crappy ripple and voltage regulation eventually?

Components within a PSU such as capacitors (Some of which are for smoothing ripple) don't perform as well after many years. Even IF the quality of the components is as good as the higher wattage S12ii units, at 14 years old I would not trust it with a new system, even a lower power draw one.

Think of a PSU like the human body. An 80 year old probably can't do as much work and will have more problems than a 20 year old.

But I did just order this $15 crap .... https://www.newegg.com/evga-500-ba-100-ba-0500-k1-500w/p/N82E16817438188?Item=N82E16817438188

The BA is fine for an igpu system. It's much newer in design than the S12ii and would likely be much more reliable just because it is new, even if it uses fairly low quality components and only has a 30c temp rating if memory serves. I wouldn't have an issue running your system on a BA 500 and its at a great price right now.

 

[wtfmang]

There is literally NOTHING in that review that speaks to the topology, components used, build quality....



Crap? Actually... that's not bad considering your build. And a great deal too. It has full range APFC and is 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency. It's double forward, like your Seasonic, but at least uses DC to DC for the minor rails.

I wouldn't use it with a high end discrete graphics card, but even without the rebate that's a good price.

Just don't risk using it for 14 years like you did the last one.

I didn't use the seasonic for 14 years straight.
It actually wasn't used in the last 7 years while I had a laptop.

good to know this evga might be a good deal.
but for sure there are no Japanese caps in this. That's why I called it crap. Most likely capxon teapo.
Hope it doesn't blow up and fizzle.

However, in my other pc, I have an ocz600mxsp which had china caps and it ran without issues, and is still running.

So you might be right if this lasts 14 years.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Shouldn't blow up and fizzle. It has a full set of protections (on paper at least) and is of semi decent quality. That being said I wouldn't put my money on it lasting 14 years or more.

OCZ... You have quite the collection of old PSUs.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

Spend some more and you get something better,
https://www.newegg.com/bitfenix-formula-gold-series-bp-fm650ulag-7r-650w/p/N82E16817376011
Just can't figure out why with the parts you have now $50 is too much to spend.

It's showing as out of stock for me.

 

[jonnyguru]

I didn't use the seasonic for 14 years straight.
It actually wasn't used in the last 7 years while I had a laptop.

good to know this evga might be a good deal.
but for sure there are no Japanese caps in this. That's why I called it crap. Most likely capxon teapo.
Hope it doesn't blow up and fizzle.

However, in my other pc, I have an ocz600mxsp which had china caps and it ran without issues, and is still running.

So you might be right if this lasts 14 years.

Sooooooooooo...................

Japanese capacitors in Chinese made PSUs are actually Chinese made caps with Japanese names.

And a PSU that sits on a shelf for 7 years is more of a bomb than one that has been in use for 14 years.

Google is your friend... though I've heard that TikTok has outpaced it as the most visited website on the Internet..... and it shows.

https://blog.cloudflare.com/popular-domains-year-in-review-2021/

 

[Vic 40]

It's showing as out of stock for me.

To me it says ,

In stock.

and Free Shipping which is a small bonus.

 

[wtfmang]

OCZ... You have quite the collection of old PSUs.

hey, looks like psu's are more reliable than you think eh?

 

[Vic 40]

Just means you're lucky enough. But than again with only an cpu/igpu to power you don't need alot of it. My worries come from what if you want to get a dedicated gpu? Or else why have an 12600K when not doing that?

 

[wtfmang]

Got my new cheapo EVGA psu.

Dunno what the main cap is, but there's a lot of green/gold TEAPO goodness.
The fan is pretty quiet at least.

I wonder if the warranty-void sticker will fall apart if i try to peel it

Just means you're lucky enough. But than again with only an cpu/igpu to power you don't need alot of it. My worries come from what if you want to get a dedicated gpu? Or else why have an 12600K when not doing that?

i'm not buying a gpu any time soon. with this price gouging.

I needed extra cpu power, coming from a i7-6700hq.
I also wanted something future proof, with the latest hardware video decoder, 8k60 AV1 support

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I wonder if the warranty-void sticker will fall apart if i try to peel it

It will.

However those stickers legally don't hold up in USA.

A some photos of the guts would be nice if you are comfortable with the shock risks associated with opening a PSU.