Why Is There an Extra Phase on some Motherboards?

[Looeelooee1]

This thread is similar to one a posted earlier, which involved counting phases, but this question is slightly different and open to discussion!

Why is it that there are motherboards like this one

- http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/A88XMA/gallery/ -

that have been clearly labeled as having a 3+2 phase power design, that have have 6 phases (and possibly more on other boards)? As you can see there are clearly five phases by the CPU and one by the ram, which makes, on this particular board, 6 total phases. Why are manufacturers saying that there are less phases than there are?

Everywhere I have read online (I'll give the links of the sites I saw to anyone that is curious) it says that the number before the plus is the number of phases dedicated to the CPU, and that the number after is for other parts, normally the RAM or HT (on AMD boards). So three phases for the CPU, one for HT (it's an AMD board), one for the RAM, and one for what?

What is going on? Does the 3+2 mean something else, I feel like I could be missing something. I know that phases are not that important, but even on some of the MOBOs that have the number of phases labeled, I can sometimes count more, like in the example above (if you go to specifications ASUS clearly labels it as 3+2)...

Any ideas?

 

[Shaun o]

The Pci-e graphics slot of the motherboard.
And or the north and south bridge chip sets, I would presume.

You can change the voltage of both the north and south bridge chips on a few Asus motherboards.
Plus for the Pci-e slot increase the operating speed from 100mhz of the slot upwards.
And the voltage supplied to it.

If memory serves me right.
MA599X EVO R 2.0.

 

[Looeelooee1]

The Pci-e graphics slot of the motherboard.
And or the north and south bridge chip sets, I would presume.

You can change the voltage of both the north and south bridge chips on a few Asus motherboards.
Plus for the Pci-e slot increase the operating speed from 100mhz of the slot upwards.
And the voltage supplied to it.

If memory serves me right.
MA599X EVO R 2.0.

Thanks for speedy response! 😀
I thought it could be that... but then how come manufacturers don't label boards like this as 3+3 or more when there are more phases?

 

[Looeelooee1]

bump... anyone?
also if the other phase is for the Pci-e graphics slot then why isn't the other phase near it.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Here's some information to wade through.

http://www.overclock.net/t/891696/a-short-power-phase-design-explanation

http://sinhardware.com/index.php/vrm-articles/82-vrm-guide

On the board, I believe that the R68s are doublers, so the three phases are doubled into 'six' at the cost of frequency.

The other two are RAM an chipset phases.

I'm good with Intel boards, but less sure about AMDs.

 

[Looeelooee1]

Here's some information to wade through.

http://www.overclock.net/t/891696/a-short-power-phase-design-explanation

http://sinhardware.com/index.php/vrm-articles/82-vrm-guide

On the board, I believe that the R68s are doublers, so the three phases are doubled into 'six' at the cost of frequency.

The other two are RAM an chipset phases.

I'm good with Intel boards, but less sure about AMDs.

I had already read through the first one, but the second one had some new info...
Maybe the 3+2 only refers to the vrm of the cpu, but that would contradict everything i have read online. Also if one of those is a chipset phase, why is it so far from the chipset? also because this is an amd board ik that there is basically always a phase for HT. the more research i do the more confusing this gets! D:

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Then HT + RAM, but the 3 are doubled to 6.

 

[JimF_35]

I was always curious about this too. I thought it was a result of doublers and quadruplers splitting the VRMs up among different devises and hence the more phases your board had the less doubling it did thus providing more of the VRMs duties to a dedicated device. I guess I was wrong.

That was some good information DonkeyOatie.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

I don't know that stuff all the time, but I do know where to find it

 

[Looeelooee1]

I don't know that stuff all the time, but I do know where to find it

thx