Simple PSU Rails confusion
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Soldato
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The Corsair TX650w psu says its got a single +12V rail.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS&tool=5
In the specifications tab
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS&tool=5
In the specifications tab
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No, my PC P&C has one rail, and dont forget wikipedia can be edited by anyone, as such should not be relied on as a source of information
At the time I bought mine it was regarded as best to have one rail because not all PSUs output enough wattage across individual rails if they use multiple rails, some are higher than others and often no single rail will output the quoted total amperage, this could be a problem with high end gfx cards as although the PSU may have more than enough wattage, and enough amperage, if that is split over 4 rails then it can result in none of the rails being strong enough to power the gfx card. That being said I think this would only be the case in dirt cheap PSUs of the sort no one on here would recomend you buying anyway, so long as you buy a decent quality (OCZ are fine) PSU it shouldnt be an issue
Soldato
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I see, I thought you meant the whole PSU had 1 voltage rail overall, which would not really work (unless it was a laptop power brick...)!
As for 1 12v rail vs 4 12v rails, neither is best really, but if you have everything coming from a single 12v rail then you can get away not having to split the load between the rails... so it makes wiring things up much less hassle.
As for 1 12v rail vs 4 12v rails, neither is best really, but if you have everything coming from a single 12v rail then you can get away not having to split the load between the rails... so it makes wiring things up much less hassle.
If you want to understand this issue, then this has got to be one of the best sources for an explanation: http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990
Soldato
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Nice link, interesting to see that manufacturer who claim to have 4 x 12v rails sometimes just split up single 12v rail in order to do this...
A lot of "multi rail" psu's are actually single rail.
No point having 4-12v rails at 16 amps as you wouldn't be able to run a a ridiculous single gpu.
Check before buying but a lot will "act" like they are multirail but can put more juice through when its required.
From corsair website: "Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W) maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail.
No point having 4-12v rails at 16 amps as you wouldn't be able to run a a ridiculous single gpu.
Check before buying but a lot will "act" like they are multirail but can put more juice through when its required.
From corsair website: "Triple 12V Rails provide independent reliable power to the CPU, video card and other components with a combined rating of 50A (40A on 520W) maximum! Advanced circuitry design that automatically enables power sharing between the triple +12V rails in an event of overload on any single +12V rail.
as far as I had read practically all multi rails are in fact single rail. Branded psu's do what mattyfez said and auto increase the amps on each rail so you can still have a decent gfx card and not worry about rail splitting too much. Not much point to it really.