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Info from CFX3200 Discussion Thread PSU related


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I am currently reading through the entire CFX3200 discussion thread and I can across this a post that had a link with some interesting info in regard to power supplies. Since I have had absolutely no problems with my CFX3200 so far and I run a single rail PSU, while the link does not specifically mention the 580 chipset, I think there might be some truth to this in regard to problems with the CFX3200.

 

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=29940

 

You Also might want to read this page in the CFX3200 discussion thread.

 

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread...t=50632&page=19

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I haven't had a chance to completely read the whole "CFX3200" thread, but does this dual rail problem happen with two video cards? I'm using a dual rail PSU and a GFX PSU which totals (4) 12V rails and haven't had any problems yet.

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Wow interesting find, I'm glad to see somebody has the patience to sift through that huge thread.

 

It probably depends a lot on how the rails are split as well, I'm guessing what they're trying to say is that the load isn't evenly distributed on the multi rail PSUs and one of them is getting overloaded.

 

For what it's worth so far my OCZ GXS600 is working with my CFX3200, my sig isn't up to date currently I'm Priming 301x9 1.3Vx101.4% with the RAM on the 166 divider. Its rails are split as follows:

 

12V1 - misc loads (molex, sata hdds) and motherboard main power (24pin)

12V2 - PCI-E 6-pin #1

12V3 - 2 of the 4 power pins in the 8-pin 12V header

12V4 - 2 of the 4 power pins in the 8-pin 12V header, PCI-E 6-pin #2

 

Given the way they are split up I have my single X850 on 12V2 so each rail has something to play with, using all mobo power connectors (even the floppy one by the PCI-E slot), and I have 1 HDD and 5 fans (2x120, 1x80, 1x40, 1x70)

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from what i have read

any early psu in 2006 had probs with ati xfire ,the gamestream versions as example where sorted,where the version before that in 600 psu from ocz had probs,wasnt feeding constent power to xfire setup

at moment i have a thermaltake 680 watt

3x +12 raild and 1 -12

the +12 are 23a,14a and 15a and -12 is .05a

my total +12 amps are 52amps

also have a thermaltake 250 watt xfire psu ,said to handle 2 xxfire cards,might handle 2 x1800xt ,but not 2 x1900xt,so have one card on 250 watt xfire psu and other on 680 watt psu

thinking of getting a ocz 700 psu,not sure if it make any difference,will cost me €160 delivered

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I haven't had a chance to completely read the whole "CFX3200" thread, but does this dual rail problem happen with two video cards? I'm using a dual rail PSU and a GFX PSU which totals (4) 12V rails and haven't had any problems yet.

 

According to when the article was written, it specifically mentions running two video cards in crossfire. It also goes on to say that when you use a power supply with more than one rail, it appears it depends on how the manufacturer has distributed the power across the rails. So this is going to vary from PSU to PSU. I know the PC Power and Cooling 510 I use has worked just fine. I also know there are some multiple rail PSU's that also work fine. If I recall right, HG mentioned that you only run 1 Video card that the 510 ASL (very underated) will work just fine, but if you are going to run 2 cards in crossfire that you might want a larger power supply. While mine works fine for me, I think its all going to depend on how your system is setup and what componets, like sound cards, # of hard drives, DVD/CDs that you are running.

 

I think its important to note, that someone else also mentioned in the CFX-3200 thread, that for around $50 there is an additional PSU now available that will fit in a bay in your case that is dedicated to supply the videos cards with power. This is made by Thermaltake. Of course, as HG said in the thread where this is mentioned that whle they are out there, we really do not know how reliable they work.

 

So the jury is really still out this companion power supplies for video cards and of course its going to take up a bay in your case, but for about $50 it certainly might be worthwhile to give this a try if you want to insure sending the video cards enough power and to keep from pushing your main power supply too hard.

 

I would also suggest, to anyone, that if you consider how sensitive that DFI motherboards are to power, it is in your best interest to have your power supply connected to a Battery Backup with an AVR(Auto Voltage Regulator) built in. I only mention the AVR part, because not all Battery Backups have this built in. An good AVR will supply your PSU with regulated voltage and help protect your components.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Jason

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Ive got the Thermaltake PSU you mention and I noticed when I added it to my system it became a bit more stable when heavily loaded down. I bought it as a test, and to see how well it works.

 

One thing I've noticed about PSU's is that all the voltages are derived from the same transformer and bridge rectifier regardless of how many rails it has for the 12V output. I would think that if the load across all rails (3.3,5,5VSB,12,-12) wasn't loading down each section of the circuit equally it would cause a nightmare of a situation for any PSU because of this design. Most PSU's use transistors in a push-pull configuration for voltage regulation and improper loading could cause certain parts to work harder than others causing premature aging of parts and possible failure. I'm no expert on PSU's but looking at a schematic its amazing how these companies have put so much power into such a small package. Its an old schematic but the best i could find at the moment.

 

I know that large format mixing consoles have huge PSU racks with several PSU's dedicated to the various voltages required by the console. I've often wondered if a PC would benefit from this same type of situation. Perhaps if there was such a power supply for the PC which had separate AC in Rectifier circuits for each of the voltages required by the PC. Granted it would be way too big to fit in any PC case, but imagine how stable it would be across the board for some monster over-clocks.

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