SpookedJunglist

How to use two Power supplies on one computer.
Difficulty rating Moderate

Ok let me start off by stating that many of us have old power supplies laying around our house. This guide will give you step by step directions to use that spare power supply unit [PSU]. Why would you want to have two PSUs anyways? There are many reasons to have multiple PSUs for your computer. One reason is to take the load off of the PSU that supplies power to your Proceesor, thus allowing for better stability for overclocking. Another reason is so that you can power up other 12volt items without your computer examples being Peltiers, Cold cathode lightuing, external fans, and so on. One more reason is that if you have a generic PSU and need power for your new high end graphics card, you can dedicate a spare PSU to run only that item. Over all there are many reasons to have some extra power on tap, I am just going to help you get that power really cheap :thumbsups .

Suppies
1 Spare Power Supply
2 Male pins [ need to fit the 20pin PSU molex]
1 piece of 16 guage wire 2-3 inches [5-8cm]

Optional supplies
1 Single Pole Single Throw switch(SPST) "Push On-Push Off"
1 4pin fan or light "for testing purposes"

Tools Needed
Wire cutters [needle nose pliers work as well]
Wire crimpers [needle nose pliers work as well]
Pin insertion tool [needle nose pliers work as well]
(If you couldnt tell all i used was Needle nose Pliers)


Ok now on to the Fun part, Modding the PSU

Step: 1 Cutting the wire

Ok now take your little piece of wire and strip the ends off.
Your wire should look like mine in the picture below.


Step: 2 Making your Jumper

Take your Male pins and with your needle nose pliers crimp them onto the wires on both ends so that you can just bend it around so that the pins can touch each other.




Step: 3 Jumping the PSU

Here is the tricky part, We need to find the Pins that the Motherboard uses to turn on the PSU. On most PSUs the wire that turns it on is Green wich needs to connect with a ground Black. I have created a image that shows what all the different wires do on the 20 pin connector, and have pointed out the Power on [PS_ON#]and the closest ground [COM]. We will use our jumper to connect them together.
Below is the image showing where the pins are located, the clip is on the right in my picture.


STEP: 4 Connect the dots

Ok so all you have to do is this, with the clip to your right count 4 pins up and place your jumper in the 4th hole on the right side. Refer to image above for pin locations.


Then go ahead and take the other end of the wire and conect it to the fifth hole, Right above the one you just inserted, it should look like the image below. Refer to image above for Pin locations.


Thats it now plug in your fan and turn it on to make sure it works.

Alternative Steps
Installing a on off switch to turn on your PSU.

From step 2 instead of creating a jumper do the following. Take a Single Pole Single throw(SPST) "Push on Push Off" switch, And install wires to the switches posts. And on the ends of the two wires install the Pins. Then follow step 4 above to insert your switch into your PSU. Should look something like the image below.

Now that that is done you can mount your switch anywhere you would like it to be on your case.

If you are having trouble with any of these steps please PM me and i will be happy to help you.. Also Anklebiter is also very good at this so PM him as well if you have any questions

If anyone has any suggestions for this guide please let me know and i will try to add it as soon as possible.

Thanks
Spooked

Burn

good job spooky! when i get a spare lying around, i'll be sure to use this. excellent!

hanwinting

hell ya nice one !!!!!!!!!!!

SpookedJunglist

Uhhh... this is a kinda old one that i just migrated to a FAQ because they are going to unsticky the stickies... :(

--Filip--

if you don't want to bother soldering that bypass wire for the 20 pin connector you can buy one off www.frozencpu.com for like $6+ shipping and I think it's UV.

SpookedJunglist

You dont have to solder, i have done this mod with nothing more than a STAPLE :)
SAVE yourself 6 bucks and Do it yourself

Burn

yeah, it's not that hard... i mean come on!

Mr.N00bLaR

lol i did it with a paper clip tnx to spookd. I blew it tho...and i blew my other one too... Im irish i cant figure it out....

Burn

a staple can carry all that current? is it all that much current in teh first place?

systemaxd

the amps on that wire are small (controlling a transistor with it) i was able to measure the current/amps on it i and i got 0.14 milliamps or 0.0014 amps or for the real technacal 144 uA. So simply said a staple or the thinest wire you have around should work fine.