[EntropyTTU]

Here is a brief excerpt taken from a review of a psu I am seriously considering getting:

I am sure some of you guys who are into psu's will recognize the review(er).

Quote:

"Looking at the main PCB, we only see two points where 12V leads are soldered down. One labeled 12V1 and another labeled 12V2. For fun, I put a 30A load on the 8-pin EPS+12V connector. This should have tripped the PSU. It did not, which tells me that there is no OCP limiter set for this rail. I did the same with the ATX main connector and again the PSU did not trip. Above is a close up shot of the PCB and where the 12V wires all solder down. This demonstrates that if the two rails are in fact separate, there is no OCP (over current protection) on each rail. Outside of a few traces zig zagging across PCB, I couldn't find how even 12V1 and 12V2 are separate, but I'm going to give Seasonic (the OEM for the Corsair units) the benefit of the doubt and say that we seem to have two 12V rails here, neither with any kind of "limit" on them."

So, is this best because it allows the combination, or effective combination anyway, of the different rails without over-current protection, and basically allows them to act as one single rail?

Is that really an advantage?

The particular reviewer of this psu I put a lot of stock in his/their opinion, but I got the feeling they were being sarcastic in the review towards this one detail.

To me, with what I know about psu's, this is a disadvantage because there simply is no over-current protection, however, as stated at the same time, it allows for the rail to allow more power than the allotted when needed...
My thoughts are conflicted here...

For example: 12v1 = 17A, 12v2 = 17A, 12v3 = 17A
NORMALLY that would be the max each rail could provide, because it is literally limited by the OCP.

In this case though, it is allowed to go over, which is a good thing in case it (the gpu) needs it, however, where is limited?

It has to be limited somewhere correct? Or is it unlimited to the max the current listed in the 12v line?

I hope this makes sense. I am most likely still going to get the psu, because it is VERY highly acclaimed, but this has really been bugging me.

Good God that post was long.

Thanks for reading and your time is appreciated....

 

[shinji2k]

jonnyGURU's review of the Corsair hx520. What do I win? These Corsair units are single rail. The original design called for a three rail unit, but they changed their minds shortly before release. That is why everything still says three rails. It is a 40A, single rail unit. The OCP, if set properly, will shut down a PSU when any one rail hits the current limit. This is to prevent shorts that don't trip the short circuit protection (like a short in a PCB or fan motor), from causing damage. The downside is that on some occasions, a 18A or 20A limit may cause problems for a very small percentage of users. Their are pros and cons for both single and multi-rail setups and they usually equal out, one setup really isn't better than the other. You really should base your decision on overall quality and performance. The Corsair hx520 does well in both of those areas. This post in his forums will explain everything completely if you were interested: http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3990

 

[EntropyTTU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shinji2k jonnyGURU's review of the Corsair hx520. What do I win?

Yep. A good old +rep.

Quote:

You really should base your decision on overall quality and performance.

Your exactly right and that is precisely what I am doing, but its good to have that question cleared up, and the link was a good one.

Thanks for the link and the response.

 

[jonnyGURU]

I don't recognize those paragraphs.

 

[EntropyTTU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnyGURU I don't recognize those paragraphs.

Corsair HX520W

"(By jonny on Tue, Aug-15-2006) "

Might I suggest some B Vitamins?