safe to use different power supply for 12v line?

P

Pimp!

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Messages
216
k my antec 400w's 12v line absolutly sux (11.73). i was wondering if its safe to use this other antec 300w truepower to run the aux 12v plug?

dfi infinity ultra is mobo not that it matters i would think
 
If I were going to run to PSUs instead of getting a better one, I would use one to power the mobo and CPU and the other to power my drives.
 
My Enermax PS was in the process of being replaced, had a lower than I liked volt reading. Kept getting "to protect your Video card we will lower your settins" message. So I did the paper clip deal and ran the external connector off of a 200watt PS. It worked for 2 weeks till my PC Power & Cooling 510 arrived.
Now I sleep at night knowing that I have the power to fry my stuff :D
What are your specs?
 
I would *strongly* recommend again using the PSU in that setup; Since the ATX connector also has a +12v wire coming in, mixing between multiple 12v sources causes problems. This is due to them being at slightly different voltages, causing an energy flow between them and potentially damaging things. If you are going to run dual PSUs, run the mobo/cpu off one, and everything else off the other.

But, the real questions is, wherefrom are you getting 11.78? A software program? If so, they are highly inaccurate when it comes to reading specific voltages. Get a multimeter and see for yourself.
 
yeah im doing the same thing as you pretty much, just waiting to save up some more cash as im getting a car soon, then gonna get a pcp&c. just right now, i wana use what i got for now :)

dfi nfii infinity ultra
35w 2400 xp-m (thermalright sp97 w/vantec tornado (full speed))
bfg 6800 gt
2x256 corsair's (243 fsb)
ibm 120gig
maxtor 160gig
liteon 52x cd-rw
toshiba 12x dvd
5 case fans (2 infront, 2 in back, 1 side)


yeah i hooked up the 2nd psu b4 i posted this thread and hooked up all the fans to it and my 2 cd-roms. wasnt too sure if its smart to plug the hdd's into it too? i would guess they would be, but can never be too careful.
 
to get the 12v line reading, just put the red thing from the meter into a molex yellow line and the black into a black one in the molex? (sorry if its confusing :D )

edit: im getting that reading from bios
 
Yes, that would be how you would take the reading. Also, make sure you are in VDC mode on the multimeter, and in the correct range for +12v
 
Hardwired > A Guide to Dual ATX Power Supplies
Relay > Add a Second PSU
as Vertigo Acid pointed out, dont run different PSU on the same board
running one for the board and one for the drives should be OK however
I did that for 2 years (Hardwired)

failing to synch the supplies however can lead to serious corruption of the HDDs as they wont properly spin down during restarts, I corrupted HDD after HDD till I did that
 
oh WOW!! geezus, glad you guys told me this. i just checked it and its 12.22!!!

dad is an electrician so i know i did it right ;)
 
Pimp! said:
oh WOW!! geezus, glad you guys told me this. i just checked it and its 12.22!!!

dad is an electrician so i know i did it right ;)
Click to expand...

That is a bit high but not disastrous.
 
well that was at idle with a low overclock, now its where i normally run it and its 12.05 idle and 11.95 load

(after i hooked everything back up to the 1 power supply)
 
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