If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Parallel Power Supplies - Will it Work?
Can you use two power supplies for one PC?
I was given a really nice server case yesterday. I have quite a few IDE harddrives and CDROMs as well as two ATA 133 cards. So I'm thinking about using this server case, along with a bunch of drives, as my regular PC. I have a PC Power and Cooling brand 450W PS already. I also have a few pretty decent AT and ATX power supplies. Can I use one of the other power supplies to power some of the hard drives or CDROMs? Does the 5 and 12 volt feeds to the drives have any connection to the data transfer. Do they need a "common" or are they simply power (like I'm hoping). Will the mainboard care that the drives are not being fed with the same source as the board? The AT power suppy will power up as soon as I put 110V to it so I don't need that "power up" signal from the mainboard. Thank you for your time and help; Frank |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Yes you can if you make sure the commons and case grounds
are tied together. From what you've said though I don't think you'll need more than the PC Power and Cooling supply though. "Philadelphia Frank" wrote in message ... Can you use two power supplies for one PC? I was given a really nice server case yesterday. I have quite a few IDE harddrives and CDROMs as well as two ATA 133 cards. So I'm thinking about using this server case, along with a bunch of drives, as my regular PC. I have a PC Power and Cooling brand 450W PS already. I also have a few pretty decent AT and ATX power supplies. Can I use one of the other power supplies to power some of the hard drives or CDROMs? Does the 5 and 12 volt feeds to the drives have any connection to the data transfer. Do they need a "common" or are they simply power (like I'm hoping). Will the mainboard care that the drives are not being fed with the same source as the board? The AT power suppy will power up as soon as I put 110V to it so I don't need that "power up" signal from the mainboard. Thank you for your time and help; Frank |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Philadelphia Frank wrote:
Can you use two power supplies for one PC? Yes. I was given a really nice server case yesterday. I have quite a few IDE harddrives and CDROMs as well as two ATA 133 cards. So I'm thinking about using this server case, along with a bunch of drives, as my regular PC. I have a PC Power and Cooling brand 450W PS already. I also have a few pretty decent AT and ATX power supplies. Can I use one of the other power supplies to power some of the hard drives or CDROMs? Does the 5 and 12 volt feeds to the drives have any connection to the data transfer. Do they need a "common" or are they simply power (like I'm hoping). Will the mainboard care that the drives are not being fed with the same source as the board? The AT power suppy will power up as soon as I put 110V to it so I don't need that "power up" signal from the mainboard. Chances are that the "commons" of both PSUs are internally tied to their PSU's chassis, so if both PSUs are screwed to the same metal case, they will have common returns. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 18:17:31 GMT, Philadelphia Frank
wrote: Can you use two power supplies for one PC? Yes I was given a really nice server case yesterday. I have quite a few IDE harddrives and CDROMs as well as two ATA 133 cards. So I'm thinking about using this server case, along with a bunch of drives, as my regular PC. Sounds good I have a PC Power and Cooling brand 450W PS already. I also have a few pretty decent AT and ATX power supplies. Can I use one of the other power supplies to power some of the hard drives or CDROMs? Yes, since you're wanting to use two (independant) power supplies instead of a redundant PSU "system", powering the hard drives (and whatever else the 2nd PSU has ample power to spare) is the best divsion of power without having to cut and solder the ATX motherboard connector. However, I'm going to assume that at least the AT power supplies, while they might be "pretty decent", they're also likely to be fairly old at this point. It might be best to use a newer power supply rather than one past half of it's expected lifespan. Does the 5 and 12 volt feeds to the drives have any connection to the data transfer. Do they need a "common" or are they simply power (like I'm hoping). Will the mainboard care that the drives are not being fed with the same source as the board? No, the motherboard and drives don't "care". The two power supplies should have a common ground. Their metal casings are grounded, so if you screw them into a metal system case (the usual way of mounting a power supply!) , they're making good contact with the system case and that is the common ground. The AT power suppy will power up as soon as I put 110V to it so I don't need that "power up" signal from the mainboard. That's a negative thing though, it means you'll have to either ALWAYS have it running, manually turn it on and off every time, or use a relay... far easier to just make the second power supply an ATX too, then take a tap splice to connect the two unit's PS_On wires together. That means the motherboard will be 'sinking the current from both units PS_On lines, but that doesn't seem to be a problem, I've done it before and even have a syste sitting in front of me that's running fine set up this way. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Thank you for answering my questions. I never considered the age and
life span issues. When I posted my question, I did not understand how the motherboard turned on the power supply, I did not know about the PS_On wires going to common. Using the ATX power supplies is definitely the better idea. Thank you again for all the help; Frank On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 19:56:44 GMT, kony wrote: On Mon, 07 Jun 2004 18:17:31 GMT, Philadelphia Frank wrote: Can you use two power supplies for one PC? Yes I was given a really nice server case yesterday. I have quite a few IDE harddrives and CDROMs as well as two ATA 133 cards. So I'm thinking about using this server case, along with a bunch of drives, as my regular PC. Sounds good I have a PC Power and Cooling brand 450W PS already. I also have a few pretty decent AT and ATX power supplies. Can I use one of the other power supplies to power some of the hard drives or CDROMs? Yes, since you're wanting to use two (independant) power supplies instead of a redundant PSU "system", powering the hard drives (and whatever else the 2nd PSU has ample power to spare) is the best divsion of power without having to cut and solder the ATX motherboard connector. However, I'm going to assume that at least the AT power supplies, while they might be "pretty decent", they're also likely to be fairly old at this point. It might be best to use a newer power supply rather than one past half of it's expected lifespan. Does the 5 and 12 volt feeds to the drives have any connection to the data transfer. Do they need a "common" or are they simply power (like I'm hoping). Will the mainboard care that the drives are not being fed with the same source as the board? No, the motherboard and drives don't "care". The two power supplies should have a common ground. Their metal casings are grounded, so if you screw them into a metal system case (the usual way of mounting a power supply!) , they're making good contact with the system case and that is the common ground. The AT power suppy will power up as soon as I put 110V to it so I don't need that "power up" signal from the mainboard. That's a negative thing though, it means you'll have to either ALWAYS have it running, manually turn it on and off every time, or use a relay... far easier to just make the second power supply an ATX too, then take a tap splice to connect the two unit's PS_On wires together. That means the motherboard will be 'sinking the current from both units PS_On lines, but that doesn't seem to be a problem, I've done it before and even have a syste sitting in front of me that's running fine set up this way. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Power Supplies - can they be switched to 220 ? | [email protected] | General | 5 | May 2nd 04 12:59 AM |
PSU Fans | Muttly | General | 16 | February 13th 04 10:42 PM |
Computer doesnt start at all | Robin | General | 6 | January 11th 04 05:00 PM |
ATX power supplies keep blowing | le ténébreux | General | 19 | October 16th 03 01:36 AM |
How can I make motherboard to restart after power loss automatically? | Amiran | General | 1 | September 24th 03 11:35 PM |