Power Supply Sanity Check (can I Do This?)


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I bought a server PS for a mod project and the MB power cable is a little different than a desktop machine. There are four extra wires going to the MB connector (24 rather than 20), and some unused yellow and black wires going to an additional connector (pentium power I think).

I want to scavenge a yellow, two blacks and a red and create a second power channel for additional devices. In the ATX standard the blacks are just labeled as "Ground". Are all the grounds shared between the voltages, or are there 12v grounds, 3.3 v grounds, 5V grounds, etc?

I know the risks of working with power supplies, and I won't hold anyone accountable if I fry the board...:)

TIA

BH

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Ground is ground is ground. They are often all connected directly to each other inside the power supply.

What model power supply?

Plenty of desktop boards now use a 24-pin "ATX" connector, with the 4-pin "P4" connector as well.

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This data may have your answer. If not, it's still good reference material.

Pinouts.ru doesn't cover the internals of the power supply, though in general yes it's a good reference. The Hardware Book is a similar reference.

FormFactors.org would be somewhat more relevant. BUT AFAIK the ATX spec doesn't explicitly lay out whether or not all power grounds need to be shorted together. It's just done that way.

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Thanks guys, that did it. I also confirmed the MB type my PS is for. The 20 + 4's are used on 775 p4's the other square p4 conector is used for alot of 478 motherboards. I really don't see a problem in repurposing the extra wires into a new power channel.

The links are greatly appreciated, and all bookmarked. I don't really discuss it here, but I am a pretty avid PC modder. Links will come in handy.

For anyone who is interested, the PS is the smaller one:

psside2.jpg

And my worklog for the project is posted at: Jimbo's

Thanks again!

BH

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