Power Supply : Why did we go from 20 pin to 24 pin to 24 pin + 4 or 8 pin

[jaypro]

Whose idea was this nonsense?

 

Why is the 8pin for the CPU power not just attached to the end of the 24 pin like they did with 20 to 24 pin.

 

i.e. a 32 pin connector

 

And on that same logic -- Why do we need like 5 Ground Pins.  What purpose does multiple ground pins serve?

[squirrl]

some boards need 2x8pin, some need one, some need 8+4 some have 4+4 and some have just 4. that's an awful lot of modular connectors just attached to the 24pin. 8pin is not an "upgrade" to 24 pin like 20-24 was.

 

Not sure about the ground pins. Where did you get 5 from?

[That Norwegian Guy]

Because a 32 pin would be awfully wide, and thus occupy too much realestate on the most important cable management side of the motherboard, the right edge.

[Sardis]

If they made it 3 pins wide instead of 2 it would be a nicer set up IMO. Though a redesign of the ATX plug in general would be preferred, a more compact 24 pin would be great, maybe at right angles to the motherboard as well like it is on the EVGA Z77 FTW.

[SubTract]

Or just re-design the connector like when they went from molex style which is big and bulky with 4 connectors to SATA Power connector which has 15 pins in a slightly smaller connector.

[Sardis]

Or just re-design the connector like when they went from molex style which is big and bulky with 4 connectors to SATA Power connector which has 15 pins in a slightly smaller connector.

 

Yeah for sure. Even if for the mean time mobo makers made their own standard and just created an adapter that could hide behind the mobo tray.

[airdeano]

And on that same logic -- Why do we need like 5 Ground Pins.  What purpose does multiple ground pins serve?

 

reduced voltage drop across the 3.3/5.0/12+ and 3.3/5.0/12- references.

because a small drop of .05-.5mv can cause instability. reduction of grounding

points can cause unstable voltage and voltage control (spikes). seems redundant,

but very suitable for what we do with these processors and how "picky" they can be

to be stable. hence the upgrade to the motherboard input power connectors and

PCIe connectors. the more amps needed, the more grounds to control the power

phasing and keep stability at high alert.

 

airdeano

[Glenwing]

More ground lines allow higher current through the 12V wires.  So they do increase max power, in an indirect way.  If you learn about physics and electrical engineering, and then you will understand :)

 

Also the CPU power is located near the CPU, and the 24-pin main power is located near the DRAM, chipset, and the PCIe lanes (close-ish).  This makes designing the traces on the motherboard much simpler.  Imagine if the 24-pin was up with the CPU power; the 24-pin wires would have to go underneath or around the CPU socket, it would be an engineering nightmare.  Likewise it is convenient to have the CPU power near the power delivery.  Of course, in the ATX standard Intel should have switched the positions of the DRAM and the power delivery, then the 8-pin could have been placed next to the 24-pin.  But unfortunately things did not turn out that way.