What does this mean? o_O

[daddrian]

I'm bored and searched to see what PSUs are on the market. I saw multiple PSUs that had one six pin for GPU, but 2 12V rails listed on the sticker.

 

For example one had one six-pin for GPU but the sticker said:

+12V (1) 14A

+12V (2) 14A

 

I thought the 12V cables are the 6/8 pins for the GPU....How are there two 12V cables on the sticker if it has only one with six pin????

[5x5]

Easy, you're not correct . The rails do not directly correspond to any cable number. You can have 4 +12v rails with no 6/8pin PCIe cables and, naturally, you can have one tail with 8 cables.

[OrionFOTL]

12V output isn't only used for 6/8pin PCIe cables, but also for the CPU power cable, SATA cables, Peripheral/Molex cables, and the main ATX 24pin cable. 12V is used everywhere, really.

 

The sticker on your PSU means that one group of 12V cables is limited to 168W, and the second group of 12V cables is limited to 168W too. If the power going through one group is over 168W, the PSU is supposed to shut down.

You don't know exactly which cables are on which group. For example, group 1 may have the ATX24pin cable, SATA and Molex cables on it, while the 2nd group may have the CPU power cable and the 6pin PCIe cable on it.

 

Manufacturers should (and sometimes do) explain which cables belong to which group in the PSU's specifications or in the manual.