How to add more sata power in a ATX12VO system?

[pani_alex]

I was thinking about the new future ATX12VO standart and make me the question, how would you be able to add more sata power for more storage than the motherboard have? i mean, you would need somethin like a piso psu but only the sata cable from 12v, but there is not something like that.

 

It will also be interesting for me becouse im searching for that solution for a NAS (12v to sata power). Ifound only one on Aliexpress but in a NAS kit. Or is there maybe any 12v to 5v DC to DC converter good enought tu trust your storage on it?

[Guest]

You're correct.  You would need some sort of +12V to +5V DC conversion.   But you could use USB power as well.

 

DC to DC converters specifically for PC builds are bound to hit the market at the same time you'll be able to buy the motherboards and power supplies.

 

[pani_alex]

Do you mean a usb power from 12v to 5v for the usb 5v for the hdd?

[mariushm]

There's lots of ready made DC-DC converters that you can buy and install with minimal wiring, here's a basic example : https://www.digikey.com/short/4312hr

 

You'll probably also be able to find adapter cables on ebay and other places - ex. take one pci-e 6 pin connector in, and out goes 1-3 cables each with multiple sata connectors.

 

 

[pani_alex]

Yes, i understand that part. DC to DC its not a problem, but which one is good enough to not kill you device or corrupt your data, or are storage devices good enought to handle them. The cable is also not a problem, thats the easy part

[hirushaadi]

On 2/19/2021 at 10:52 PM, jonnyGURU said:

+12V to +5V DC

wont that affect the performance though? I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking!

[pani_alex]

4 hours ago, hirusha.adikari said:

wont that affect the performance though? I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking!

I dont understand how du you mean, if you mean for the voltage reduction, it doesn't have anything to do, 3.5" hd need 12 and 5 v to work, ssd just 5v like 2.5" hd.

So if the PSU only have 12v how to get the 5v, that was what make me make the question. And yes i know there are many DC to DC variable and just 5v, but is there one or are they good enought to use for that porpuse

 

What i mean is that if the voltage is not stabe enought it can corrupt or kill the storage device

[Guest]

8 hours ago, hirusha.adikari said:

wont that affect the performance though? I'm not sure, that's why I'm asking!

No.

 

A decent quality PSU today makes +12V.  Inside that PSU, there are DC to DC buck converters that convert that +12V to +5V and +3.3V.

 

Enter ATX12VO:  You have DC to DC on the motherboard that converts +12V to +5V for your SATA devices instead.

 

Advantages:  Say the drive needs 15W of power.  From the PSU, that's only 1.25A of power to that DC to DC on the motherboard.  On a regular ATX PSU, that's 5A, which creates a lot more resistance and heat.  You're only delivering 5A on the "last mile" between the motherboard and the drive.

 

Remember:  It's not the volts that matter so much.  It's the current.

 

Think about the power grid.  Depending on where you live, you have either 115V or 230V coming out of your wall outlets.  If you have 115V, most of the time you actually have 230V coming to the house.  The transformer outside of your house steps down 7200V to 230V.  Those big towers that are along the highway?  Those are around 19,920V.  The voltage output at the power plant?  Probably 155KV.  So if your PC uses 115V, why does the power station put out 155KV and not 115V?

 

That's a rhetorical question....

 

[electropical]

50 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

No.

 

A decent quality PSU today makes +12V.  Inside that PSU, there are DC to DC buck converters that convert that +12V to +5V and +3.3V.

 

Enter ATX12VO:  You have DC to DC on the motherboard that converts +12V to +5V for your SATA devices.

 

Advantages:  Say the drive needs 15W of power.  From the PSU, that's only 1.25A of power to that DC to DC on the motherboard.  On a regular ATX PSU, that's 5A, which creates a lot more resistance and heat.  You're only delivering 5A on the "last mile" between the motherboard and the drive.

 

Remember:  It's not the volts that matter so much.  It's the current.

 

Think about the power grid.  Depending on where you live, you have either 115V or 230V coming out of your wall outlets.  If you have 115V, most of the time you actually have 230V coming to the house.  The transformer outside of your house steps down 7200V to 230V.  Those big towers that are along the highway?  Those are around 19,920V.  The voltage output at the power plant?  Probably 155KV.  So if your PC uses 115V, why does the power station put out 155KV and not 115V?

 

That's a rhetorical question....

 

Going 12VO definitely makes a ton of sense (more efficient, cheaper, smaller PSUs), but isn't there a risk of board manufacturers cheaping out on the 12V->5V part like they often do with VRMs?

 

Nevertheless, the ATX12VO standard seems to get rid of that horrendous 24pin connector, replacing it with a 10pin + a 6 pin, and that, indeed, is beautiful...

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, electropical said:

Going 12VO definitely makes a ton of sense (more efficient, cheaper, smaller PSUs), but isn't there a risk of board manufacturers cheaping out on the 12V->5V part like they often do with VRMs?

Yep.  But if they fail, they'll get exposed a lot quicker than a cheap PSU with cheap VRMs.  

 

The Gigabyte GP-P750GM was on the market for almost a year before someone found out that they exploded.  I don't think a motherboard would remain under the radar that long as there are a lot more reviewers eye balling them.

 

Besides, it's A LOT easier to step +12V down to +5V compared to 1.06V, 1.5V, 1.8V, etc.  I mean, just  look at a 130W DC to DC card inside a PSU to put things into perspective.

 

 

130W would power about 30 2.5" drives.    It's totally overkill.  Each power output on the motherboard is made to support 1A per drive.  So a four pin SATA for three SATA drives would need a 15W DC to DC buck converter for each ouput.
 

And it's not like motherboards don't already have buck converters all over them.  

 

 

The one on the left is ATX12VO.  The right is ATX12V.  Even with the multiple +12V outputs, you're STILL bucking or boosting the voltages from the PSU in a standard ATX12V platform.  CPU still needs to regulated +12V.  RAM will regulate the +12V instead of +5V, you're already regulating +5VSB to +3.3V for the chipset, The only thing you're really adding that you need additional real estate for is the physical power connector for the drives. 

 

 

[pani_alex]

so, no adapter/converter yet and no one test any DIY DC to DC.