combning 12v rails on a power supply??

[bcredeur97]

I was looking around online and i ran into this: http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=167720

 

apparently you can conenct the 12v rails on some PSU's to get more power output from them. How might one do this??? I happen to have a PSU that is decent and has 2 12v rails, but can only output like 130 watts on each rail(i cant remember exactly) i would love to know how to combine the rails to make my PSU better for larger graphics cards!

[dalekphalm]

I was looking around online and i ran into this: http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=167720

 

apparently you can conenct the 12v rails on some PSU's to get more power output from them. How might one do this??? I happen to have a PSU that is decent and has 2 12v rails, but can only output like 130 watts on each rail(i cant remember exactly) i would love to know how to combine the rails to make my PSU better for larger graphics cards!

Unless you have real experience working with electronics or electrical repairs, then DO NOT attempt this. Working on the innards of your PSU can seriously harm or even kill you if you aren't careful. Also, you can very easily damage or destroy the PSU in the process.

 

Honestly, if your PSU isn't strong enough, I'd recommend selling it and buying a better one.

 

If you want to get into modding PSU's, then start with learning simple electrical theory and mods on something less powerful first.

[Emperor_Piehead]

Unless you have real experience working with electronics or electrical repairs, then DO NOT attempt this. Working on the innards of your PSU can seriously harm or even kill you if you aren't careful. Also, you can very easily damage or destroy the PSU in the process.

 

Honestly, if your PSU isn't strong enough, I'd recommend selling it and buying a better one.

 

If you want to get into modding PSU's, then start with learning simple electrical theory and mods on something less powerful first.

I love your name.  On topic unless you know exactly what your doing I wouldn't recommend it.

[MG2R]

Do NOT do this. Now, I'm not telling you this because their may be health risks involved. I'm saying this because it WILL damage the PSU.

 

Having two power rails means that they both operate independently and thus at a slight offset from eachother. One might be running at 12.10V while the other might be running at 11.95V . This means you have a voltage differential of 0.15V. If you connect those two rails with a wire, you have 0.15V over something that has probably less than 0.001ohm of resistance. Ohm's law tells us that 0.15V/0.001ohm = 150A. 150Amps through that wire will a) smoke the wire and b ) destroy your PSU.

 

There is a reason that you have to be careful which rail you connect to which component in a multi-rail system. If you put a 6-pin PCIe cable coming from one rail and a 6-pin coming from the other on the same graphics card, you get the same effect as bridging the gap between the two rails with the wire. Doing so potentially destroys the graphics card.

 

EDIT: you can also read berkeman's post (post #4) on the physics forum.

Edited August 3, 2013 by MG2R

[bcredeur97]

had a feeling i would get told this. but anyway thanks for being worried about me guys, i appreciate it!