Voltage Rails

[napier48]

which Voltage Rail on the power supply powers each part of the computer?  +3.3 V, +5 V, and +12 V. especially the video card and cpu?

[Electronics Wizardy]

12v powers cpu, and gpu, 5v and 3.3 powers some small stuff on mobo. 12v for hdds, 5v for ssds and notebook hdds.

[vagabond139]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-power-supplies/14/

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-specifications-atx-reference,3061-2.html

 

The motherboard uses a combo of everything. The CPU uses the 12V rail along with the GPU's. Fans use the 12V rail. The sata connector uses the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V rail although it really doesn't use the 3.3V rail anymore.