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ATX12VO cheaper PSUs coming soon, designed to make MB unrepairable
  • According to the specification, the PSU only puts out +12 V and 12 Vsb voltage domains, and does away with the 5 V, 5 Vsb, and 3.3 V domains. This greatly simplifies the design of PSUs, as PCs of today don't use too many power-hungry 5 V or 3.3 V devices (such as half-a-dozen mechanical hard drives). The PC will still need 5 V for interfaces such as USB, but VRM on the motherboard will be responsible for DC-to-DC switching of 12 V to those lower-voltage domains. It's also likely that the motherboard will now put out a handful SATA power connectors.

    It is total bullshit about "great simplification", as all good PSUs already make 3.3V and 5V using DC-DC small boards. 5Vsb is also being made by specialized tiny controllers.

    Before implementation of DC-DC converters inside PSUs 5V and 3.3V failures had been very rare, usually all devices survived. Now serious failure put 12V on this rails, so say bye-bye to your SSDs and HDDs, as well as almost all devices on MB. But at least this DC-DC boards in good PSUs are monitored using separate controller (so switched off instantly in case of issue) and good cooled. Placing them directly on MB will lead to making things much worse.

    Idea of both PSU and MB manufacturers is to cheapen construction and go away from protection schemes (to further increase profits).

    MB manufacturers are especially hoping that such designs will allow them to make product that will kill itself in 3-6 years time (usual life of cheap polymer caps they'll use).

  • 3 Replies sorted by
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    New, defective from the birth, connector. Only 3 ground pins, and TWO 12V pins, with one completely unusable 12V power sense pin (same as they made for GPUs, never used!).

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  • Very similar connector on Lenovo compact ThinkStation desktop

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  • And, as expacted AsRock is first to make such motherboard (avoid at all costs!)

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    Using less power is always good, but it will be even more important when governments around the world introduce new energy regulations for desktop computers. This includes EPA’s ENERGY STAR for Computers v8 in 2020, the California Energy Commission Title 20, Tier 2 requirement in 2021 (with other U.S. states following), and Japan’s Top Runner program in 2022. All these regulations are requiring PC makers to adjust their desktop power targets.

    A single rail power supply design is one answer to help OEMs reduce desktop PC idle power and meet the new government regulations. For years there have been custom single rail power supply designs. But until Intel created the ATX12VO design and publicly shared it, there was no industry standard to help PC-makers reduce the energy desktop systems use when idling.

    But it’s more complicated than just a new power supply. The new ATX12VO standard requires a redesign to the motherboard. The two parts work in tandem under the new standard.

    “This is a part of Intel’s greater PC story to enable the most energy efficient desktop computers,” says Eastman. Intel is a processor company, he says, but it is also a company that helps OEMs. And that’s why Intel spent the last two years creating and sharing this standard.

    The industry’s first ATX12VO motherboard: On April 30, PC manufacturer ASRock launched the industry’s first ATX12VO motherboard around the Intel 10th Gen Intel Core S-series platform. It reduces idle power by 27% compared to a similar featured motherboard and traditional ATX multi-rail power supply design.

    “We’re extremely delighted to co-develop this revolutionary motherboard — Z490 Phantom Gaming 4SR — with Intel. This new design is able to improve power efficiency of the PC and meet new energy regulations. We believe the new ATX12VO will be the solution for the next generation of personal computer,” says Chris Lee, general manager of ASRock Motherboard BU.

    Intel is also working with power supply unit builders such as FSP, High Power, Channel Well Technology and Corsair to build ATX12VO power supply units to go with the motherboards.

    Sounds like total bullshit. What exactly is "idle power" here? 27% compared to that exactly?

    As DC-DC converters efficiency is exactly same as same DC-DC converter used to make 3.3v and 5v in any good PSU.

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