Modular Power Supplies Less Efficient Say Makers

[jiro]

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meh.. im not really that worried to get my hands on modular cabling.
i'd give up efficiency for the modular feature - unless it's really big like what pcpower said

"What's rated for 5A going through those pins, in reality if the pins aren't making good contact, your rating's down to maybe 3A".

in that case, id wait till they get this fixed.
but i do agree that the plug is the point of failure.
this is what i have accepted as the disadvantage for the modular psu
and not that resistance thing.

we'll just wait and see if how long these psu last.

[jiro]

johnyguru -

Resistance: Modular connectors, adapters and splitters.

Years ago, there was this cat named Ohm and he explained to us that resistance sucks.

Ohm’s law as it pertains to resistance in electrical current is R (resistance) X I (current) = V (voltage.) So you can see, the greater the resistance, caused by either length of wire, gage of wire or having to go through connectors and/or the greater the current, the less voltage you get.

In simple terms, having a modular power supply may drop your voltage a little because of the resistance between the modular interface and the cable. And using a 20-to-24 pin adapter or any kind of splitter can cause a slight drop in voltage because of the resistance caused by any imperfect contact between the pins of such an adapter or splitter. But on that same note, every single connection you make (PSU to drive, or motherboard, or video card) is another connector that is going to create a little more resistance.

There’s been a lot of scare tactics used to convince people to not go with a modular power supply. But the reality is, even at high loads the resistance is quite minimal if the correct measures are taken. For example: A PCI-e cable is going to have less resistance if there’s 3 12V leads on each side of the cable and 3 grounds on each side of the cable. Unfortunately, some modular power supplies may only have one or two wires split into three for each row for a PCI-e connector. Some homework needs to be done on how the cables are constructed when considering a modular power supply.

And when using a modular power supply, adapters or splitter, make very certain that the connection between both interfaces is secure, firm and flush. Make sure all of your connectors are fully seated. This goes for standard power supplies and the connections you make to the motherboard, your drives, etc. as well. Because if you have a connector that is not fully seated, you create resistance. That resistance not only can cause a drop in voltage at the end of that particular wire, but also create heat. I’ve actually seen BURNT connectors from cables not being plugged all of the way into their sockets.

One last thing; Gold plated contacts. They don't do any good unless they're interfaced with gold plated connectors. In fact, the mating of dissimilar metals is actually more prone to corrosion than if both connectors were tin. So if you get a modular power supply with gold connectors, keep in mind that it may be better to have gold only on the power supply side where the modular interfaces are also gold plated, but not on the component side. I haven't seen hard drives and motherboards with gold plated power connectors.

UPDATE: In PC Power and Cooling's "Power Supply Myths exposed" they state that "the voltage drop can be as much as would occur in 2 feet of standard wire." Actually, two feet of wire don't present much resistance. But they do make the point that they may "can easily loosen, corrode, and burn." That should read, "corrode or loosen and burn." Fears of corrosion are rather unrealistic. A power supply connector has as much chance of corrosion as any other contact point in your PC. Your video card? Your RAM? Even the connectors to your drives, motherboard, etc. Obviously, when you double the number of connectors you double the chance of corrosion, but unless you live on a House board, corrosion is rare. The loosen and burn I explain. Solution: There's no reason to keep unplugging and re-plugging your power connectors. Make sure they're in tight and leave 'em alone.

[vern]

Numbers, numbers, numbers. Where are the numbers? 80 Plus already exists, check out their power supply list. There is more "efficiency" lost in people buying from less reputable companies than there is in say Antec offering modular.

[kokoytoyi]

bitaw sd noh? hehe
still nice ghapon ang modular.
2nd, no numbers to prove.

[limes]

murag same ra jud sila, gamay ra ang difference. dc current man ang uban so naa sad jud nay change sa resistance or voltage drop when it talks about length sa mga wirings etc. ambot kung sakto ba heard from school about dc currents.

[Lunch]

i would still go with pc power and cooling's point of view.

Modular psu's are more expensive.
the only advantage that modular cabling presents is a "clean" pc.

i still belong to the old school thinking that function/performance/reliability should be on top of everything else. i don't even care if i have an old case just as long as its airflow is good as at the end of the day the only important part of the case (aside from good airflow) is the switch. once it powers on ok na.

while people may say there is little resistance or little chance that the contacts will corrode, it is also true that they will be a source of corrosion or some other problem in the near future; and if indeed corrosion or some other problems arise from these contacts, it is your motherboard, ram, cpu and other components that will be affected.

for me, i would salvage every little detail which will contribute to system reliability rather than focus on aesthetics

[dmelsie]

if available pa pc power and cooling diri ato mopalit ko og psu kana ta gyud akoa paliton
hehehehe since wala nag st60f na lang ko so far wala man sad jko kasugat or prob