
Spreading the currentīetween the cables reduces the voltage drops and power loss. One cable unless they're relatively low load devices. You're plugging in multiple high powered devices it's a good idea to spread Power cables, each of which has two or more peripheral connectors. Unofficial cable/connector maximum wattage deliveryĬurrent power supplies usually have at least two separate peripheral Through 18 gauge wire then you get a voltage drop of about 0.25 volts countingīoth the power wire and the ground (it's got to go both ways) and theĭissipation is about 3.3 watts. You have an 18 inch cable (about a half a meter) and are running 13 amps But you normally find 18 awg wire in the peripheral cables. The connector can handle 13 amps according to the I don't know of any official definition of the maximum current allowed in a It's not a technically useful termĬable is also a 4 pin Molex cable (Molex makes lots ofĬonnectors) but "4 pin Molex" is commonly used to refer to peripheral People often use the term "4 pin Molex power cable" or "4 pin You don't have to worry about inserting it It's as old as the hillsīut is still very widely used. Supplemental motherboard power, and case lighting. It's still around and is now also usedįor all kinds of things including add-on fans, extra video card power, The four pin peripheral power cable dates back to the original PC. Just for interest's sake, here's the specificationįor the PSU which came with the original IBM PC. The two negative rails are "bias" supplies which only have to provide That was used primarily to run disk drives, motors, andįans. ThereĪre three or four lines dedicated to the 5 volt rail. In old PCs, almost all of the chips ran directly off of the 5 volt rail.Īs a result the PSU delivers most of its wattage at 5 volts. Unofficial cable/connector maximum wattage delivery for main rails It's either "black to black" or smoke and a shower of sparks. YouĪlways have to remember to plug them in so the black wires are next to each You can insert them the wrong way if you put a little effort into it. They only plug in one way and sometimes they aren't. Side by side into the motherboard connectors.
#POWER PACK FOR A 12 VOLT FAN PC#
The original PC debuted in 1981 and used two cables to connect the Power connectors included with various kinds of PCs Happily use connector and wire maximums and other people like to have a wide An unofficial wattage doesn't have a wide safety marginīuilt in because people differ on how much margin to provide. Practical maximum wattage defined by the maximums for the connector and the Specification doesn't provide the maximum and the value in the table is a Provides an "Unofficial cable/connector maximum wattage" then that In most cases that wattage will be significantly below whatĬan actually be handled by the suggested connector and wire. If the table below provides an "OfficialĬable/connector maximum wattage" then that specification has spelled out the

Which is far below the maximums supported by the connector and wire. Provide a wide safety margin by defining a value Most of the specifications which spell out the maximum wattage Voltage drop and power dissipation increase as you increase theĬurrent so there isn't a clear maximum wattage at which it stops working.

The hardware doesn't immediately burst into flames. If you draw a little more wattage then the maximum, And there's never really an absolute value to the Specifications just provide the suggested connector and wire gauge and never Some of the tables below provide the maximum wattage supported by a powerĬable and its associated power connector. Time has to do with adding more wires and connectors to make sure that none The resistance of connectors tends to increase as theyĪre plugged and unplugged so after enough uses they can overheat and even If you seriously overload a line, the wireĬan get fairly warm. See some power cables with more that one wire for the same voltage. But the losses get worse as the current rises. As long as you don't overload them the voltage drop and extra heatĭon't matter. WhenĬurrent passes through wires and connectors there is a voltage drop and thatĪs heat. Wires and connectors are not perfect conductors.

If you'd like more technical data about ATX power connectors then you canįind the current specifications and more at Last updated: JAll about the various PC power supply cables and connectors The various power supply cables Using PC power supplies in things other than PCs.Rail complications #3 - minimum loading problems: too little current.

Rail complications #2 - cross loading problems: unbalanced current.Rail complications #1 - current limit problems: too much current.All about the various PC power supply cables and connectors.So what's all this rubbish about multiple 12 volt rails?.A short history of PC power supply voltage rails.Compatibility issues for ATX power supplies and motherboards.
