Intel’s power play: Hands-on with ATX12VO motherboards and power supply - wolfestrue1935

Intel's latest superpowe play isn't about toppling AMD, but about energy efficiency. The company's new ATX12VO powerfulness supply standard is designed to avail background PCs meet increasingly stringent government standards on idle power consumption.

Update: If you prefer video, we've since enclosed our full interview with Intel's Sir Leslie Stephen Eastman above. Helium literally wrote the spec for Intel's new ATX12VO. Ascertain it above, or Here if you choose YouTube.

ATX12VO does require a ritual killing. Newer power supplies will jettison support for old-school 3.3-volt and 5-volt rails, and concentrate solely along producing 12-volt power. Only after kicking the tires on a pair of ATX12VO motherboards as well As an actual ATX12VO PSU, we can read that the future of desktop PC power looks brighter—and your old-booster legacy parts aren't moving too far away.

ATX12VO volition surfac first in pre-built PCs from OEMs, but no nonpareil's ruling out an ultimate jump to DIY parts. Let's take a finisher face.

What makes ATX12VO mightiness-efficient

ATX12VO's greater efficiency mainly comes from the removal of transformers and other PSU parts for those voltage "rails" that eat power during idle periods. Wee results from Intel look impressive. If you look at the chart below, you give the axe see the efficiency of a 500-watt ATX12VO 80 Plus Aureate compared with a 500-watt multi-revile ATX 80 Advantageous Gold and 500-watt ATX Asset Metallic unit.

atxvo efficiency — ATX12VO focuses on squeezing out more efficiency from a Microcomputer at idle, which it largely appears to do.

A Intel points out: Even a pricier 80 Plus Metal PSU doesn't gain a good deal efficiency compared to a lower-cost 80 Plus Bronze PSU. The 80 Plus ATX12VO unit, however, is pretty spectacular at leisured loads. With a 15-watt load connected the D.C. side, the ATX12VO can achieve 78-percent efficiency, patc the multi-rail index supplies are basically 59 percentage. In actuality it probably doesn't mean Sir Thomas More than 5 surgery 7 watts, but because a administer of desktops idle far more than they are used heavily, IT adds raised to a lot of power ransomed terminated a twelvemonth's metre.

Those two voltage "rails" don't go—they just move into a motherboard. Intel showed off a few pictures of a, ATX12VO plug-in, but the difference hits home when you see an ATX12VO PSU next to a standard 24-pin Main Power Connexion from a normal multi-rail ATX power supply.

atx12vo harness — You can see the reward of an ATX12VO 8-pin connector (right) next to a monetary standard 24-pin ATX connector (left).

Quite an a few of the extra pins and wires from the criterial multi-rail ATX PSU are used for 3.3-volt and 5-volt power rails. By desquamation these rails, the cable slims down significantly.

atx12vo connector — Here's a view of the top of the new ATX12VO's 10-pin connector (right) next to a 24-pin ATX connector (left).

The simplification in connectors also means a good deal fewer numbers on the PSU label. You can interpret that below with the imposingly small SilverStone Strider SST-ST1200-PTS Platinum 1200-W unit on the left, versus the High Power HP1-P650GD-F12S ATX12VO unit on the right.

The High Power has two simple numbers racket denoting 12-volt, and 12-volt standby power that's utilised for the PC when it is asleep. If you look closer at the Strider you can see the 3.3-V and 5-volt track, minus-12-volt, and 5-volt standby power that gets thrown overboard with ATX12VO.

atx12vo 2 psu side by side — A glimpse at the compact SilverStone ATX multi-rail PSU (left) is honorable complex next to the the unprecedented ATX12VO which carries numbers for 12 Volts Only (right hand.)

By eliminating the unused power rails you end up with fewer components, too. While the High Business leader 650-watt ATX12VO isn't a high-close PSU alike the SilverStone Strider, it did look pretty empty in spite of appearanc the Senior high Power (below). A traditional PSU would typically have additional transformers and capacitors for the 3.3-volt and 5-volt tycoo.

ATX12VO PSU — The inside of a 650-watt Steep Power ATX12VO great power supply is pretty pillaged, thanks to the miss of circuits for 3.3-volt and 5-volt rails.

The cabling is also fairly simple. Below is a picture of the ATX12VO with all of the connectors and cables. Along this specific PSU you get the ATX12VO 10-pin Main Power Connector, two 4-pin CPU connectors, an 8-pin CPU connector, plus troika 6-tholepin PCIe connectors. All of them, course, are 12 volts only.

ATX12VO does make few provisions for people who want to connect extra computer hardware much as lights, fans, or sound cards so you can own standard 4-flag power Molex. While that Molex used to carry other voltages, the same in the ATX12VO can lone carry 12 volts. If you're powering up a buff or LED uncase—it of necessity to run on 12 volts.

atx12vo sata still there kinda wow — We were surprised to find a SATA connecter on the ATX12VO PSU (right-hand). The lack of wires in the middle is where 5 volt power would comprise carried happening a standard SATA connector (leftfield).

One surprise was the SATA power connector. With ATX12VO, this is supposed to be moved off of the PSU, simply High Power chose to let in one on its ATX12VO PSU. One key difference you should short letter is the SATA great power connective only carries 12 volts. You can see it in the picture above, where only when the 12-V wires are run to it. If your disc drive requires 5 volts to run the comptroller, this connector would non piece of work for you. Alternatively, you'll demand an ATX12VO SATA connector cable like the one below.

atx12vo micro fit to sata 14 — An ATX12VO cable would run directly to your motherboard and provide 5-volt and 12-volt to devices.

ATX12VO recommends that board makers documentation from four to eight SATA devices. For a Little Jo-SATA power connector configuration, two 3mm connectors would be used like the cable above to support four SATA devices. There's also a slightly larger connector that features 6 pins and fanny business leader up to four SATA devices happening the cable. Intel said in final production cables and probably most boards, you'll probably get a single 6-pin SATA tycoo connector or plural SATA power connection. It's busy the motherboard vendor of course of instruction, but Intel anticipates more budget-friendly boards to need only four SATA power and data connections, so a one-on-one 6-pin connector saves on real-estate.

Intel aforementioned a slight change in how the connectors are attuned in inalterable parts leave leave a 4-pin connector to fit into a 6-fall connector, for those desire a littler wire harness.

3mm MiniFit — Kind of than plug in to your PSU, you would power your SATA devices instead from your motherboard.

What ATX12VO motherboards will look care

ATX12VO motherboards themselves look, well, like ATX motherboards. We got to touch the Asus Prime Z490-S and the Asrock Z490 Spectr Gamer 4SSR. Both look the likes of middle-range boards that assume't hold all the bling of a high-end board—like most motherboards that you find in a pre-built Beaver State OEM Microcomputer. Because ATX12VO will be victimized in OEM and smaller system integrator PCs, it in all probability makes sense to realize boards like this initially.

Asus and Asrock ATX12VO motherboards — The Asus Prime Z490-S (left) and Asrock Z490 Phantom Gamer 4SSR (right) both are built on the new ATX12VO spec.

To give you an idea of how such Asus cribbed from an existing Prime ATX board for its ATX12VO get on, we compared the Asus Prime Z490-S to an image of the Asus Prime Z490-P. It's bad clear Asus made only a few visual alterations to attain the ATX12VO version.

primes — The ATX12VO Asus Quality Z490-S (leftist) next to the ATX Asus Prime Z490-P (right.)

Afterward seeing the Asrock Phantom Gamer 4SSR, we thought that the additive emf regularization modules to the right of the RAM indicated that ATX12VO mandated considerably more hardware over a typical motherboard. But after examining the Asus Prime Z490-S, we came to the decision that poignant the 3.3-V and 5-volt rails to the motherboard doesn't always submit complete that.

atx12vo boards 3 — A tighter shot of the Asus (left) and Asrock (letter-perfect) SATA ability sections.

You can examine the Asus Prime laying on top of the Asrock Phantom Gamer. Piece at that place is a choke, capacitor and MOSFET on the Asus for the SATA power, it's not really more than a comparable ATX motherboard from Asus.

Perhaps more telling is the ATX12VO Asus Prime Z490-S compared to the ATX Asus Prime Z490-P. Here are some boards up close, and zoomed in on the SATA power connectors. Spell there are alterations, it doesn't look like a bigger deal. In fact, even looking at the Asrock Z490 Phantom Gaming 4SR that the ATXV12VO rendering is based happening, it doesn't look like a major vary either.

primes 2 — The ATX12VO board (bottom) compared to the ATX version (above.)

Unrivalled affair we did notice on some ATX12VO boards was the inclusion of a 6-pin Unneeded Board Power connector near the 10-pin power connective. The Extra Plug-in Powerfulness is extra 12-volt power which is decided on by the board maker. Intel said the Extra Board Magnate is at that place for users who distinct to nag in additional PCIe cards OR some other power-heavy devices.

Better wiring

To give you an idea of how much wiring is regenerate, here's a snap of a standard ATX motherboard with the 24-pin connector from the SilverStone plugged in.

atx12v main power connector so many wires wow

Anyone who has ever finished a make knows how difficult it can be to wrangle the trunk of wires in a tight build. The 10-tholepin ATX12VO cable represents a major simplification in wiring that's easy to contour and gather to your heart's satisfied.

atx12vo main power connector wow so small — An ATX12VO connexion from a Corsair adapter cable plugged into an ATX12VO Asrock motherboard.

The cable system above isn't the one from the High King ATX12VO power supply—it's in reality from a Corsair adapter cable television service. The cable length is designed to let anyone with a fully modular Corsair PSU enjoyment it with an ATX12VO motherboard. The cable actually contains a circuit to cater 12-V standby office to the ATX12VO motherboard.

atx12vo corsair modular connector — An transcriber cable that could be used with a contemporary Corsair modular PSU to power a newer ATX12VO board.

One problem with using your existing multi-rail PSU with a converter cable is you don't gain the efficiencies of an actual ATX12VO PSU, every bit the 3.3-V and 5-volt track continue to eat energy at idle dozens.

Intel's rationale for offering these options is to make adoption of ATX12VO American Samoa painless as possible. A somebody could, for instance, keep an alive multi-rail PSU simply use an ATX12VO board, and so at a ulterior prison term buy a newer ATX12VO to take advantage of the efficiency gains.

Most of the spec, in fact, seems to be built that path. In the early spitballing, Intel thought about moving to 24-volt like laptops or even adopting different connectors, given that PCIe, and 4-PIN and 8-pin connectors, are all basically repackaged 12 volts. In the end, Intel said it decided against whatever radical changes to make it arsenic friendly equally possible to adopt ATX12VO for everyone.

Right now, of course, the specification is chiefly aimed at system of rules vendors World Health Organization have to meet the stricter government guidelines. Only with what we're seeing—it in reality might be worth information technology for DIYers to switch over too.