ASRock Forums : Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : eccential wrote:Xaltar beat...

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 21:03:22 +0000

Author: Quexos
Subject: 26047
Posted: 27 Jun 2023 at 9:03pm

eccential wrote:

Xaltar beat me to it again. The only real -issue- quirk with using too-much power supply is that the efficiency at very low load (under 20% load) tend to be pretty bad.

He beat me too, but yup, I figure a 1000w would put me in that 20% low efficient range and a 600w would put me in the 90% working too hard range. The reviews on the XPG Core Reactor I got say it is very efficient at lower loads so I think I am right where I want to be. Basically just an improved version of what I had, that served me very well for a decade.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : Xaltar beat me to it again. The...

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 02:23:24 +0000

Author: eccential
Subject: 26047
Posted: 25 Jun 2023 at 2:23am

Xaltar beat me to it again. The only real -issue- quirk with using too-much power supply is that the efficiency at very low load (under 20% load) tend to be pretty bad. They have been improving on this, though (search for differences among Gold, Platinum, and Titanium rated power supplies). The requirements are different for 20%, 50%, and 100% loads.

Among my systems, one of my favorite is a Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G system, using a Mini-Box M3-ATX power supply, which is a tiny plug-type power supply rated for just 125W. It has better than 94% efficiency at 50% load, and can be powered from wide voltage ranges. It's great for supplemental solar power *without* batteries, when used with Mini-Box's Y-PWR (wall power + solar panel power). It will run 100% solar when there's enough sun, and no need to deal with batteries. I'm generally a low-power kind of guy, after all.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : Quexos wrote:I want it to run...

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 22:19:01 +0000

Author: Xaltar
Subject: 26047
Posted: 24 Jun 2023 at 10:19pm

Quexos wrote:

I want it to run "easy" and cool at like 50-60% capacity rather than "hard" at 80-100%.

I do the same with my systems. Ideally you want to run at around 60-70% load for
optimum efficiency and cooling. PSU efficiency tends to be at it's peak around these
load levels, depending on the spec. What you don't want is to be running at <90%
or consistently >20%, efficiency is terrible in those ranges. This is less of an
issue today than it used to be with most (good) PSUs offering comparable efficiency
across the spectrum, particularly with 80+ Gold or above. Even here though, keeping
your PSU under lighter load will always equate to a longer lifespan.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : eccential wrote:Your choice...

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 09:36:51 +0000

Author: Quexos
Subject: 26047
Posted: 24 Jun 2023 at 9:36am

eccential wrote:

Your choice of these big 750W power supplies made me do a double take, though, seeing as how your components are all pretty low power.

I never thought of them as big. I think of 1000+ watts as big.

It's more than I am currently (pun intended) drawing, but I'm of the mind that I should have a little extra, because I'm cynical and figure manufacturers are usually fudging the numbers a bit (some more than others), so If you want an actual 600w PSU, buy an "700w", and because I want it to run "easy" and cool at like 50-60% capacity rather than "hard" at 80-100%. Presumably why I got 14 years constant use out of the last one. Plus to future proof in case (pun intended) 2 years from now all the rage is some new tech graphics card that draws 500w all by itself, or I just decide to turn it into a file server with 20 spinning HDDs or something.

But yeah, I could probably stick a 400w PSU in and be fine.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : eccential wrote:But I'm...

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 02:55:24 +0000

Author: Xaltar
Subject: 26047
Posted: 24 Jun 2023 at 2:55am

eccential wrote:

But I'm weird. I mean, who else buys a 5800X3D to run with boost completely disabled? (3.4GHz max). My CPU will never see voltage higher than 1.0V as long as I own it. Laugh.

I have had 8 of my 16 cores disabled on my 2950x since about a month after I got it
Why use more power than I need to when 8c/16t is more than enough for all the tasks
I use the system for. I also have my VCORE set to 1.0v and capped my frequency
to 3.5ghz. Power is expensive here. When I need to use the system's full power for
a complex render I can just set my performance profile in Ryzen Master and
restart the system.

As for the recapping, it's becoming more common these days with so many guides on
youtube and how cheap/easy it is to do. You can revive a great PSU and even improve
on it by replacing the caps with higher quality ones than the originals.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : "These days it's relatively...

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 22:21:09 +0000

Author: eccential
Subject: 26047
Posted: 23 Jun 2023 at 10:21pm

"These days it's relatively easy to get them recapped."

I was going to mention that. Most people don't bother in, well, cushy countries, but it's not a bad idea to fix stuff and keep using, especially if it's relatively easy to do.

But if you got 14 years out of it, I'd say you've done better than many. :)

Your choice of these big 750W power supplies made me do a double take, though, seeing as how your components are all pretty low power. I've NEVER bought a power-supply past 500W, but I go for the best (Seasonic Prime, etc.). But I'm weird. I mean, who else buys a 5800X3D to run with boost completely disabled? (3.4GHz max). My CPU will never see voltage higher than 1.0V as long as I own it. Laugh.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : Unfortunately even the best built...

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:58:28 +0000

Author: Xaltar
Subject: 26047
Posted: 23 Jun 2023 at 9:58pm

Unfortunately even the best built PSUs fail eventually. These days it's relatively
easy to get them recapped. I have done it with a few of my veteran PSUs that
lasted and never gave me issues. I only use them for test units and budget builds
but it's nice to know that they were built right.

Give it a few days of regular use, if all is well by then you can rest easy

Edited by Xaltar - 23 Jun 2023 at 9:58pm

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : New power supply is in and it...

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 20:34:20 +0000

Author: Quexos
Subject: 26047
Posted: 23 Jun 2023 at 8:34pm

New power supply is in and it is being powered with the one 8-pin CPU power connection (second 4-pin vacant). Been solid through a full day of stopping and starting while playing with Linux, Windows and making backup images from a Macrium rescue disk (usually when I had the power on problem).

It's a little too soon to declare it "fixed" but I am gaining some confidence that it was just the power supply, which would not really be surprising since it was a quality part but ~14 years old.

Thanks again for the info.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : Thanks. I had it in overkill mode...

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 12:07:21 +0000

Author: Quexos
Subject: 26047
Posted: 22 Jun 2023 at 12:07pm

Thanks. I had it in overkill mode then, just in case. I have new Power Supply (XPG Core Reactor 750w) coming in tomorrow now though, so probably will just go with the one 8-pin when Install that. I don't O/C at all, and tend to under-volt if anything. On the Antec TP750, the 8-pin and 4-pin come in the hardwired bundle, so I think they're on the same rail anyway.

One by one I am just eliminating things to find the cause of the "power failure/surge". I put a new battery in my UPS backup yesterday and had another hiccup today, so it's narrowing right in that old Antec TP750.

Question on 12v power connections B550 Pro4 : All those connections are there...

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 09:14:13 +0000

Author: eccential
Subject: 26047
Posted: 22 Jun 2023 at 9:14am

All those connections are there to spread out the load. Since you're running R5-5600, which is fairly low power CPU, you don't need to worry.

Here's how it goes:

Minimum requirement: Half of the 8-pin connector using a 4-pin plug. This is done when your power supply does not have 8-pin plug. It should be enough for any 65W TDP processor.

Typical usage: The entire 8-pin connector is used. The extra 4-pin connector is unused. It should be enough for any "normal" builds.

Mostly overkill usage (major overclock, liquid nitrogen, etc.): Both 8-pin and the extra 4-pin are used.

------------

In your case, I see no reason to use the extra 4-pin connector. If the power supply has multiple 12V rails and the 8-pin and 4-pin are from different rails, I wonder if it can cause issues. If the rails don't turn on exactly at the same time, one rail could affect another rail. But I'm not a power supply expert.

It sounds like you're tripping the over-current protection on your PSU. Since you don't have anything really power hungry in your build, I wonder if the PSU is on its way out. Over a decade is a long time. No electrolytic capacitor lasts forever, you know. Or maybe I am onto something with the previous paragraph.