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What is EPS12V?

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EPS12V is a special, non-ATX standard adopted by the Server System Infrastructure (SSI) group to provide a more powerful and stable environment for critical server-based systems and applications. EPS12V equipment is not compatible with standard ATX or ATX12V PCs found in homes and offices. Power supplies built to the EPS12V standard include a 24-pin motherboard power connector and an 8-pin +12V connector. (Source: Antec)

basically an 8 pin power connect on a mobo for up to 2 extra rails of 12v power. In some server boards it's used for redundant power supplies, I think some others use it for dual procs on separate rails. Like firemist said, more stability....fewer volt drops etc.

My bfg 680i board has one but you can use a standard 4 pin atx power connect in one half of it and it will work fine. This may be different for different boards so check your documentation.

firemist said:
EPS12V equipment is not compatible with standard ATX or ATX12V PCs found in homes and offices.


Are you sure?

I see some power supplies dual listed with EPS12V and ATX and others, such as the popular PC Power & Cooling Silencer, a highly recommended PSU used by many, is listed on newegg and manufacturer's page simply as EPS12V and not ATX - and it also carries the "nVidia SLI Ready" label. Perhaps you could clarify.
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rockyjohn said:
Are you sure?

I see some power supplies dual listed with EPS12V and ATX and others, such as the popular PC Power & Cooling Silencer, a highly recommended PSU used by many, is listed on newegg and manufacturer's page simply as EPS12V and not ATX - and it also carries the "nVidia SLI Ready" label. Perhaps you could clarify.


That's exactly what prompted me to post this question.

Newegg has both sections for their PSU listings:
ATX12V
ATX12V / EPS12V

Why? I would think they would have one ATX12V section and one separate EPS12V section, but that's not the case.

If my mobo takes ATX12V should I avoid the ATX12V / EPS12V section altogether?

rockyjohn said:
Are you sure?

I see some power supplies dual listed with EPS12V and ATX and others, such as the popular PC Power & Cooling Silencer, a highly recommended PSU used by many, is listed on newegg and manufacturer's page simply as EPS12V and not ATX - and it also carries the "nVidia SLI Ready" label. Perhaps you could clarify.



To clear up the confusion...

SOME boards have an EPS12V connector for CPU Power. In the Desktop environment the board will normally allow you to use an ATX12V or EPS12V connector.

Most Desktop PSUs that have EPS12V compliance also have an ATX12V cable.

So.. short and simple..

ATX12V - 4 Pin CPU Connector
EPS12V - 8 Pin CPU Connector

You can get an EPS12V/ATX12V PSU and it will be fine on a regular ATX12V motherboard. Most of the newer highend mobos do have EPS12V connector which means more stable and "cleaner" power. You just use whichever cable you need... the PSU has both.

This is the connector I need:



My PS has no such connector. The 4+4 connectors on my PS are not keyed the same. One side looks correct, but the other 4 are keyed all round instead of 2 round, 2 square. I'm begging to think this PS is made wrong.

Well I just figured out that even though mine is keyed with all round pins, it still connects. I guess the round peg fits in the square hole... I didn't realize that at first because it's hard to get at.
Power supply Master

Corsair does the same thing to their 4X4 connector. That way, you can plug either half into a 4 pin motherboard connector instead of needing to find the correct half. As long as the yellow wires face the edge of the board, you are OK.

jsc said:
Corsair does the same thing to their 4X4 connector. That way, you can plug either half into a 4 pin motherboard connector instead of needing to find the correct half. As long as the yellow wires face the edge of the board, you are OK.


I have the same findings as kurtd - a Corsair TX psu with two 2x2 (not 4x4 :-) connectors that look as though the square/rounded pin/sockets don't match those on the 2x4 m/b socket, but the connectors plug in easily.

My problem/question for jsc is that when I fit the socket the yellow wires do not face this edge of the board. I can't find a pin out description for the Corsair's 2x2 connectors, but the socket fits nicely with its clip easily clicking over the locking notch. My m/b is a DX58SO.

Can anyone confirm that this set-up is going to work before I fry my i7 965?

661
Anonymous
Power supply Expert

Hi

kilgore661 said:
Can anyone confirm that this set-up is going to work before I fry my i7 965?


I'm not sure that my situation is quite the same as yours, though seems it may be.

I have a Gigabyte UD7 mobo, and a Corsair HX650W supply.

The mobo has a keyed Molex 2x4 socket (8 way) for 12V supply to the CPU, labled as ATX_12V_2X in the manual.

The PSU has a pair of 2x2 plugs (8 way in total), which are labeled as being EPS12V in the manual. One 2x2 connector is keyed with square pin shrouds, and the other features all half rounded shrouds. The PSU packaging claims there is an EPS12V/ATX12V 4 pin and 8 pin connector available, and shows a photo of a plug keyed in such a way as to match the ATX_12V_2X of the motherboard. However, the plug shown is not actually available from the PSU.

Anyway, the pair of 2x2 plugs each provide +12VDC and 0V ground pins, which can be used with my mobo's CPU supply socket. The keying does not match, though as mentioned, a rounded shroud will fit the square socket.

After plugging it in, and turning it on, everything is running just fine for me. YMMV.

Cheers,

Oli

Hi everyone, Maybe you can help me. I have 2 ports close to each other on my motherboard (Asus Rampage lll Extreme) for a 8 pin EPS12V. My power supply only has one such cable. I do have a left over 4 pin ATX12V connecter that’s not being used. Should I fill half of the other 8 pin slot with it??? And if so, does it matter what part of it as long as the polarity is the same?? Or shouldn’t I bother??? Will it make any difference??? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. danny

danhasmail said:
Hi everyone, Maybe you can help me. I have 2 ports close to each other on my motherboard (Asus Rampage lll Extreme) for a 8 pin EPS12V. My power supply only has one such cable. I do have a left over 4 pin ATX12V connecter that’s not being used. Should I fill half of the other 8 pin slot with it??? And if so, does it matter what part of it as long as the polarity is the same?? Or shouldn’t I bother??? Will it make any difference??? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. danny


Hey so i'm not sure what you have left over, BUT if you do have a pair of the 4 pin 12v connections, they should be able to go in side by side and hook into the EPS12V socket. I have a Server board with the 24pin connector and then 2 x 8pin connections on either side of it and i have a 8pin "Y" Cable and using a standard ATX PSU with 2x4pin connections, i've been able to plug into the "Y" cable and put sufficient power to the motherboard and it runs great with 2xE5540 Xeon CPUs and 48GB DDR3 1066 RAM, 8 Hard Drives, a GTX280 and a smaller GT250 graphics card.

I have the UD3R MB and the COrsair TX750, which has the same pin structure that you discussed. Is the "Yellow" the +12v wires and the "Black" wire the ground?

Kenn Lee

Quote:
Hi



I'm not sure that my situation is quite the same as yours, though seems it may be.

I have a Gigabyte UD7 mobo, and a Corsair HX650W supply.

The mobo has a keyed Molex 2x4 socket (8 way) for 12V supply to the CPU, labled as ATX_12V_2X in the manual.

The PSU has a pair of 2x2 plugs (8 way in total), which are labeled as being EPS12V in the manual. One 2x2 connector is keyed with square pin shrouds, and the other features all half rounded shrouds. The PSU packaging claims there is an EPS12V/ATX12V 4 pin and 8 pin connector available, and shows a photo of a plug keyed in such a way as to match the ATX_12V_2X of the motherboard. However, the plug shown is not actually available from the PSU.

Anyway, the pair of 2x2 plugs each provide +12VDC and 0V ground pins, which can be used with my mobo's CPU supply socket. The keying does not match, though as mentioned, a rounded shroud will fit the square socket.

After plugging it in, and turning it on, everything is running just fine for me. YMMV.

Cheers,

Oli

Power supply Authority

I would be wary of putting a 2x2 from 1 power cable alongside a 2x2 from another power cable both in an 8 hole EPS12V port.

It could be that the PSU is multi-rail and splitting these cords up on different rails, but I would still just find another PSU that has both connectors on the same physical wire to be on the safe side.

In any event, its fine if you don't use all 8 on a 4 + 4 wire.

You would probably be fine with only a 4 on a motherboard that has the EPS12V 8, but you could potentially be providing less than the required power and you could potentially damage system components this way.

If I had an EPS12V motherboard, I would make sure my PSU had the right cords to fill the whole thing.
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