Where are the 12V1 12V2 on a pc motherboard connector

[waynedude]

Hello, I am planning on doing something weird, using a PCAT PSU to power a bunch of LED amplifiers. Each amp uses 12A at 12Vdc. For me the cost/feed is the most important and ease of wiring.

So the question is: What pinouts or on what connectors do I find each of the feeds (12V1, 12V2, 12V3, 12V4, etc..). Please help.

 

[Proximon]

What PSU and how many of these 12A LED amplifiers? What exactly is a LED amp?

 

[Proximon]

You are talking about this aren't you?
http://www.environmentallights.com/SearchResults.aspx?q=power%20supply

You could quickly overload a PSU that way.

 

[waynedude]

What PSU and how many of these 12A LED amplifiers? What exactly is a LED amp?

I haven't really decided yet, but was looking at the Coolmax ZP-1000B Power Supply - 1000-Watt. It has 4 20A or the Coolmax CUL-850B Power Supply - 850-Watt, also with 3 16A and 1 18A. The next post shows the RGB amplifier, it just allows you to run many strings of Red/Green/Blue LED ribbons with a single input. They are like power injectors, each one feeding 12A or 144W of juice to the LED lights. With either of these power supplies, I hope to be able to run 4 of these 12A power amps (well below the total specified power of either PSU). That would be a total of 576W. I will probably go with the cheaper CUL-850B.

I need to figure out which wires to connect from the PSU's many outputs to hook up 4 12V+ power amps.

Hope this helps! Thanks again!

 

[waynedude]

You are talking about this aren't you?
http://www.environmentallights.com/products/12003/RGB_Amplifier_NO_Power_Supply

You could quickly overload a PSU that way.

amazing you found that! awesome.. Power supplies for LED's are much more expensive since they are not produced in the volume of PC supplies.

I need to drive 33 of these amps so will be using like 9 power supplies. Total of 4752W... Will be crazy.. The best price I can find for basic power supplies is $230 for 1000W and need 5 (total $1150). The coolmax is only $70 each for total of $630.

I'm guessing since they will be under driven, they should be pretty reliable and hopefully the fans stay on low speed..

 

[Proximon]

I haven't really decided yet, but was looking at the Coolmax ZP-1000B Power Supply - 1000-Watt. It has 4 20A or the Coolmax CUL-850B Power Supply - 850-Watt, also with 3 16A and 1 18A.

As I assumed, you don't completely understand about those PSU ratings... that's OK, few do.

Have a look at the picture of the label on the CUL-850B at newegg:
(click on the pictures then select the picture of just the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159112&Tpk=CUL-850B

See where it says 710W under all the 12V amp ratings? That's the actual amps available... 710 / 12 = 59Amps... let's just say
14A per channel to be safe. The numbers above that are the individual rail limits... supposedly the overcurrent protection will kick in above those figures, as long as they work right.

IF the PSU were capable of running continuously supplying 56 12V amps, you could run 4 of those amps off one, maybe.

I don't see testing of this one though and I wouldn't put any trust in it... Coolmax is not a brand to trust blindly although they can see good units:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=96

This Antec unit is rated for 100 12V amps... perhaps that would be a good choice for this. It may have qualities that you don't need, but it will be safe and last long... and I think price per amp is decent:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032
You could safely connect 8 of those to one of these Antecs.

 

[waynedude]

As I assumed, you don't completely understand about those PSU ratings... that's OK, few do.

Have a look at the picture of the label on the CUL-850B at newegg:
(click on the pictures then select the picture of just the label)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159112&Tpk=CUL-850B

See where it says 710W under all the 12V amp ratings? That's the actual amps available... 710 / 12 = 59Amps... let's just say
14A per channel to be safe. The numbers above that are the individual rail limits... supposedly the overcurrent protection will kick in above those figures, as long as they work right.

IF the PSU were capable of running continuously supplying 56 12V amps, you could run 4 of those amps off one, maybe.

I don't see testing of this one though and I wouldn't put any trust in it... Coolmax is not a brand to trust blindly although they can see good units:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=96


This Antec unit is rated for 100 12V amps... perhaps that would be a good choice for this. It may have qualities that you don't need, but it will be safe and last long... and I think price per amp is decent:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371032
You could safely connect 8 of those to one of these Antecs.

I appreciate your input and knowledge, particularly the heads up about quality. I would hate to have the client get up and running only to have a PSU fail prematurely. She is spending $23,000 on this little set up for her kitchen. I was blindly trusting the specs and should know better with product from China.

The site you went to to look at the RGB amplifiers also had a interesting overtone, questioning the cheaper RGB amp's ability to perform. I am using most of these to drive 3 white channels (rather than RGB), so the inputs are all tied together and all three internal amps will be running full blast at times. I am wondering if they can handle full loading as well.. I am going to call the environmentallites site and see what their experience is.

Your recommendation of the Antec is good as well, as these would be price competitive with the Meanwell's I was originally specifying (meanwell SE-1000-12: http://www.meanwell.com/search/SE-1000/SE-1000-spec.pdf which I just found for around $205). The quality of the meanwell is not proven either, but it is from Taiwan and a reputable manufacturer.

I appreciate your feedback. I also found the pinout/what wires the 12V1, 12V2, etc come out on from one of the reviews you sent me to. That helps a lot!

I'm glad I found this site! CHEERS!

 

[waynedude]

Best answer selected by waynedude.