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View Full Version : turning on a second power supply atx ?


grahamdvddvddvd
03-05-2009, 11:06 AM
I have been told that if I have two atx power supplies i can get the primary power supply to turn on the secondary by joining the two green cables from each supply so they both come on together ? many thanks
nevermind1534
03-05-2009, 11:08 AM
Yes, you can do that.
Spawn-Inc
03-06-2009, 12:08 AM
yup, as you said join the 2 green wires coming from the main power (20-24pin connector) wires together and your done.
blueonblack
03-08-2009, 11:21 PM
I thought the second PSU had to have a common ground with the primary? I did this with the acrylic machine I built last year, but I joined the two PSU's at both green and ground. Probably just extra work on my part. :mad:
nevermind1534
03-08-2009, 11:27 PM
I thought the second PSU had to have a common ground with the primary? I did this with the acrylic machine I built last year, but I joined the two PSU's at both green and ground. Probably just extra work on my part. :mad:

Probably. It's a good idea if you're combining all the rails, though.
Okele
03-09-2009, 01:35 AM
Just a quick question. How would this benefit anyone? I understand the idea of the 2 PSU's, but not the idea of what it would/could be used for? I have tons of space in my case atm and like 4 PSU's sitting in a box from old systems.
blueonblack
03-09-2009, 04:17 AM
I did it because it looked cool and fit the design of the case I built, but it will also provide twice the amperage of a single PSU for those with a lot of accessories and/or power draws. I used one of them to power my video card and lights and the other for everything else.
si-skyline
03-09-2009, 12:47 PM
its not needed much now. it was mainly back in ye oldie days when you had like 4 cd rewriters with 2 hard drives and god knows what else. only having a small psu would not power the entire system so you would stick a extra one in to power differant things

its not the case now because of our monster 1000w units... so mainly only needed if its a cobbled budget build or you would like the redundency of not killing everything if one power unit goes crazy
progbuddy
03-13-2009, 12:10 PM
just ground the green. Redundant power supplies are found all the time in critical server systems and the like.
simon275
03-18-2009, 12:20 AM
Yeah if you need more power just buy a larger psu.