NF7 and Power supplies??

Now, im looking for a new PSU for my system, my rig is currently running off a 300w PSU. Its made by Team seven or something, but basically its not made by any of the highly aclaimed manufacturors...

Really my question is this:

I was reading about PSUs and someone mentioned getting the Enermax over the Antec if you have an Abit board because the Enermax provide a 12v line with more current - which the Abit boards use to power the CPU

Now is the above true, do the Abit boards use the 12v line for powering the CPU? (my 12v line is running about 11.68v and my 5v is at 5v - so it does look like my 12v line is under a lot of pressure...)

I was considering buying an Antec PSU (the 480w true blue), but this has thrown a spanner in the works a bit becasue if what was said is true, then Im going to have to make a decision, and I want it to be the right one... Ideas? comments? suggestions?

Thanks for your time.

Unless you measure you PSU voltages at the molex with a multimeter, don't place much weight on what you're reading from the bios/mobo monitor - they tend to be quite off.
Most "good" quality PSU's have a seperate feed and connector carrying 12V for boards that support it. However, are NOT required to connect anything to this connector; the mobo will quite happily run without it. The whole purpose of the connector is to provide the mobo with a much more noise-free 12V source; it's not intertwined with the wires from all the other rails where proximity can induce noise.
The Antec True series does have this connection.

Hmm, okay.

Does anyone know if what I heard before is true though? about Abit boards using the 12v line for powering the CPU? If that is the case, then maybe the Enermax PSUs are better for Abit boards?

http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=3&var1=16&var2=0
yes, it does - just like i said

Beginning with the NV7 (NVIDIA nForce) series of motherboards, ABIT began making all their Socket-A motherboards ATX12V-capable via the addition of the four-pin +12V power connector. This +12V power connector is normally found only in Intel Pentium 4 motherboards. According to Intel's ATX Power Supply Design Guide, the ATX main power connector is only capable of handling about 6A of power per contact. As such, ATX12V power supplies are only intended for applications where the motherboard demand for current exceeds the ATX main power connector's capability.


ATX12V-capable
- the ATX main power connector with the +12V power connector

You may wonder why, since other manufacturers do not seem to be following the trend. We asked ABIT about this and here's their reply :-

The standard ATX power connector is defined as below :-

+12V --> 1 wire
+5V --> 4 wires
+3.3V --> 3 wires

In NVIDIA's reference design, the CPU Vcore is converted from the +12V power line. Let's see what happens when the CPU consumes a lot of power. We will use the AMD Athlon XP 2800+ as an example. Because it has a maximum thermal output of 74.3W, the power supply will have to supply it 6.2A of current via that single +12V wire! That's quite hot and dangerous! Here's how we arrived at that figure :-

Current = ( Watt / Voltage)
= ( CPU Vcore x CPU current ) / 12V
= (1.65V x 45A ) / 12V
= 6.2A

So, we designed the ATX12V connector for the NVIDIA nForce2 and VIA KT400 boards. With two +12V wires from ATX12V connector, the CPU will get the power from three, rather than just one +12V wire. That's a lot cooler and safer. It also allows the board to support newer processors with higher power consumption.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

And there you have it.

oh, and remember kids, USE THAT 12V CONNECTOR!!!

Thanks for that, so the Abit boards do use the 12v line for processors, in which case, would it be better to get the Enermax as it has a higher current on the 12v rail? ( I belive?) Or should I just go with the 480w True Blue regardless? Everyone seems to rate them pretty highly?

if i had the money, id go with the antec. but i dont, so i ordered a 365w enermax - i'll let you know how it performs.