Dual or Single 12v rail?

[Zerix01]

I'm looking at a new PSU. What are the advantage to a dual 12v rail PSU? They seem a little more expensive than the singles and I'm seeing some good amps on the single rail PSU's, like 40 - 55 amps, whereas many dual's that are in my price range are about 25amps each. My current PSU is 580watts with 18a on the 12v. I'm shopping in the 650w - 700watt range.

This will be to power the system in my sig.

Key power suckers, OC'd Phenom II x6, 5 HDD's all but one is 7200rpm, and the two video cards. My board can support four PCI-E 16x cards and I'm looking at adding a GTX 570 in the near future while keeping the other two in the system. This computer is more for folding@home than for gaming so just assume all CPU's and GPU's will be running full blast 24/7.

Also, Rosewill's and XFX PSU's keep catching my eye. Any thoughts on those brands?

 

[King107s]

You're definately going to be 12V heavy and I would recomend a single rail PSU like a Corsair. With a single rail you will have more than enough amps for all of your stuff and wont have to worry about balancing it out across 2 or more rails.

 

[RollingThunder]

I'm looking at a new PSU. What are the advantage to a dual 12v rail PSU? They seem a little more expensive than the singles and I'm seeing some good amps on the single rail PSU's, like 40 - 55 amps, whereas many dual's that are in my price range are about 25amps each. My current PSU is 580watts with 18a on the 12v. I'm shopping in the 650w - 700watt range.

This will be to power the system in my sig.

Key power suckers, OC'd Phenom II x6, 5 HDD's all but one is 7200rpm, and the two video cards. My board can support four PCI-E 16x cards and I'm looking at adding a GTX 570 in the near future while keeping the other two in the system. This computer is more for folding@home than for gaming so just assume all CPU's and GPU's will be running full blast 24/7.

Also, Rosewill's and XFX PSU's keep catching my eye. Any thoughts on those brands?

These two stickies should answer all your questions:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589708

and:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=548862

 

[Mehovoric]

You're definately going to be 12V heavy and I would recomend a single rail PSU like a Corsair. With a single rail you will have more than enough amps for all of your stuff and wont have to worry about balancing it out across 2 or more rails.

I have the kingwin lazer 1000W and its just a single rail. The only thing I have to worry about is the amount of current running through my wires. Other than that, if I had a large enough wire, I could run everything off that single 12V line.

 

[King107s]

I have the kingwin lazer 1000W and its just a single rail. The only thing I have to worry about is the amount of current running through my wires. Other than that, if I had a large enough wire, I could run everything off that single 12V line.

Which one do you have because the one I'm looking at is modular with 80A spread across six 12V rails....

 

[Kowalski3500]

I have the kingwin lazer 1000W and its just a single rail. The only thing I have to worry about is the amount of current running through my wires. Other than that, if I had a large enough wire, I could run everything off that single 12V line.

All that current goes through the small wiring in your house/the power cord leading to your computer. I think it's ok.

 

[EarthDog]

These two stickies should answer all your questions:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589708

and:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=548862

+1 dual vs single really doesnt matter at all.