x-tra connectors

[hoytron]

I don't know if this should be in the motherboard section, but what are the extra connectors for on some ATX power supplies? Particularily the AT power(3V) and the the 12V plug. I have an Iwill DVD266u-RN motherboard on the way, and it has places for these plugs on the board, but I don't have them on my power supply. Do I need them? I thought they were for P4 systems. If I don't need them, is there anything to be gained in buying a new PSU that has them? Will they let me power huge fans off of the motherboard or something? I guess my main concern is whether or not I need them to power the board. The Iwill DVD266u-RN is a dual P3 DDR board by the way.

 

[Diggrr]

The extra power connectors are for server motherboards, or boards that could be used in servers, bacause ATX is getting pretty popular for it's inexpensive components. This is not dependent on it being Intel or AMD.

They idea is, as in Hoot's article, to take power directly where it's needed on the motherboard to give greater stability and reliability.

If your motherboard has the plugins, you'd have to get a power supply that will run it. 'Powering huge fans' would still depend on what the manual says for wattage allowed on the fan header...you'll have to look.

Happy shopping!