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Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies

Everything you need to know about power supplies, including cables, connectors, efficiency, PFC, protections, form factors, ripple & noise, voltage stability, maximum power, virtual rails and much more.

Home » Everything You Need to Know About Power Supplies

Pin-Out

Contents

  • 1. Intro
  • 2. AC Connection
  • 3. Power Plugs
  • 4. Power Plugs (Cont’d)
  • 5. Older Power Plugs
  • 6. Form Factors
  • 7. Cooling
  • 8. Power
  • 9. Efficiency
  • 10. Power Factor Correction (PFC)
  • 11. Voltage Stability, Noise and Ripple
  • 12. Multiple +12 V Rails
  • 13. Protections
  • 14. Pin-Out
  • ATX12V v2.x Motherboard Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1Orange+3.3V
2Orange+3.3V
3BlackGround
4Red+5V
5BlackGround
6Red+5V
7BlackGround
8GrayPower Good
9Purple+5VSB
10Yellow+12V
11Yellow+12V
12Orange+3.3V
13Orange+3.3V
14Blue-12V
15BlackGround
16GreenPower On
17BlackGround
18BlackGround
19BlackGround
20White-5V
21Red+5V
22Red+5V
23Red+5V
24BlackGround
  • EPS12V Connector
PinColorOutput
1BlackGround
2BlackGround
3BlackGround
4BlackGround
5Yellow+12V
6Yellow+12V
7Yellow+12V
8Yellow+12V
  • ATX12V Connector
PinColorOutput
1BlackGround
2BlackGround
3Yellow+12V
4Yellow+12V
  • PCI Express 6-Pin Auxiliary Connector (PEG)
PinColorOutput
1Yellow+12V
2**
3Yellow+12V
4BlackGround
5BlackGround
6†Sense0†

* The PCI Express specification says this pin must be left unconnected. However, the EPS12V specification says this pin must be used for +12 V (yellow wire).

† The Sense0 pin generates a code for the video card to know which kind of power connector is available. When this pin is grounded (black wire) and the Sense1 pin is not available (which is the case), this indicates that the auxiliary power connector is a six-pin one. Therefore, six-pin connectors have this pin grounded.

  • PCI Express 8-Pin Auxiliary Connector (PEG)
PinColorOutput
1Yellow+12V
2Yellow+12V
3Yellow+12V
4†Sense1†
5BlackGround
6BlackGround
7BlackGround
8†Sense0†

† The Sense0 and Sense1 pins form a code that tells the video card which kind of power connector is available. When both are grounded (black wire), this tells the video card that an eight-pin connector is used. This is the reason why on eight-pin connector pins four and six are grounded.

  • Serial ATA Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1Orange+3.3V
2Orange+3.3V
3Orange+3.3V
4BlackGround
5BlackGround
6BlackGround
7Red+5V
8Red+5V
9Red+5V
10BlackGround
11BlackGround
12BlackGround
13Yellow+12V
14Yellow+12V
15Yellow+12V
  • Peripheral Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1Yellow+12V
2BlackGround
3BlackGround
4Red+5V
  • Floppy Disk Drive Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1Red+5V
2BlackGround
3BlackGround
4Yellow+12V
  • ATX12V v1.x/ATX Motherboard Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1Orange+3.3V
2Orange+3.3V
3BlackGround
4Red+5V
5BlackGround
6Red+5V
7BlackGround
8GrayPower Good
9Purple+5VSB
10Yellow+12V
11Orange+3.3V
12Blue-12V
13BlackGround
14GreenPower On
15BlackGround
16BlackGround
17BlackGround
18White-5V
19Red+5V
20Red+5V
  • ATX12V v1.x Auxiliary Connector
PinColorOutput
1BlackGround
2BlackGround
3BlackGround
4Orange+3.3V
5Orange+3.3V
6Red+5V
  • AT Power Connector
PinColorOutput
1OrangePower Good
2Red+5V
3Yellow+12V
4Blue-12V
5BlackGround
6BlackGround
7BlackGround
8BlackGround
9White-5V
10Red+5V
11Red+5V
12Red+5V

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the types of power supplies, in short?

  • SMPS- Switched Mode Power Supply
  • Uninterruptible Power Supply
  • AC Power Supply
  • DC Power Supply
  • Regulated Power Supply
  • Programmable Power Supply
  • Computer Power Supply
  • Linear Power Supply

Can a battery be considered a power supply?

Sure, in layman’s terms, a battery can also be considered a power supply. However, you shouldn’t use that term unironically when referring to a battery, as it can create tons of confusion. A power supply, unlike a battery, is constant power and can usually be set over a wide scale of voltage and/or current. This unit gets its power usually from the grid or mains.

Which is better: AC or DC?

Alternating current is cheaper to generate and has fewer energy losses than direct current when transmitting electricity over long distances. Although for very long distances (more than 1000 km), direct current can often be better. It depends on multiple factors, as you can already tell if you’ve taken your sweet time to read through our entire comprehensive article.

Why is Direct Current not used for transmission over Alternating Current in so many countries?

As mentioned in the previous question’s answer, alternating current is simply cheaper. Moreover, for most intents and purposes, the direct current would have to be converted to alternating current anyway, which, again, pumps up the consumption and the cost as a result.

Why is power loss less noticeable when dealing with alternative current instead of direct current?

Direct current becomes efficient when you need to transfer power over more than 1000 kilometers. Very few infrastructures actually have that much distance between the power plant and regular households without any secondary stations or power plants in between.

Final Thoughts

We hope you’ve enjoyed our article and that you’ve found at least a few bits of useful information throughout it. Feel free. toleave any questions in the comments.

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