FSP to Announce VGA Power Supply

[malware]

http://www.techpowerup.com/img/06-03-01/fsp-vgapower-front-350_thm.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/img/06-03-01/fsp-vgapower-front-350.jpg)

We all know about the power consumption of modern single/SLI configuration video cards, so FSP(Fortron) a manufacturer of power supply units has the idea to announce special separate unit designed to feed only graphics cards. The VGA power supply from FSP fits into any spare 5.25” slot and can provide a graphics card up to 300W of power (25A current on +12V rail). That's fairly enough to feed todays high end GPUs such as ATI Radeon X1900 XTX(120W) or Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX(95W). The power unit will be equipped with two 40mm temperature controled fan and blue LEDs. FSP will officially announce its VGA power supply at CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany, in March, 2006. No further details and pricing available at this point.

Source: Xbit (http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20060228231307.html)

[wtf8269]

Awesome idea! But how does the cable reach outside to the wall socket?

[bruins004]

Right now 300W for just the PSU seems like a little bit of overkill. Would be nice to see if they add any other molex connectors to it so we could power up other items. I think its a good idea from a well known PSU company.

[zekrahminator]

in my opinion, if this keeps up, its not going to be too long until computers require their own fuse :p . think about it. 1Kw power supply + 300W VGA power supply...that uses more power then my microwave! :D

[zekrahminator]

and no, I'm not a TOTAL n00b, I know that computers very rarely use all the power available from the PSU. the biggest crossfire setup uses...400W max? lol

[ShadowFlare]

Right now 300W for just the PSU seems like a little bit of overkill. Would be nice to see if they add any other molex connectors to it so we could power up other items. I think its a good idea from a well known PSU company.
Adding connectors for drives, etc. would require that it provide 5V in addition to just 12V for the power, so it would make the device more complicated, thus probably more expensive. However, having a 12V power connection for the CPU would be a nice addition. If it had that, you could use this when doing an upgrade from an older system. :) It would be good enough at least for a single processor/video card system with it powering the CPU and video card and probably some dual video card systems while powering the CPU and both video cards.

[Tory]

Guys think about it. If X1900XTX crossfire uses 240W then there's almost no power left over. I have a feeling that this will be a flop though. It's just another one of those crazy ideas.

[ShadowFlare]

Guys think about it. If X1900XTX crossfire uses 240W then there's almost no power left over. I have a feeling that this will be a flop though. It's just another one of those crazy ideas.
For the CPU power connection, I just meant that it could possibly be used that way in a lower-end setup with only 1 card and 1 cpu or 2 lower-end cards and 1 cpu. For a higher-end setup like you mentioned, of course you would only use it for the video cards. ;)

[Dynamic]

I thought ATI said that an X1900XT/X1900XTX need at least 30amps on the 12v. Not sure why you guys are looking at watts, you should be looking at the amps which aren't too good to be honest with you. Those products are no good....

[ShadowFlare]

I thought ATI said that an X1900XT/X1900XTX need at least 30amps on the 12v. Not sure why you guys are looking at watts, you should be looking at the amps which aren't too good to be honest with you. Those products are no good....
The 30 amps they were talking about is the total amount that would be needed for the whole system, not just the video card. The video cards themselves don't actually use all 30. Also, since this only does 12 volts, you can look at just the watts or the amps, it doesn't matter. All of the 300 watts of power are on 12 volts.

[Dynamic]

Good One! I'll look into it....thank you....

[Tory]

For the CPU power connection, I just meant that it could possibly be used that way in a lower-end setup with only 1 card and 1 cpu or 2 lower-end cards and 1 cpu. For a higher-end setup like you mentioned, of course you would only use it for the video cards. ;)
But then that raises the question; if you only have 1 low power card and a low end cpu then what on earth are you doing with a drive bay power supply?

If you buy this thing it will most likely be because you have a high end duel card setup, and therefore, it won't have any power left over for a cpu. So powering a cpu with it is out of the question.

[ShadowFlare]

But then that raises the question; if you only have 1 low power card and a low end cpu then what on earth are you doing with a drive bay power supply?

If you buy this thing it will most likely be because you have a high end duel card setup, and therefore, it won't have any power left over for a cpu. So powering a cpu with it is out of the question.
Well, I didn't exactly mean a really low end setup, just not an extremely high-end setup. It still would have to be enough that the video card would even need a power connection. ;) Also, I didn't say low-end cpu. Hmm, it would be enough for a single high-end card and high-end CPU, right? Anyway, basically what I was thinking is that if it doesn't cost a lot, then for some people upgrading their system this could be a good alternative to buying a new power supply if their current one doesn't have enough amps available on the 12 volt rail. Heh, if it is cheap enough, it could even be an alternate to buying a better PSU for people who use the ones that typically come with cheaper cases. :laugh:

Heh, even if it doesn't have a 12 volt connector for the CPU, I'm sure an adaptor could be made for it. :)

[overcast]

The 30 amps they were talking about is the total amount that would be needed for the whole system, not just the video card. The video cards themselves don't actually use all 30. Also, since this only does 12 volts, you can look at just the watts or the amps, it doesn't matter. All of the 300 watts of power are on 12 volts.

I'd like you to take a look at your amperage draw on the +12v line next time you fire up a highend video card in 3D mode. My x1900xtx draws 8.2A in 2d and 28A in 3d mode. There is a reason the manufacturers are suggesting minimal ratings of at least 32 on the +12v lines.

[zekrahminator]

the only way I know how to check my power drains from my X850XT is the 12V rail voltage dips :D . 12.4V idle, 12.1 load, nothing to be concerned about (running an Antec SP-500 lol)

[ShadowFlare]

The 30 amps they were talking about is the total amount that would be needed for the whole system, not just the video card. The video cards themselves don't actually use all 30. Also, since this only does 12 volts, you can look at just the watts or the amps, it doesn't matter. All of the 300 watts of power are on 12 volts.
I'd like you to take a look at your amperage draw on the +12v line next time you fire up a highend video card in 3D mode. My x1900xtx draws 8.2A in 2d and 28A in 3d mode. There is a reason the manufacturers are suggesting minimal ratings of at least 32 on the +12v lines.
How are you coming up with those numbers? No video card I've heard of uses 336 watts of power by itself. ;) (28A * 12v = 336 watts) You have to keep in mind that this is NOT a main power supply, it is a supplemental one. You still use your existing main power supply.

BTW, does anyone even know whether PCI Express video cards still draw a significant amount of power through the slot when using the power connection? Or do they switch over to drawing almost all of the power through that power connection?

[KennyT772]

most of the power is from the slot however this is only like 60% of the power needed. thats why there is a connector on the card and most times a connector on the motherboard right next to the card.

oh and overcast x1900xtx's use 120w-150w depending on game and overclock. make sure u check everything twice before you post.

[overcast]

How are you coming up with those numbers? No video card I've heard of uses 336 watts of power by itself. ;) (28A * 12v = 336 watts) You have to keep in mind that this is NOT a main power supply, it is a supplemental one. You still use your existing main power supply.

BTW, does anyone even know whether PCI Express video cards still draw a significant amount of power through the slot when using the power connection? Or do they switch over to drawing almost all of the power through that power connection?

Thank you for the physics lesson but video cards don't use all 12v. That's like saying everything in your house uses 120v. ATITool displays amperage draw, so does RivaTuner.

Look at current A64 processors, they can pull upwards of 60A, Intels near 80A...why? Because they are running at 1.5-1.6v

Kenny please check everything three times before telling me what to do. There are these fancy things called voltage regulators and power convertors you should read up on.